quick reference guide to selling your...

Cheryl Beal – ReeceNichols Blue Springs

Quick

Reference

Guide To

Selling

Your

Home

Cheryl Beal ReeceNichols—Blue Springs

[email protected]

816.560.4520


STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Plan and prepare

Get a real estate agent

Set the price

Marketing

Selling

Closing

Moving

The most important of these steps is the first one, and you, as

the homeowner, are in complete control. Since the most

activity occurs on a listing within the first month, it’s

important to have your home ready BEFORE the sign is placed

in the yard!


Step 1 : Plan and Prepare. Getting Your

Home Ready for the Market

In today’s real estate market, it’s important to ensure that your home is ready for sale. Buyers have

surprisingly little imagination and want to be able to move in their clothes and furniture and declare their

new home “perfect.” Look at your home as a stranger would and clean, repair or replace anything that

even remotely would turn a buyer away. Here are some inexpensive suggestions to help prepare your

home for sale:

Clean, clean, clean…..and then clean some more! Wash windows inside and out, clean cobwebs and

dust bunnies out of corners, dust baseboards, wash curtains and bed skirts, power wash driveways,

porches and decks, perform basic spring/fall housecleaning duties.

Replace cracked tiles, repair holes in sheetrock, fix leaky faucets, repair doors and drawers that don’t

close properly.

Keep room décor subtle and neutral. Use select accessories to add punch and color.

Pack up personal items like family photos. Most buyers can’t see past your personal stuff. It’s

important to depersonalize your home so the buyers can see their own belongings in the home.

If you have an heirloom light fixture or mirror and don’t want to sell it with the home, take it down

and replace it. Deals can be soured by buyers seeing something they want that they can’t have.

To cover scratches on stained or varnished woodwork, pick up a can of Restore-N-Finish at Home

Depot. Just wipe it on for a permanent fix. Magic Erasers work well for scuffs on enameled

woodwork.

Paint has a high return on investment. If you have to choose a room or rooms to paint, start with a

living room or great room, then master bedroom. Use a neutral color.

Odors in your home will turn off a buyer quicker than anything. Request that smokers light up outside

and toilet your pets often. Don’t overuse air freshener.

Make sure your thermostat is set at a reasonable temperature. Buyers won’t linger and look for long

if they’re uncomfortable.


Bathrooms and kitchens help sell homes, so make these rooms sparkle! Buy fresh decorative

towels for bathrooms and don’t use them. Replace caulk around tubs, and clean grout between

tiles with Comet and a scrub brush.

Clear the kitchen counters off to create the impression of more counter space, pack away

appliances and items that are not used frequently, face canned goods and spice jars in your

cabinets and pantry. Clean out that junk drawer! Replace the crusty stove burner plates for

showings, but keep the old ones and switch them out for daily use.

For smudges on a wall with flat paint, either paint over the smudge with the same paint or apply a

little baking soda with a wet white cloth and very gently rub off the smudge. (Test first on a hidden

spot.) Rinse off the powdery residue. If you have an eggshell or semigloss painted wall, try simply a

clean cloth and cold water. If that doesn’t work, try a Magic Eraser.

To clean dusty silk trees and greenery, take them outside, turn the leaf blower on them; or turn it

over onto the lawn and drag it back and forth a few times.

Your front door gives a vital first impression while a prospective buyer waits at least 30-60 seconds

for the door to be opened. Make sure the paint is fresh and the porch has been recently swept.

Keep the eaves free of cobwebs and wasp nests. If you have vinyl or metal siding, power wash your

exterior so it doesn’t appear dirty.

LOOK UP in every room of your home! Dust your blinds and ceiling fans. Make sure you don’t have

any “cobweb gobbies” stuck to your ceiling or in the corners.

Tidy up the grounds, the porches and garage. Weed flower beds, put down fresh mulch and keep

the lawn trimmed and edged.

If you have old, dingy light fixtures, especially on the exterior of your home, consider taking them

down and spray-painting them. It is an inexpensive way to freshen them up.

If you have photos of your home while in a different season or pictures of the construction of your

home, put them in an album and leave them out for buyers to see. If you have utility bills for an

entire year, ask your realtor for a utility sheet to record the payments. This helps prospective

buyers know exactly how much their monthly bills will be.


Step 2: Get a Real Estate Agent

How to Select an Agent

Best services and marketing plan

OR

highest listing price?

An agent does not control or

set the market. Never select an agent

based only upon their valuation of your property!

“But they’re only going to charge me a 5% commission.”

Ask about that agent’s marketing plan. Will their broker list your home on

websites like Zillow and Realtor? Do they have Open House Celebration

weekends with advertising? Make sure you understand what you’re

getting….or not getting….for that discounted commission.

There are many factors to consider in choosing an agent...like experience,

knowledge of the market and good marketing skills. The most important

factor, however, is to choose someone you trust. This is a period of

adjustment for you and your family, and it’s best to be working with

someone that you are comfortable with and can communicate with,

someone who is going to do whatever it takes to get your home sold and

get you moving toward the future.


Step 3: Set the Price

Value of Improvements

“What about the value of my improvements? I’ve got X number of

dollars in it.”

When were the improvements made?

At that time, were you planning to stay or move?

If you’d known you were going to move, would you still have made the

improvements?

If the improvements were removed, what percent of today’s buyers would put them

back and pay what you did for those improvements?

Unfortunately, many times, buyers don’t see the same value in

these improvements.

How Buyers Determine Value

When you bought your home, how did you establish value…..by

comparing it to others for sale at the time?

Buyers still determine the value of a home by comparison

shopping.


Advantages of Proper Pricing

When you first put your home on the market, there are

buyers just sitting out there, waiting for the right home to

come on the market. If you overprice your home to “test

the market,” buyers are immediately turned off and won’t

make an offer….even if you come down in price a couple of

months later. Here are some other advantages to pricing

your home right from the get-go:

Faster Sale

Less inconvenienced with months of showings

Increased agent response

Better response from advertising and sign calls

Attracts “cleaner” financing

Attracts higher offers

Avoids being “shopworn”

Most importantly, gets you moving on!


Criteria that Determine Value

Amenities

Size

Location

Location and size account for the majority of value.

Amenities contribute less.


Step 4: Marketing Your Home

Here are just a few of the things I will do to market your home:

List your home in MLS

Create flyers

Provide home staging

Create feature cards

Reverse prospect

Present information about your home’s location & school

district

Conduct open houses

Provide feedback

Provide tips to inexpensively freshen home

Call buyers’ agents prior to showings to highlight features

Present home on ReeceNichols agents tour

Be open to any suggestions you may have


Step 5: Selling Your Home

There is no question that selling a home is a significant event. A home sale represents transition, movement

and change. A lot of money is involved. Households move from the known and comfortable to the

unknown and a period of adjustment. There may be job changes, new schools and distance from old

friends. There will be strangers looking at your home, complicated documents to sign and issues to be

negotiated. It can be an emotionally charged time for sellers and their families, but it’s important to keep

an eye on the ultimate goal….selling and moving on to a new future.

In addition to keeping your home clean and your yard well-kept, here are a few tips for successful showings:

Keep pets out of the way when showing. One type of prospective buyer is annoyed; the other has their

attention diverted with pets. Dogs especially can be upset by strangers in your home without you

present. Take Fido for a ride during a showing. Those favorite ratty chew toys should be tucked away

out of sight during showings. Litter boxes should be on a noncarpeted surface and preferably in the

basement. (Leave a note to keep the door open so kitty has access.) If possible, put away pet beds and

food/water dishes for showings.

Using too much air freshener or too many Plug-Ins only causes buyers to ask, “What are they trying to

cover up?” If you use a freshener, stick to small amounts of Febreeze.

Avoid being present during showings. The buyers will feel like intruders and will hurry through the

house. Take a walk or go get ice cream.

Leave showing the house up to the realtor. It is his or her business to sell. The realtor knows the

buyers’ requirements and can best emphasize the features of your home.

Don’t discuss anything concerning the sale with the buyers. Let the realtor discuss price, terms,

possession and other factors with the buyer. He/she is qualified and experienced to bring negotiations

to a favorable conclusion.

Never try to sell furniture or possessions to a prospective buyer before the contracts are

signed by all parties.

The smell of freshly baked cookies or a delicious meal cooking in the oven or crock pot during a showing

never hurts!


Step 6: Contract Negotiations

In today’s market it is a happy day, indeed, when an offer comes in. Don’t be surprised if the

offer is low. After all, who doesn’t like to get a “good deal”? Think back to when you bought

your home. I’ll bet you did the same thing. There are many parts to a contract. You have to take

the offer in its entirety….are the buyers asking for closing costs? do they want a home warranty?

are they asking you to leave all of the appliances? will it be a quick close? An offer sets out not

only a purchase price for the home, it also sets out a series of terms, conditions and deadlines. There

may be some of the following items included in the purchase contract:

Details about a buyer’s financing

Inclusions and exclusions like appliances or fixtures

Home Inspections and the remedies for issues found

Appraisal

Home warranty information

Closing date

Possession date

It’s important to be flexible during the negotiation process. You may have to compromise on certain

items. Remain focused on the important part, which is getting you moving on, and don’t sweat the

small stuff.


Step 7: Closing

It might seem as though once a purchase agreement has been signed that the selling process is

complete. Not only is it not over yet, but some of the most complex aspects of a real estate

transaction now begins.

Once inspections and the appraisal have been performed, it’s usually a waiting game for the title

companies to run their title checks and the lending institution underwriting departments to get the

loan finalized. During this time, you should be doing many things:

Pack and set up movers

Call the utility companies to have utilities turned off in your name - don’t forget trash

pickup and newspaper delivery!

Cancel your homeowners insurance - give yourself an extra couple of days after close

Have your mail forwarded

Check out the new schools and get the kids registered

Look for businesses like banks, grocery stores, dry cleaners, dog groomers and veterinary

offices near your new home


Step 8: Moving

Even the smallest home contains a lot of furniture, clothes, kitchen equipment, pictures and other items.

For a short move, it may be worthwhile to transport small goods by yourself, but larger items will likely

require renting a truck or a professional mover. Hopefully, the process of putting your home on the

market has helped in the moving process. Closets, basements and garages get cleaned out, old clothes

are donated to charity and broken items have been discarded. Have a supply of packing tape, Magic

markers and newspaper or packing peanuts available for last minute packing.

Here are a few things to keep in mind for moving day:

Have cash in your pocket. You may need money for pizza, ice or to send someone to Home Depot

for a washer hookup hose, etc.

Keep medicines in a known, handy location

Have your children’s favorite toys, games or blankets in a known location

Keep your pet food out

Carry with you a list of phone numbers you may need quickly


MY COMMITMENT TO YOU….

I will represent YOUR real estate

interests throughout the

transaction!

Cheryl Beal

Reece & Nichols

1257 South 7 Highway

Blue Springs, MO 64014

[email protected]

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