Home Selling Tips for First-Time Home Sellers

Posted by EdmontonRealEstate .ca on Tuesday, April 30th, 2019 at 2:18pm.

How First-Time Homeowners Can Sell Their Homes Selling a home is a multi-step process that involves marketing and a lot of preparation. Getting your home ready to be seen by buyers can help make the sale process go more quickly and can also help your home sell for more money. These tips will help you get started, so your home selling experience will be more satisfying all around.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Don't Do It Yourself

For sale by owner isn't easy and it can take longer than you'd like. It can also eat up your free time as selling a home is a large amount of work. It's better to hire a professional agent with the proper experience in selling homes. This person will be able to direct you in many ways and get your home sold faster.

Make Repairs

Before your home goes on the market, making repairs can improve your home's value. Home buyers expect the major systems of the home to be operational when they make a purchase, so homes that have structural problems or maintenance issues may sell for a deep discount. Before putting your home on the market, make any necessary repairs to the roof, HVAC, foundation, plumbing and electrical system. If you decide not to make these repairs, your home may need to be reduced in price to attract buyers.

If you're on a budget, prioritize the most important repairs. A leaky roof, for example, will cause many buyers to turn away from a property. When faced with the choice to replace the roof or replace an HVAC system that is old, inefficient and likely to break down, repair the roof.

Stage Your Home

Once the repairs have been made, home staging is next. Home staging is the process of making your home attractive by making decorating changes and removing clutter. When trying to stage your home, these tips will help:

Remove heavy curtains to let in more light.
Replace burned out light bulbs and install lamps in dark rooms.
Deep clean every room.
Replace couch pillows and add a throw blanket over the sofa to make your living room look more comfortable.
Remove papers, bills and magazines from floors, counters and tables to make the home look more spacious.

Staging has proven to help sell homes faster. You may think it's possible to skip this process, but you won't be doing yourself any favors. Staging is a necessary part of selling a home and will make it easier for buyers to see your home for what it is.

Get Professional Photographs

Homes with only one or two pictures simply don't stand out. Even homes with dozens of bad pictures don't stand out in the right way. If there is one area of home selling you have to get right, it's the pictures.

Many homeowners choose to take their own photographs for listings, but professional real estate photographs can help ensure that your home look its best in the real estate listings. Professional real estate photographers know how to angle photographs, what to include and exclude in a photograph, how to emphasize space and how to capture parts of the home that buyers want to see. Professional photographs do cost money, but many home sellers find this is money well spent, as good photographs can help attract buyers to your Westmount home more quickly.

With great pictures, you can reach a larger audience of buyers and they will be able to make a decision much faster and easier.

Improve Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is the attractiveness of your home from the street. Curb appeal is what helps your home make a good first impression with visitors. There are many ways that you can improve curb appeal when trying to market your home. For example:

Keep your grass trim while there is some possibility that buyers will see it.
Water your lawn and garden on a regular basis to keep flowers and grass healthy.
Clean your home's siding with a scrub brush, mild soap and a strong jet of water from a hose.
Prune scraggly bushes to encourage leafy growth.

There are many ways to make your home's exterior more attractive when it's time to sell. Your real estate agent can give you tips that can help make the selling process easier.

Set a Realistic Price

Too low of a listing price might make buyers wonder if something is wrong with the home. Too high of a price will scare them away. Make sure you set a realistic price based on comparable homes in the area with a little bit of negotiation room.

Work With a Reputable Real Estate Agent

Working with a reputable real estate agent can help you sell your home. Before listing your property, contact a real estate agent in your area. Your real estate professional can help you decide the best ways to market and prepare your home for sale.