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Five Tips for a Successful Home Sale in 2017!

Five Tips for a Successful Home Sale in 2017!

The New Year is upon us and for some homeowners resolving to sell their homes in 2017 is on their to-do list. Much like all that is involved in planning for holiday festivities, there is quite a bit to do to prepare for listing a home in today’s real estate market.

If you’re looking to list your home in 2017, here are five things you should start doing now:

1. Clean and Declutter

With the influx of new items that turn up in homes around the holiday season, it may seem like a daunting task to begin decluttering a home at this time of year. Instead of seeing the decluttering process as an impossible task due to the holiday season, look at the holidays as a good reason to get out the old and leave in only the new!

Clean out your closets, pantries, basements and other storage spaces. When you’re taking down your holiday decorations after the New Year, give your whole house a thorough cleaning, too. Do a little depersonalizing, taking down family photos and changing that bold accent wall in your bedroom to a more neutrally-appealing tone. Finally, consider staging your home to appeal to a wide demographic of buyers.

2. Hire an Inspector

Once you’ve got your house in order as far as cleaning and decluttering goes, hire a professional home inspector to come in and make sure that your home is structurally sound. In today’s market, you don’t want to be surprised by what a potential buyer’s inspector may find. Even minor structural issues may be a deal breaker for some buyers. So, hire your own home inspector and be sure to repair any issues they may find before you list your home.

3. Choose an Agent

While you’re working to clean, declutter, inspect and make sure that your home is in prime selling form, you also should begin looking for a professional real estate agent that you’re compatible with. Certainly, take recommendations from family and friends, but conduct a few interviews of your own, too. Find a trusted real estate agent that is experienced and knowledgeable about your local market. Feel confident that the agent you select will best represent your home and negotiate the very best deal for you.

4. Set the Right Price

Now more than ever, when you’re planning to sell a home, it is important to set the right home price from the get-go. Your home is most visible to buyers when it is first listed, so you want to select a price to entice every qualified buyer you can! If your home doesn’t get immediate traffic, you may be forced to drop the price. While that may not seem like a huge deal, it may encourage an interested buyer to submit a lower offer as you may appear more likely to negotiate. Once you’ve selected a reliable real estate agent, they will be able to do a comparative market analysis of nearby homes to ensure your home price is on par with others that have recently sold.

5. Plan Proper Marketing 

As you’re preparing the final steps in listing your home in 2017, make sure that your real estate agent has put together an aggressive, smart marketing plan for your home. Today, professional listing photos are a must for proper online visibility. Another necessity for many of today’s home buyers is social media marketing. Couple those tactics with your ability to be flexible for showings and open houses. With all of these aspects working together, you and your home may be ready to hit the market!

Start your home sale process for 2017 today!