The real estate market continues to strengthen even with the not so pleasant
weather we have been having over the last month or so. There is still an
enormous issue with the lack of inventory at this point.
The main reason for that is the weather and snow, which prevents most people from putting their house on the market. They are waiting for the snow to be gone, the grass to green up, flowers to grow, and the weather to warm up. This is generally a good idea and a solid strategy if you are thinking of selling this year and are not in a rush to sell.
It is not too early to start planning a solid strategy of how and when to best market your home, so the process is smooth and successful. This is where an experienced real estate broker can really help you achieve your goal and get you the most money for your home.
There are a lot of things you can and should do to get prepared to list your home for sale long before you actually put it on the market. We cannot discuss every one of those things in this article, but I will write about a few key things you can work on with your realtor and on your own.
One of the first things is to start packing and sorting through everything you
have in your home, basement, garage, shed and anywhere else. Pack up things
they you don’t need but want to keep, and the rest of the things that you don’t
really use anymore should be sold, donated, or thrown away. You can have a yard
sale if that is something you want to do or just sell things online.
The most important thing is to declutter so the house will appear to have ample space, closets are not over packed with coats and clothes, and cupboards are not crammed full of Tupperware and cups.
Next would be the maintenance and repair list that you and your broker should
create and organize. These are all the little things that you know are wrong
with the house but have chosen to either live with or have just put them off
for a later date. Now is the time to attack and fix those little things. Things
like the leaky faucet, the loose doorknob, the damaged trim, and the touch up
painting that needs to be addressed. You don’t have to overwhelm yourself with
trying to get everything done at once. Just make a list and try to tackle them
one at time and maybe just get one or two done every weekend.
Perhaps there are some larger items that need addressing like a deck, porch,
and railing repairs but really need to wait until the snow is mostly gone.
Calling contractors ahead of time is a great idea because any of the good ones
are already booking into the spring.
If you are going to do the repairs yourself, you can organize a material list and make a plan to get those materials ahead of time or at least ordered. A lot of materials are hard to come by these days so it may take several weeks or over a month to get items to complete the project.
There are a lot of other things homeowners can work on ahead of time and your
real estate broker should be able to advise you on what those things are.
The goal is to get your home in the best possible shape to highlight all the amenities and benefits it has to offer potential buyers. This will help you obtain the most money for your home, possibly multiple offers, and hopefully eliminate any sort of negotiations over deferred maintenance or inspection items that might come up during the process.
This will allow for a smooth and successful transaction in the selling of your home. <
For more information or ideas feel free to contact the author directly, Matthew Trudel, Owner of Five Star Realty, Windham, 207-939-6971.
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