Just because the market is hot doesn’t automatically mean your home will sell for top dollar. Prepare your home for the market by preemptively eliminating buyer objections.
When someone plans on selling their home, I often hear them say things like, “Well, I know the carpet should be updated, but we’ll just offer a carpet allowance. We’ll still get multiple offers on our home because the market is so hot.”
That’s not exactly the case. When it comes to selling your home for top dollar, multiple offers are important. However, the best way to get top dollar for your home is to eliminate objections before the buyer comes up with any. In fact, 70% of negotiations happen before you put your home on the market.
That means people won’t ask you to repair the hole in the wall; they expect that they will have to take care of it themselves.
Home sellers always say, “Well, of course I would replace the brass light fixtures, the polka dot wallpaper, and the avocado-green appliances!” The problem is that when a buyer comes into your home, they think that what they see is what they’ll get. They will have to figure out what smells and they will have to update the light fixtures. In fact, the No. 1 reason homes don’t sell is because of a strange smell in the home.
Deferred maintenance items also discourage buyers from making an offer on your property. Buyers don’t want to move in and start fixing your home; they want to move in and start living in it. 99% of the time a buyer walks into a home that is completely done, they will fall in love with it. That turnkey property is the one they are willing to pay top dollar for.
“70% of negotiations take place before your home is even on the market.”
In order to get multiple offers on your home, you want 100% of the people who walk into it to say that they love it. If people drop off because of deferred maintenance, then you’re left with a small pool of buyers who won’t even consider making an offer on the home unless you significantly reduce the price.
Again, you need to eliminate buyer objections before they come up.
If you know that there is deferred maintenance on your home or some other item that the inspector will ding you for, let’s take care of those items before your home is on the market. That way, the buyer won’t see something and say, “Oh my gosh, if that is an issue, what else is wrong with this home?” You want the buyer to think that your home is loved and well cared for.
Ultimately, the carpet allowance doesn’t work. If you’re going to spend $5,000 on a new carpet, you might as well get the carpet, enjoy it now, and impress prospective buyers once your home is on the market.
We also pay for a stager to come in and make your home look its best. Why? Condition is an incredibly important factor when it comes to getting top dollar for your home.
If you have any other questions about preparing your home for the market, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!
