Use a Real Estate Agent to get the most for your Home

Whether you’re moving to a different city or moving across town, enlist a real estate agent for this very important transaction. The professional real estate agent will complete a market analysis on your home, determine a selling price and marketing strategy. The experienced agent will be a successful negotiator when dealing directly with buyers and buyers’ agents.  The contract process, contingencies and inspections are all best overseen by a professional. While the commission may seem like a large bite, you would no more negotiate rates with a dentist than you would attempt to work on your teeth yourself. Some things are clearly best left to the professionals.

There are steps you can take to prepare for a meeting with prospective real estate agents.  Take stock of each of the rooms in your home.  Declutter the closets, remove excess furniture and accessories. If necessary, rent a storage unit while the home is on the market. A good real estate agent will recommend a staging service if this will bring a high selling price.  Everything should be in working order including all appliances, doors, gutters, etc. No home improvement projects should be incomplete. Apply fresh paint if any of the rooms have loud colors.  The prospective buyer needs to be ab le to picture themselves living in this home. Stand across the street from your home and make a critical assessment of the curb appeal. Trim shrubbery below windows, remove any tree branches below eight feet, put a fresh coat of paint on the front door and shutters. Add a pot of colorful flowers by the front door and make replace the mailbox and light fixture of they are outdated. Most of these items take more time than financial investment and will pay off handsomely when you put your home on the market. Your real estate agent will let you know that buyers often make a decision about a home within two minutes of driving up. Curb appeal is what gets buyers to leave the car and explore your home. Best of luck to you!