House & Garden

What You Need To Do Before Selling Your Home

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Selling your home can be one of the most stressful times in a person’s life but it doesn’t have to be. With our tips we will make it as smooth as possible for you.

Finding the right agent

Finding the right agent can be quite tricky. Shop around! You want to get the best price for your property for a decent agent fee. Most real estate agents charge two or three percent of the sale price of your home. Plus there are things like advertising costs on top of the fees.

Remember the real estate agent is working for you and should have your needs and expectations in mind when selling your home.

An easy way of finding your real estate agent is to head to RateMyAgent. RateMyAgent allows users to see the most recommended agents per suburb/region, most number of sales, highest average sale price, and number of active listings. The site is amassing 3,100+ reviews every week from genuine vendors and is Australia’s no. 1 real estate agent rankings and reviews website.

I wish this site was around when we were selling our last house, it would have saved us a lot of time and hassle of ringing agents and making appointments for them to come to our home and discuss the list price of our home and their fees. It is surprising how much it differs between agents. It would have been great to know their history and if they were recommended as well.

Realistic House Price

Always and I mean always, do your research on how much similar houses are selling for in your area before you even speak to an agent. You can do a quick search on Google with your street name and ‘recently sold’. It will bring up houses recently sold in your area and the sale amount. It is better to set your listing price a bit higher than you think you will get, as there is room for negotiating with potential buyers. A price range guide when listing is a good idea as well. Say you want $680,000 for your home, your listing will be in the $660,000 to $690,000 range.

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House Presentation

Obviously, presentation is key to receiving the best price possible for your home. Make sure the home is spotlessly clean (if you don’t have time to thoroughly clean your home yourself, it may be an idea to hire someone).

Declutter your home to make it look bigger (it is a good time to have a clear out or put access furniture etc in storage) but don’t overdo it, you still want the house to look lived in. Buyers want to be able to picture where they will put their own furniture and belongings, which is difficult to do with a half empty or empty home.

Have a good look at the front of your house and see if anything needs doing. Simply pulling out weeds, cutting back plants, mowing the lawns and refreshing mulch will make a huge difference to the appearance of the home. First impressions count!

If you can afford it, refresh walls with a coat of paint, update cupboard handles and tap fixtures and new flooring (if your flooring is good, get it cleaned by a professional. Dirty carpets aren’t a good look when trying to sell your home). It is surprising how much more money you will receive if the house looks up to date and fresh. Plus the amount you spend on the home will be well spent. Typically, just by doing the above small things to update your home, you will increase the value of the home significantly and will easily receive the money back you spent on it.

We hope these tips have helped you on your journey to sell your home.

 

#SP This post was written in conjunction with RateMyAgent as per our Disclosure Policy.

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