Ten Simple Steps You Can Take to Ensure Your Home Sells at Top Dollar
  1. Emotional appeal. Make sure your home looks, feels and smells its best. You're competing with 200 to 300 other homes for sale. Buyers buy on emotion; let your home be the cleanest, freshest and cheeriest, and you'll have a much faster sale; at a higher price.
  2. If your home is logically a good value, but a buyer doesn't feel warm and emotionally attracted to the home, it will not sell. Buyers buy on emotion, not logic. You'll want lots of people to say or think, "Wow! This is nice! I would like to live here!"
  3. Lots of light. For maximum effect, turn every light on, even on a sunny day. Open all window shades. Clean your draperies and curtains. Make sure your windows are spotlessly clean. Let the sun in and keep those lights on. Leaving all your lights on for two hours costs only 23 cents, and makes your home look larger and more spacious.
  4. Easy Access. You can't expect to sell a house quickly at the top price unless you get lots of buyers inside to see it. There are more than 1,000 homes competing with yours for attention. Your home must be exposed to buyers regularly and repeatedly to get a fast sale at the full price. Weekly home showings are the key to success, giving my clients fast, full-priced sales.
  5. Constant exposure. Your home won't sell unless buyers know about it. To get top dollar, be sure to have your home repeatedly exposed to qualified, ready-to-buy buyers. Some brokers charge you a discount commission, then don't advertise your home. This is a mistake. The $2,000 or $5,000 you save in commission is more than offset by a sale price of $15,000 or $30,000 less than what you would have received if your home had been properly marketed. Remember, buyers can't know about your home unless you or your buyer has a marketing plan to ensure that your home is brought to the attention of home buyers.
  6. Non-traditional advertising. 83% of buyers looking for a home in the $400,000 to $600,000 price range are first-time home buyers. Many first-time home buyers don't even know they can afford a home. They don't know that owning a home costs less than renting. They think that they need 20% for a down payment, plus closing costs!
  7. If your home is in the first-time homebuyer price range, a substantial portion of your marketing dollars should be aimed directly at first-time homebuyers. This means advertising and marketing in areas other than the "Homes for Sale" classifieds or simple Open Houses.
  8. Education. First-time homebuyers are more likely to pay top dollar for your home. If your home is in the first-time homebuyer price range, make sure that your marketing program shows first-time buyers the benefits of home ownership and how affordable your home is. Design a marketing plan to get first-time home buyers to see the inside of your home.
  9. Signage. Many home buyers don't even see traditional "for sale" signs, because they aren't actively thinking of buying. They often don't realize that they can afford a much nicer home. The strategy of an additional sign in the yard shatters the "advertising protection armor" that every consumer wears. Our full gloss fliers also assist buyers with further information about your property when inquired.
  10. Aggressive Target Marketing. Lots of buyers will buy your home for less than it's worth. The secret in getting top dollar is to find a buyer who is perfectly "matched" to your home. Right now, there are at least ten buyers who would love to own your home, can afford it, and would pay a fair asking price if only they knew about it! Some of these buyers may not even be thinking of buying yet, but if they knew about your home would love it! It takes a lot more than just a sign in the yard and an ad in the paper to market a home effectively. Aggressive target marketing will find those buyers!