Don’t let the excitement of listing your home turn into a season of uncertainty. Instead, develop a simple action plan that starts as soon as you list it. With the help of an agent, you can develop and implement a series of “next steps” to make the process more enjoyable and successful. Selling your house is often longer than expected. The cost can be more than expected. Your emotions may be up and down. Here’s some suggestions for what to do:
Trust Your Agent
Trust that your agent is at work for you. His or her first move is to get the house listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). It seems small, but it’s big. Other agents use this system to see which homes are for sale and which ones they can show their clients. The excitement of listing your house will fade. Realtors say most sellers get anxious at the six-week mark from the time they list the house. The beginning enthusiasm has faded away and the challenge of keeping a house ready to show has increased. So put that six-week-out date on the calendar so you can expect what’s coming.
Keeping the House Ready To Show
One of the biggest challenges in selling a home is the day-by-day cleaning issue. Your house has been lived in – by you! If you have kids or pets, the issue is even bigger. When a buyer pictures themself living in the home, they don’t think of a dirty and unkempt house. They see a TV-like picture. So focus yourself on the importance of how it will look to the person who is touring it for the first time. Keep it free of clutter and as well-maintained as possible.
Every Look Is A Potential Buyer
Buying a house is likely the biggest purchase a person will make in their lifetime. So you can’t afford to miss an opportunity to show the home to potential buyers. This is another reason to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for the lengthy process that is coming after you list it.
Realtors often like to add a lockbox to the for-sale sign, so that agents can get into the home when you’re not there or whenever they need to get in. The old saying, “Time is money,” is true here. You want to take advantage of the time that a buyer has already committed to the process. So the convenience of a key in the lockbox is simply another way of being 100% ready for buyers.
Think about the process: You’re riding around with an agent and you see a home that’s for sale. That spur-of-the moment feeling means you’ll likely want to tour a home or two that you see for sale. Is your home ready, not just with a key in a lockbox, but in other ways that make the home attractive for those who may want to buy it? The availability of a key may cause an agent to put your home at the top of his or her list of homes to tour.
Selling Your Home in the Columbus Area
If you’d like to learn more about selling your home in the Columbus area, contact us with any questions or read our free home seller’s eBook: