5 Ways to Get Your Home Ready to Sell This Spring

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5 Ways to Get Your Home Ready to Sell This Spring
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• With the holidays behind us, its time to look
  forward to the coming year. For many, that means
  selling their homes, and either upgrading or
  downsizing as they move into a new place. While
  you may not plan to list your home until spring
  arrives, now is the time to begin working on the
  monumental task of getting it and you ready. The
  steps you take this winter will help your home
  sell faster and for more money when youre ready
  to list it.

• http//www.amysims.com

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1. Get to Know Real Estate Agents

• Choosing a real estate agent is a major decision
  for a seller, and selecting the right one is
  critical to the success of your sale. If you wait
  until youre ready to sell, youll be contacting
  agents during their busiest time and may feel
  pressured to make a fast decision. You can
  utilize several ways to get to know agents during
  the winter months before youre ready to list.
• Attend open houses
• Find and follow agents on Facebook and Twitter or
  other social media
• Contact friends and family for recommendations
• Email or meet with prospective agents
• While the National Association of REALTORs shows
  that 42 of sellers using an agent select one
  from recommendations by family or friends, the
  other methods are also sound options to help you
  feel confident in your decision. Once you find
  one or two agents you think youd like to work
  with, you can visit with them in person and ask
  important questions to determine who will be the
  best fit.

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2. Get the Lowdown on Your Home

• One reason to find an agent early in the process
  is to get their feedback on your home. They can
  walk through your property and tell you what they
  think it is worth as well as any issues you need
  to take care of prior to listing.
• Its a good idea to take this step well before
  youre ready to sell your home, so you have time
  to make repairs or changes. The timeline becomes
  even more important if you plan to do a lot of
  the work yourself.

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3. Learn the Market

• If youve been in your home for a few years, you
  may be out of touch with the current housing
  market. You might be surprised to find out what
  homes are selling for these days (both good and
  bad), and have no idea how to price your home.
  While your agent can help you with this task and
  will provide comparables to help you list your
  home correctly, you also want to take the
  initiative to learn the market.
• Find out how other homes are priced and compare
  them to yours. See how agents are marketing these
  homes and what they have that yours might lack.
  Discover when the majority of properties are
  placed on the market and how quickly they sell.
  Learn what the average number of offers per home
  is in your area. All of this information can help
  you become more knowledgeable when its time for
  you to list.

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4. Make Repairs

• If your home is in need of repairs, now is the
  time to take care of them. Dont wait until they
  show up on an inspection report, even if they are
  minor. Youll impress buyers with a
  well-maintained home if the inspection report
  comes back with very few issues. They will feel
  more confident in providing a solid offer if they
  know the home has been taken care of. You also
  wont have to delay closing the deal with those
  repair requests after your property is under
  contract.

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5. Clean and De-clutter

• Youre going to be showing your home to a lot of
  people when you list it, and you may even have a
  few open houses. This means a lot of foot traffic
  will be going through your home, opening cabinets
  and closets. To help your home sell faster and to
  maintain a sense of privacy while your home is on
  the market, you need to begin packing away items
  you dont need.
• Purchase a few lockable storage containers for
  personal information, and pack away excess décor
  and items. You may even want to rent a storage
  unit where you can store out-of-season clothing,
  holiday decorations, and other items used only
  occasionally. This not only makes your home look
  nice, but it reduces the time it will take you to
  pack once it sells.

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• Deep clean your space, including those areas no
  one ever sees. Have your carpets professionally
  cleaned and put on a new coat of paint where its
  needed. Do these tasks now and your home will
  look and feel like new when your agent begins to
  show it. Selling your home isnt a task which
  happens in just a few days or even weeks. It can
  take months to get everything ready for that
  closing day. Begin preparing now and youll spend
  less time waiting once your home is listed.

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Questions?

• Feel free to contact us.

• Website http//www.amysims.com
• Amy Sims
• info_at_amysims.com
• 949.559.5959
• Sources
• https//www.lendingtree.com/resources/how-to-inter
  view-a-listing-agent-article
• http//www.realtor.org/field-guides/field-guide-to
  -quick-real-estate-statistics
• https//www.lendingtree.com/mortgage/get-your-home
  -ready-to-sell-article
• http//www.amysims.com/blog/5-ways-to-get-your-hom
  e-ready-to-sell-this-spring