Home Selling Tips (Not So Obvious)
10 not so obvious thing you should do when selling your house.
I recently sold and purchased a home, and this is the 4th time I have done this and every time I do so I always think of new things to do on both ends of the move. I’m not talking about the normal stuff like staging and de cluttering (but we did have to do that) , but I am talking about some new ideas or as the kids say “hacks” that make the move go easier and things I wish I would have done the previous 3 times.
Go to a Mortgage Broker. The days of I bank here, my teller knows me and knows 3 generations of my family are gone. You don’t need to have your Mortgage at your bank anymore, all our transactions are electronic so who cares who’s lending me money. Mortgage brokers are shopping you around to different lenders, not just banks to find the best rate for you. They will walk you though the process and present you the best rate possible. Pro tip: Some brokers can “buy down” your rate. Grind them for this, it may save you some money…
Have financial records ready. Some lenders are going to want to see proof of income and employment and income tax information. Get prepared and have it ready so you are not chasing down these documents at the last minute and stressing about funding in time.
Plan your possession dates. I must admit, my first couple purchases were such a blur that I didn’t care when the possession dates were. In this last situation we were planning on living in our old house while we were renovating our new one, so we were cognisant of when we needed to be out of our house.
Boxes, Boxes, Boxes, - Do not pay for Boxes at retail outlets. You don’t need to. Plan ahead, if you know people that are moving, ask them for their boxes. Start hording your Amazon boxes. Go to social media and search for moving boxes. They are cheap, and if people are advertising them, they are usually in good shape, and they want them gone so are willing to negotiate. Oh ya, one more thing, whenever you ask yourself if you have enough, you don’t.
Take things down. Once the sale is finalised and you don’t have to worry about the house “looking nice” start taking down pictures, mirrors, shelving units etc. These need special boxes and are packed away neatly. Because they are not furniture you tend to walk around them and not worry about packing them. They end up being last minute panic packs and something is likely to get damaged when that happens.
Home showings and take out $$$$$. You are happy that the realtor calls and says they are booking showings. But they seem to always be around mealtime. We were last minute planners time after time and next thing we knew we were spending hundreds on take out meals during this move. Prepare a lunch or picnic to go. Make your dinner ahead of time and have it in the fridge ready for when you get home.
Sell your furniture. If you are not going to keep your current furniture in the move, why move it. Many times, the people that are moving into your space are “moving up” into a bigger space and need more furniture. Include it in the deal or once the deal is finalized offer it. Why move something you are not going to keep.
Accentuate top 5. With your realtors help, create a top 5 list of why your house is worth what you are asking. Make sure that you leave a trail for prospective buyers to find these top 5. If you don’t point them out, they may miss them and not acknowledge them when it comes to negotiations or worse yet, not even make an offer. We renovated our master bedroom, and I am sure that the first 5 people through didn’t notice it. We then accentuated it and the offers started to come. Coincidence? Maybe, but why leave it to that.
Be a buyer in your home. With your realtor pretend you are going to buy your home. You are not going to want to pay full asking so what are you going to challenge the price on. This way when the prospective buyer challenges you on it you will have already addressed it or you will have an answer for it. From damages, to smells try to be objective. We had our furnace cleaned (one of the obvious things you should do) and when the home inspection told the buyers that we should clean the furnace amongst other things we were able to stand pat and challenge the home inspector on other issues because we discredited him on that.
Deodorize your home. We all have done it; we go scent blind to our home. Different scents can turn prospective buyers off to your home. We have a dog, and we cook many different types of food, and we have 2 teenage boys, so we needed something. Perfumes cover up and combine with smells to create something else. We chose to hire a Ozone deodorization company to deodorize our home. Our realtor couldn’t believe the change it made. Because it smelt cleaner, it also appeared to be cleaner and bigger. Our minds play some mean tricks on us.