How to sell your home for the most money….it’s actually easy

Maximizing the amount of money you will receive upon the sale of your home is actually very easy. But so few home sellers do the very little required to make sure the check they walk away from the closing table with is as large as possible. It is actually simple if you just do a little preparation.

With anything real estate you should interview at least 3 real estate brokers and ask lots of questions. Yours is a huge financial decision and you want to avoid mistakes if at all possible. You will want to dig into why they are qualified to earn your business and how much they are going to charge you. Specifically, ask to see a few of their recent listings and look at the presentation; the quality of the photos and the written description. Find out how long it took that home to sell and how the sales price stacked up against other recent sales in the neighborhood. About 90% of all buyers will find your home on-line before contacting a Realtor and if your marketing has not grabbed their attention then there is a problem. Do a Google search for the broker before you even consider scheduling an interview. If they do not have a strong internet presence run the other way. Commissions are negotiable so use that knowledge to your advantage.

It is critical that the broker you choose understands the real estate market and how it works. Ask them about inventory, pending home sales, price trends, seasonal market considerations. Not just in your region or your town but in your neighborhood and on your street. Each house plays by its own set of rules and they need to know those rules or run the other way. For instance, in the Northern Palm Beaches more single family homes sell in June than any other month and in January sales are the slowest. But if you are selling a condominium April is the month where most sales happen and September is the slowest. But remember a closing is usually 45+/- days after a contract is agreed to and know why that is important. Ask questions, lots of them and get answers. Look them in the eye and focus on finding someone you trust as selling a home is a team effort and trust is the key ingredient.

We truly believe if you properly prepare your home for sale, market it professionally and price it appropriately it should sell quickly. It would not be unusual for a well devised marketing program to have your home under contract within days and closing within 30 to 45 days. Do not necessarily go with the broker who says your house is worth the most, go for the one who you believe and their facts back up their recommendations. Your house is worth exactly what a ready, willing, and able buyer is willing to pay. It is as simple as that and you want to find the buyer who is willing to pay you the most. One thing Paradise Sharks does, and I know of no other broker who studies the numbers like we do, is publishes regular detailed market updates on the strength of the market here in Jupiter and the surrounding municipalities. Here is a link to where all that information is available (tompriester.wordpress.com). Find someone in your market than knows the market and how it operates like the back of their hand or run the other way.

How well your home shows, both in professional photos and for showings, will play a significant role in what your home will sell for. Think of your home as Cinderella and you are dressing her for the ball. The prettier she looks the more time she will spend on the dance floor. You want your home to be the prettiest girl at the ball. In the end, your job is this preparation, your brokers job is to market the home and they should be working together on the common goal of selling it for the most amount of money. I tell our clients to properly prepare for a photo shoot think of a fancy hotel room. That is how you want your home to look. Clean the windows, polish the floors as if the photographs are done properly a dust ball in the corner is going to show up. Here are some links to a few recent listings to give you an idea;

http://115andoverdrive.ihousenet.com

http://340sushighway1106.ihousenet.com

http://7604geminataoakcourt.ihousenet.coom

http://734uplandroad.ihousenet.com

http://15851sicilyterrace.ihousenet.com

http://1407dakotadrive.ihousenet.com

Paradise Sharks would truly love to hear from you to schedule an interview when you are ready to put together a game plan with the right broker. It may be us, it may not, but by going through the process and interviewing three brokers we have a pretty good feeling you will end up with a broker who will do a great job for you. We never charge over 5% for our very complete and professional marketing program and you can fire us anytime if we do not do exactly what we say. So far this month in Jupiter there have been 60 single family home closings entered into our multiple listing service; 36 of those sellers offered a 2.5% co-broke commission with only 24 paying a 3% commission. There is a little hint to save you some big money even if you decide not to include us on your interview list.

Interview, ask questions and be informed. Do not overprice, make your home easy to see and above all find a real estate broker to team with who you trust. Selling a home should be fun and we wish you the very best of luck in meeting your goals. If Paradise Sharks can ever be of help we would be honored to have the opportunity to earn your business and are super easy to reach at 561.308.0175 or info@paradisesharks.com.

Fins up…..