Every home is unique, the marketplace is always in flux, interest rates and mortgage rules change, and new buyers begin the search for homes each day. It’s no wonder that Realtors® craft marketing plans specifically for individual homes and market conditions!
Before it is placed on the market, your homes ought to be in ‘show’ condition. Your Realtor® will help you with suggestions on what (if anything) to repair, remove and add for best results.Real estate agents do more than price homes for sale; they also consider what sale terms, such as a flexible closing, will help speed the selling process. Prices may include a seller take-back mortgage or other arrangements to augment the incentive to buy.
Once listed, it’s likely that your home will quickly go ‘live’ on the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Ads will be placed in newspapers and online, and the front window of his/her brokerage, etc. Networking with both local and out-of-town agents is also common.
Now that you know how to best prepare for marketing your house, learn how to deal with offers and closing.
You may want to read the previous chapter on setting the price of the house you are selling here.
Your Realtor® may hold
at least one open house at a set time; often, one is held just for other real estate agents, who are invited to preview the home on their clients’ behalf. Another, usually held over the weekend, is for the general public. During these open houses, it is certainly important for you to vacate the home, and take your pets with you if possible!
Many people may be coming through the home and examining it very closely. They will be supervised by your agent. How will agents bring people into your home when you’re not at home? You will need to make sure that your agent has access to your home and alarm codes (if applicable) so that they can show your home as much as possible.
- Open Houses and Showings
- Staging Tips
- Information and Presentation
Open Houses and Showings
Your house should always be available for showings, even though it may occasionally be inconvenient for you. Most brokerages will call and give you at least a couple of hours’ notice that a showing has been booked on your property. If you refuse to let agents show it at that time, they may just skip your house and not come back. Try not to be home during showings, because it tends to make prospective buyers uncomfortable. They want to be free to fully explore your home without feeling they have to tiptoe around your feelings.Your Realtor® may hold
at least one open house at a set time; often, one is held just for other real estate agents, who are invited to preview the home on their clients’ behalf. Another, usually held over the weekend, is for the general public. During these open houses, it is certainly important for you to vacate the home, and take your pets with you if possible! Many people may be coming through the home and examining it very closely. They will be supervised by your agent. How will agents bring people into your home when you’re not at home? You will need to make sure that your agent has access to your home and alarm codes (if applicable) so that they can show your home as much as possible.
