Selling your home can be like a major undertaking. From staging to signing, there are an incalculable number of moving parts that have to be put into place, in order to enjoy a fast and lucrative sale. Often, a real estate agent acts as the glue that holds the whole process (as well as your sanity) together. But more homeowners are choosing to sell their homes without the help of an agent. This gives you access to a greater share of the profit, with agent’s fees taking an average of 5-6% of your sale price off the top.
However, selling your home without professional help saddles you with the additional burdens that an agent would have taken on for you. As you prepare to sell your home, it’s important to consider how much you stand to save, and take stock of the work involved in order to make an informed decision.
Clean and stage your home.
A beautiful home on the market has been through hours of preparation before prospective buyers walk through its halls and bedrooms. Ask any realtor, like those at Venterra Realty, about the grueling process that sellers must go through in order to prepare a home for viewings (see more on professional processes here at venterraliving.com).
A great place to start is on the walls. Even if you aren’t thinking of making any renovation upgrades to the home before selling it, you will still have to paint every square foot of the walls with a fresh coat. Checking into modern color trends and choosing a color scheme that buyers will respond positively to, can increase the average price of a final sale of your home, by thousands of dollars. Conversely, leaving these fittings as they are may very well chip away at your asking price.
Staging your home is another important component of the sales process. Angling couches, placing your desk in a favorable location, and clearing hallways of excess clutter will make for a better overall experience for viewers who must be able to envision their own belongings in the space. With your lived-in furniture and belongings taking up this visible room, it can be harder for a buyer to imagine making the home their own.
Many homeowners choose to move most of their belongings offsite and keep a more conservative existence in the home, while the sale process is ongoing. A quick search for ‘how much does 10×10 storage units cost?’ will give you all the information you need on a storage unit with climate control and great security. Keeping your belongings at a storage facility with 24-hour access and reliable climate control will give you the peace of mind that you need. Compare the rental rates of storage units in your area, take into account how much space you will need, and quickly move your items into a storage unit for a great price. Protecting your belongings offsite until you are ready to move them into your new home can really declutter the mind as well.
Put your best foot forward while showing the home.
The other intangible aspect that realtors bring to the table is their foundational knowledge of in-person sales tactics. A sale is about more than the object in question, it requires a nuanced understanding of personability and persuasion. Selling is as much about the salesperson as it is the home on the market. Brushing up on your facts (year built, square foot measurements of each room, square foot measurements of the garden spaces, number of homes in the surrounding neighborhood, age of appliances and roof, etc.) is a great start, but the art of the sale also relies on your appearance and confidence. Get a haircut or manicure with gel press on nails, break out your best power suit, or go for a massage before booking your first showings. If you put yourself in a position to succeed with your confidence and attitude, then the rest will fall into line.
Selling your home without an agent requires an understanding of the smaller details that homeowners might miss while preparing the home on their own. Don’t let these slip through the cracks and you can walk away with a far greater share of the profit on your home.
