By Danni Duggan, OR Broker, Premiere Property Group, LLC
Everyone has heard tell of “that home.” You know, the one that belongs to a best friend’s neighbor’s niece. She listed the home, had multiple offers within 90 minutes, and the money truck just backed right up to her front door. Everyone hopes they own that house. You decide to sell, then 90 magical minutes later you are counting your piles of cash (or rolling around in it like a scene from a Hollywood movie).
Reality, as you can well imagine, goes a little differently. Truth be told, selling a home quickly for top dollar takes work. Significant work. Either work you hire out or work you do yourself, but projects tackled thoughtfully will show results at the closing table. So if you are ready to get going with your own home, take a look at the below list to help you prioritize what you should do to get your home sold quickly.
1. Declutter the House
As many times as I organized and reorganized this list, “declutter” never strayed from the #1 spot. Not even once. I’ve written an entire blog article on the subject previously, and I encourage you to check that out as well.
Basically, you want a buyer to want to “hang out” in your home. You do not want them to think that the home lacks proper storage space. And you do not want them to struggle to see that the rooms are plenty big. Whether you tackle decluttering room-by-room, drawer-by-drawer, or closet-by-closet, start somewhere and make some progress every day. Reduce all closet volume to no more than 50% full. Store away all small appliances that do not have a daily use in your kitchen. Box up out-of-season clothes and get them ready for their next home.
2. Commit to Those Home Improvements
You know that kitchen floor tile you cracked and never replaced? (Guilty.) Or the deep grooves and scratches carved into your wood floors by your beloved Fido? (Also guilty.) Or even that super cute Sharpie drawing your daughter did on her wall one night when she was feeling that wonderful combination of inspired and bored? Now would be the time to tackle those projects. You might not even notice these things as you go about living your everyday life. But to a buyer, these little projects add up to something called “deferred maintenance.” And when a few of these projects are noticed, it makes a buyer wonder, “What other, more important projects have slid over the years in this house?”
Make a list, prioritize the projects, tackle what you can comfortably tackle, and hire out the rest. But get these things handled. This is the time for your home to look its absolute best for buyers, appraisers, and your Realtor’s marketing team of photographers and videographers. These fixes absolutely add value to your bottom line.
For a relatively nominal cost, you can have the home pre-inspected prior to going on the market. A home inspector will come through and point out the things that the buyer’s inspector will likely point out to the buyer. If there are numerous items, you can treat the report like a to-do list. If there are only a few items, you can go to market confident that there will be no inspection surprises.
Ultimately, if you decide you can only do one thing regarding home improvement, then my advice to you is to throw on some old sweats and paint. Paint. Paint. Paint. It is the most dramatic change you can effect with the least amount of money spent, no question.
3. Spruce up your Curb Appeal
Want to hear something crazy? Nowadays, people have judged your curb appeal without ever seeing the front of your home in person. Think about that for a minute and let it sink in. We know that over 90% of home buyers shop online first for their next home. Their first introduction to your home will likely be via your Realtor’s photographs posted online. That hyper-crucial first photo of the exterior of your home may be the sole determining factor on whether or not a potential buyer even bothers to “look inside.” With that in mind, those photos better be professional quality. If you don’t wow buyers up front, they move on.
- Trim your grass.
- Mulch your flower beds.
- Plant annuals.
- Trim and shape hedges and bushes.
- Hang flower baskets.
- Paint your house.
- Paint your steps or front porch.
- Fix ripped screens.
- Install large, visible house numbers. Consider lighting them up.
- Ensure exterior lighting is in working order, and spring for nice lighting fixtures if yours have seen better days.
- Install a nicer mailbox or paint the one you’ve got.
The front of your house could take you an entire couple of weekends to truly get under control. Spend the time. It is well worth it.
4. Consider Home Staging
Simply put, home staging sells homes. It sells them faster. And it sells them for more money than an unstaged home or a vacant home. Staging brings a “wow” factor while neutralizing the decor and providing a buyer with a peek at a certain “lifestyle” that this particular home may provide. It is much easier for a buyer to envision themselves living in a staged home than it is for them to imagine themselves living in a home full of the seller’s possessions and personal furniture choices.
According to the 2017 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Staging:
- Over 77% of buyers “find it easier to visualize the property as their future home” when it is staged.
- Almost a third (27%) of buyers are willing to “overlook property faults” when the home is staged.
- 40% of buyers are “more willing to walk through a staged home they saw online.”
- And this just in for the 2017 data: Staging outdoor spaces has become just as critical as indoor spaces as the ability to entertain outdoors is a hot commodity among buyers.
Admittedly, staging is not cheap. I always offer an initial consultation so that my sellers can see what it would take either to stage their home fully, or partially, or to stage their home with a combination of staging items and their own items. Often a consultant can work with some of the client’s possessions to help reduce cost. But if the staging increases the amount of the offers that come in, it more than pays for itself!
5. Use a Realtor
Having the right agent represent you and your home is your ultimate secret weapon. Everyone knows someone who knows a Realtor. We’re a gregarious, people-loving bunch. We get around. Most of us are personable, professional, and ready to leap into action the moment you flash the big Realtor “R” signal into the sky.
In all seriousness, be sure to interview the Realtor you’re considering hiring.
- Is she a full time Realtor, or do they only do this part-time?
- Is she familiar with the market in your neighborhood? I often refer to this as a “micro-market.”
- Does the Realtor have any additional certifications or designations?
Most of us are required to maintain memberships in the National Association of Realtors (NAR), as well as the state and local level trade groups. There are a number of additional certifications a Realtor can obtain with additional studies and by meeting certain transaction milestones. For example, here are a list of certifications that I currently hold:
- Sellers Representative Specialist (SRS). When I represent a seller, I do it with the highest level of professional standards and personal performance. I align my sales and marketing expertise with your ultimate goal to ensure a successful outcome.
- Graduate, Realtor Institute (GRI). I’ve attended over 60 hours of continuing education on important topics such as real estate law and procedures to ensure that my transactions are compliant, smooth, and above reproach.
- Earth Advantage Broker +ADU Specialist. Portland is a world leader in both sustainable building practices and ADU construction and conversion. I am well-versed in green building practices, products, and advantages, and I can critically evaluate a property for ADU potential.
- Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA). I’ve received additional training to ensure that when I prepare a market analysis and deliver a recommended price range for your home, it is based on carefully considered comps for your home that I have adjusted as necessary. I never rely entirely on a computer-based model that could not possibly know about a home’s interior conditions.
- As part of my GRI coursework, I also obtained the National Association of Realtor’s ePRO designation. I have developed an organized approach to marketing my listings via social media across a number of platforms, which extends the reach and exposure your home receives. I have launched successful Facebook campaigns seeking buyers across the country. Portland is gaining international attention, so being able to market your beyond the local buyers, without ignoring them, can help bolster competition for your home, and bring you more money.
- Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR). In addition to my certification in seller representation, I am committed to representing buyers in today’s market with an unparalleled level of client service and exclusive representation. I think it is essential in my role as a negotiator to understand the thoughts and concerns of a buyer’s agent as well as a seller’s agent, and there is no better way to achieve this understanding than to truly stand in the respective shoes.
All this is to say that you should feel completely comfortable with and confident in your Realtor’s abilities to deliver high quality marketing, top notch market analysis, and in-depth market knowledge. She should also be ready to qualify any buyer who submits an offer and help guide you through the contract language. She should listen to your goals and concerns, and address both thoroughly. You are looking for someone that you believe can get the job done, is conscientious, organized, and creative. You want a problem-solver, a solution-seeker, and a straight-shooter.
6. Keep an Open Mind
Sometimes the biggest obstacle to selling a home is the sellers themselves. Maybe the market analysis comes back, and the home is not quite worth what you thought it was. Or maybe you have loved your red kitchen for many years, but your Realtor is gently suggesting that you tone down the color a bit in there. Maybe you love your ceramic clown collection, but your Realtor recommends its immediate boxing and removal. Can you sense a theme here? Believe me your Realtor is not the enemy. She is just making recommendations that add to your bottom line.
Your biggest take away here should be that your Realtor has sold numerous homes. She has listed other homes for sale, and she has represented buyers in this market and knows their current turn ons and turn offs. What better expertise can you ask for than boots on the ground knowledge of the market and its players? Keep an open mind to these suggestions.
7. Don’t Rush To Market
Sometimes we cannot control when we need to list a home for sale. Job opportunities, illness, financial situations, or any number of other situations may dictate when you need to list your home for sale. But if you are not currently staring down the barrel of big life changes that require you to list the property yesterday, timing your entry on to market, combined with tackling the other tasks mentioned in this post will help fetch you top dollar for your property. If time is short, stick to decluttering and sprucing up the front of the house before having your Realtor’s photographer take professional photos. In an absolute pinch, I can typically go to market in under a week, but final price is often affected by unfinished projects. Keep in mind that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so dialing in what we can prior to taking photos is crucial. Continuing to work on things as the home is listed can be helpful as well.
8. Develop a Pricing Strategy
The Portland market is funky. Sure, it’s currently (2017) a seller’s market. It has been for a number of years now. Inventory fluctuates, but rarely pops above 2 months of inventory. Buyer volume and buyer price ranges also fluctuate pretty wildly as well. Some months certain price ranges go flying off the shelves, and other months they sit for far more than the average days on market for similar properties. Often, when a property is sitting, it comes down to price. Whether that particular property has obstacles counting against it that other similar properties do not have, or whether the market just does not exist in large enough volume for a particular price point, your ability to take your Realtor’s advice on where to price a home so that it goes on the market competitively in relation to other homes on the market at the same time is crucial.
We all have a “number” in mind that we want for our home. Whether that number is derived from comps, from comparison to a a neighbor’s home, or heaven forbid some online tool that spat out a pie-in-the-sky dollar amount, we all have an idea of what would make us happy. That does not mean that number is actually market value.
It is crucial that you have an in-depth conversation with your Realtor, who knows the micro-market of your neighborhood and what has been happening there in recent months in order to best help you select the price point at which to enter the market. Work with someone who knows the current market temperature and the current buyer climate.
9. Dazzle with Marketing both On-line and Off-line
All of the hard work that you do to get your home ready for sale is so that your Realtor can hire the best professionals to provide a combination of photos, video, drone footage, a 3D walk-through, and a single property website. You are refining the product, and your Realtor is marketing it. Your Realtor should have both on-line and off-line marketing strategies to help show your home in the absolute best possible light. Here are some examples of single-property websites, with the associated marketing media I have done recently:
- Ranch in Raleigh Hills. Listed for $549,000. Sold for $576,000.
- Urban Farmhouse in Overlook. Listed for $579,000. Currently Pending.
- Hawthorne Bungalow. Sold for $580,000.
10. Disappear for an Entire Weekend
After all that hard work, and all the long nights leading up to the day you “go live” on the market, you may be inclined to stick around and see how things go. Don’t. Not only do I recommend you not stick around, in an ideal world you will unplug entirely and go out of town during the entire first weekend on the market. I want you to decompress and relax and let me focus on selling your home. I want you to clear your mind of all the pre-listing activities, because when you come back to town, you will need to focus on showings, offers, repair negotiations, and the appraisal. You don’t want to be emotionally spent when that process starts. One of the many reasons to hire a Realtor is so that you can perform these acts of self-care along the way to help keep you balanced and focused.
I hope you find this “Top 10” list useful, and I hope it inspires you to start tackling all the projects that are going to help you get top dollar for your home. I also hope that if you do decide to list your home on the market, you will reach out to me and let me be the Realtor who helps you dial it all in and get it done.
If you are looking to sell your home in Portland, OR, it would be my honor and my privilege to work with you. Feel free to contact me for a meeting. I work diligently with both sellers and buyers to help them achieve their real estate goals.
If you are seeking a trusted REALTOR® outside of the state of Oregon, contact me. I am happy to provide you with my most trusted referrals throughout the U.S. You deserve the absolute best representation, and it would be my pleasure to help you secure it.
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Danni Duggan is a Realtor in Portland, Oregon. When not working with sellers and buyers on their own dream homes, she volunteers at the local animal shelter to rehome the county’s stray and homeless dogs. She truly believes that everyone deserves a home of their dreams.
Danni Duggan, OR Broker, Premiere Property Group, LLC. Licensed in Oregon | 503-719-2279 | danni@dannipdx.com