Each member of our firm shares a commitment to customer service aimed at building long lasting relationships with our clients. Choosing the right REALTOR® who can educate you about the selling process and advise you on preparing your home for sale is the first and most important step in selling your home. Our ultimate goal is to provide a positive experience to all our sellers.
Because buyers are using the internet as their main source to find their new home, we focus on marketing with many “listing hubs”, social media and firm websites. With the right exposure and competitive price, your home is on its way to being sold.
If you're considering selling a home in the Asheville and WNC area, Hazy and her team would be honored to work with you. Call us today for a free home evaluation.
SELLING YOUR HOME
WHY WE USE A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
We don’t view other homes on the market as your competition. We will be focusing on your home and how best to present it to potential buyers. Taking photos of your home with a cell phone or personal camera will not showcase your home as well as a professional can.
We treat each home with the same importance whether it’s a $100,000 or a million dollar home. Every home we market will have a professional photo shoot with our photographer. As a professional, they will create the correct lighting, special ambiance and will use special lens to bring your home to life. They will also create a virtual tour/slideshow of your home that we will make available for potential buyers to view.
You may also want to inquire about our drone video package. WNC Realty Group is one of the few firms in the area who utilizes this innovative technology.
As real estate professionals, it is our job to provide you with a detailed comparative market analyses (referred to as a CMA) to determine your home's value. Pricing your home correctly will help you sell your home in less time and for a higher price. Listing your home at a higher than market price may discourage potential buyers from looking at your home. It is also sending the message that you may not be serious about selling.
The first 30 days are crucial when selling so if you aren’t getting a steady flow of showings, consult with your agent immediately to discover what you both need to do to make your home more appealing to potential buyers. Unfortunately, if a home stays on the market too long, potential buyers may think something is wrong with it. This may result in the home selling for less than what you could have gotten if you had started out with a realistic asking price.
Determining your home's worth can be overwhelming to someone who is not familiar with the details involved in making sure the property is not over priced or under priced. Our agents are trained to look at many factors and also to create a custom CMA for your property. There are a number of websites that offer free evaluations of your home’s worth. However, to get an accurate market value, you need to have a real estate professional spend time visiting with you in your home to discover all of its true value.
PRICING YOUR HOME
SHOWING YOUR HOME
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Be flexible when buyers want to view your home. Their agent is probably showing them several homes and will schedule the showings according to area the homes are in. If you decline the showing appointment the agent will probably not reschedule because they may not be in your area at that time.
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Tidy up. Make sure the bathrooms and kitchen aren’t cluttered. They should also look and smell fresh.
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Open all drapes/blinds and turn all the lights on. Dark and poorly lit homes are a turn off to potential buyers.
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If possible, remove pets from the home during showings. Even pets left in a crate can pose a distraction since they might make noise the entire time potential buyers are in the house. Plus, if they act aggressive, the buyer might not even step into the room.
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Do a last minute check for dirty laundry piles, un-flushed toilets, dishes on the counter or in the sink, unmade beds, clothes scattered about and overflowing trash cans.
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Leave your home for all showings. Buyers can be intimidated and frustrated when sellers stay in the home during their appointed showing time. They want to be free to voice their opinions or concerns to their buyer’s agent without worrying they may offend the seller.
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De-personalize your home. It is difficult for a buyer to see themselves in your home when you have personal photos, religious and political items displayed.
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De-clutter. Pack up all those things you aren’t using on a daily basis. Donate (or garage sale) those items you don’t plan to take with you.
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Clean out and organize the garage. Make sure there is room to park your vehicle. If not, potential buyers will think their is insufficient storage in the home.
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Kitchen and Bathrooms. It is essential for them to be clean, clutter free and smelling fresh.
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Bedroom Closets. Pack seasonal clothes and things you haven’t worn in the last year to show available closet space. Buyers are looking for sufficient storage.
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Pantry and Linen Closets: Organize the pantry and linen closets. Consider packing away things you don’t use. Remember, buyers are looking for lots of storage space.
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Kitchen countertops: Clear everything off the counter. If possible keep items you use daily in a box you have easy access to. Buyers are looking for sufficient working areas and counter space.
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Painting. Touch up or paint the inside of the home for a fresher look. If your front door looks tired or faded, give it a new look with a fresh coat of paint. It is a simple and inexpensive solution to brighten up your curb appeal. If you have bold colors on your walls, consider painting them a neutral color.
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Clean your windows inside and out.
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Pressure wash the outside of the house, driveway, decks and sidewalks.
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Consider putting large furniture into a storage unit. Too much or too large of furniture makes rooms look small. Remove any furniture that doesn’t have a purpose. All those knick knacks you love may need to be packed away.
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Replace burned out light bulbs.
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Remove and replace those coveted items. If you are planning to take that beautiful chandelier, remove and replace it with something that will stay with the home. If not, a buyer will see and want it. I have seen potential buyers decide against purchasing a home because a seller wasn’t willing to leave the chandelier or window coverings so let’s take that temptation away.
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Make your home odor free. Don’t try to mask bad odors by putting out air freshers because many people are allergic to them. Keep your pet linens fresh and clean. Litter boxes should be kept as clean as possible.
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Make minor repairs. Example; cabinet doors that don’t shut properly, holes in the wall, leaky faucets, cracked tiles, running toilet, and mildewed caulking.
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Clean all appliances especially the oven and refrigerator. No buyer wants to see spilled food on the shelves. Citrus rinds are great for running through the garbage disposal to give the kitchen a fresh smell.
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New Bedding. If your bedding looks tired consider getting something new and add some trendy and colorful throw pillows.
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Flowers put buyers in a happy mood. They are an inexpensive way to give your home great curb appeal. At a minimum you should plant some fresh flowers and set them in a pot beside the front door.
IMPORTANT: After you have worked through this list, there is one more thing you should do. Go outside and pretend you are a potential buyer. Take a look at your yard and entry way. Does it look appealing? Would you, as a potential buyer, want to go inside this home? Walk in and take a look around every room. Is there anything you can do to make this home more appealing to buyers?
This may seem like a challenging task but sellers who are willing to take the time and effort to do these things will be rewarded. Their home will probably sell faster and at a higher price than comparable homes on the market. Give us a call today. We want to help you to have a happy and rewarding selling experience.
THINGS SELLERS CAN DO BEFORE PUTTING THEIR HOME ON THE MARKET
FOR SALE BY OWNER
A home the owner is selling directly to buyers without using a real estate agent is called a “For Sale By Owner” or “FSBO” by real estate agents.
According to the National Association of Realtors, “FSBOs typically have a lower median selling price. Thus, the agent-assisted home sale typically has a 13 percent higher sales price than the typical FSBO sale.” These statistics show that selling your home with the assistance of a professional real estate agent will garner you a higher profit, enough to cover the commission as well as put more money in your pocket.
ACCESS TO QUALIFIED BUYERS
Good real estate agents will insist their buyer be prequalified with a lender to determine the potential buyer's credit-worthiness, and, in the case of an all-cash offer, verify their funds. Most sellers would rather not waste time showing their home to unqualified buyers. Unfortunately, sellers marketing their home as a FSBO will get excited when a potential buyer calls and show their home without qualifying the buyer.
Many times I’ve had buyers call and quote a price range of homes they would like to view. I immediately ask if they have been qualified with a lender and the answer is usually no. I have them call a lender and the majority of time they have to lower their price range. Sometimes buyers just give a random price of what they think they can afford. They may also have no idea they have something negative on their credit report or understand if they just changed jobs they may no longer qualify for a mortgage. These are important questions an agent will get answered before showing homes to a potential buyer.
SELLERS USUALLY END UP LISTING THEIR HOME
Have you noticed one of your neighbors put a FSBO sign in their yard only to have it replaced by a realtor sign within a few weeks? Few sellers understand everything it takes to sell a home so they get discouraged and call a real estate agent. Don’t forget about the legal issues with selling a home. With the absence of a licensed and trained REALTOR® and mandatory forms, you risk putting yourself in a liability position for failure to obey disclosure laws.
REQUIRED DISCLOSURES FOR ALL SELLERS
Before you enter into a contract, there are several seller disclosures which are required for North Carolina sales.
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North Carolina Residential Property Disclosure Statement. North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 47E requires all sellers to fill out this form and give it to their buyers.
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Lead Paint Disclosure Fact Sheet and a Lead Paint Disclosure form depending on the age of the home. If the home was built prior to 1978, the seller is required to give the buyer these forms.
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Airport Disclosure.
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Mineral, Oil and Gas Rights Mandatory Disclosure Statement
The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. This is one of the reasons the percentage of people initiating the sale of their home as a FSBO has dropped from 19% to 9% over the last several years.
Only a small percentage of For Sale By Owner properties make it to the closing table. With the absence of a licensed REALTOR® providing necessary and mandatory forms, you risk liability for failure to obey disclosure laws. Here are a few things a real estate professional can address for you:
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N.C. Residential Property Disclosure Statement
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Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968
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Residential Lead Based Paint Addendum
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Asbestos and Radon Disclosures
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Airport Disclosure
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Mold Issues
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Mineral, Oil and Gas Rights Mandatory Disclosure Statement
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Owner’s Association Disclosure and Addendum
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Legal Documents
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Square Footage Measurements/Avoiding a lawsuit from inaccurate measurements.
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Advertising/Marketing your home
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Pre-qualifying the buyers-We only show homes to pre qualified buyers.
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Receiving and negotiating offers
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Negotiating repairs
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Home inspections/Termite inspections
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Assisting with your lender and attorney
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Closing Procedure
WHY NOT “FOR SALE BY OWNER?”