Tips for First Time Home Sellers

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Tips for First Time Home SellersSelling your home is a big deal, especially when it’s your first home. There are many aspects of the process to consider if you want to sell your home quickly and for the best possible price. From picking the right Realtor to pricing your home well, doing these things right will put you in the best position to get the results you want.

How to sell a home for the first time is not a process to be taken lightly. With all the steps that go into selling a home, it’s easy to make mistakes as a first time home seller without the proper guidance.

6 Best Tips for First Time Home Sellers

Pick The Right Realtor

While it is possible to sell your home without a Realtor, it’s definitely not recommended. Buying and selling homes are most likely the biggest purchases/sales you will ever make in your life, which means there is too much at stake with too many things that could go wrong. A good agent is skilled in handling all the details and helping you to avoid making costly mistakes.

Picking the right agent for you is extremely important as this will set the tone for how your whole experience will go. It’s recommended to meet with and interview several Realtors before choosing one. Do your homework and choose a Realtor who will help you accomplish your home sales goals.

Wondering what to look for when interviewing agents? There are numerous things to keep in mind. You will want to look for a Realtor, or better yet a Realtor Team, with recent and positive client feedback/reviews.

You’ll also want to look for an agent who sells homes close to the list price (ask what their list-to-sale-price ratio is) as this demonstrates an understanding of the market. In addition, it’s imperative to make sure they have an outstanding marketing plan set in place. Over 90% of home buyers find their home online so you want to have an agent who has the skills to make your home stand out.

Tips for First Time Home Sellers 2Price Your Home Appropriately

Picking the right Realtor and pricing your home well go hand-in-hand. Helping you price your home correctly is another skill a good agent will have. Everyone wants to sell their home for the highest possible price; but be careful, if you price it too high it will repel potential buyers.

If it’s priced too high it can sit on the market for a while, which can cause it to develop a stigma with potential buyers who might then believe that it’s undesirable in some way and then provide you with low-ball offers. In the end, this can cause you to end up selling it for less than you otherwise might have had you priced it well at the start.

It’s important to talk with your Realtor to go over all the information and to set a good price for your home. This is where the Realtor’s list-to-sale-price-ratio becomes very significant (meaning they have a good record of selling homes close to their original list price). You don’t want to end up with an agent who blatantly misrepresents the value of your home by providing an unrealistic market value just to get you to sign a contract with them. You want an agent who is successful at pricing and selling homes so you can reach your home sales goals in the best time frame for the best price.

Spend Time Getting Your Home Ready

If you want to sell your home for the best price possible, it’s important to spend some time getting your house in tip-top shape before putting it on the market. Your Realtor will be able to advise you on specific things you should do. The following are some common examples of things you can do to make a significant impact on first impressions of potential buyers:

Exterior Home Tips:

  • Make sure your curb appeal is excellent
  • Make any necessary repairs to any obvious defects like rotted siding or trim
  • Tidy up any patios, decks, and walkways
  • Freshen up your landscaping by pulling weeds, trimming bushes, and planting flowers for a pop of color

Interior Home Tips:

  • Deep clean your home from top to bottom. This is one of the cheapest things you can do that will have a significant impact.
  • Declutter as much as possible
  • Paint any rooms that need a neutral coat of paint
  • Add brighter light bulbs in darker areas of the home
  • Clean your carpets, or have worn carpets replaced

Be Ready To Move If You Get An Offer

When you put your home on the market, you should be prepared to accept an offer at any time. In a hot sellers’ market, homes sometimes sell within hours of being listed. When someone makes an offer on your home and you accept it, you will need to be ready to quickly finalize your plans for relocation and start getting your things set to be moved out of your home.

If you are selling and buying a home at the same time, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Your Realtor will help you find a new home and make sure the timelines for closings match up so that both sales will progress smoothly.

Understand What The Costs Will Be For ClosingTips for First Time Home Sellers 3

There can be a lot of extra costs associated with selling your home so it’s important to make sure that you know exactly what to expect. Before closing, your lender will go over all the numbers in detail with you, but if you’d like a rough estimate before listing, your Realtor can go over what is called a “net sheet” with you. The following items are some common expenses:

  • Depending on the price range of your home, it can be common for buyers to request that the seller pay to cover their closing costs. Buyer closing costs generally range from $3,000 – $5,500. You can offset these closing costs via negotiating the sale price of the home.
  • Realtors’ commissions range by area, but most commonly are 6%. This is split between the sellers’ agent and the buyers’ agent.
  • Pay to bring your property taxes current if taxes in your area are paid in arrears.
  • Home warranty plans are often included with the sale of the home. This is optional, but beneficial for numerous reasons.

While this isn’t a complete list of all the costs that can be incurred while selling a home, it can help you get an idea of the wide range of potential costs to expect.

Know Your Local Market

It’s important to have a basic understanding of the current market conditions in your area. Every area is unique, which means that what works in one area may not work in another.

There are a lot of factors that go into real estate markets, which is why it’s important to have an experienced Realtor to help you have a clear understanding of what to expect. Your Realtor should be an expert on your local market. Your agent should know what homes similar to yours are selling for, and how to compare your home to recent sales of those similar homes to decide on the best list price. The more your Realtor knows about your area, the better job he/she can do when selling your home.

Bottom Line

There are a lot of things to take into account when selling your home, which is why if you want to sell your home for the best possible price in the best time frame, you will want to make sure to start by hiring a good Realtor. Once you have a Realtor using their expertise to look out for your best interests, the rest of the pieces will fall into place.

 Questions about selling your home?
Call/text 513-368-3751

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Selling Your Cincinnati Home – Step 5

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Step 5 to Selling Your Cincinnati Home : Pack Up and Move

Selling Your Cincinnati Home - Step 5Moving to a new home is exciting but it is also stressful, but there are things you can do to make it go more smoothly.

You can choose to move yourself or hire a professional moving company.  The Lowry Team can provide you with a list of our preferred vendors who can take some of the weight off your shoulders.

First and foremost, be prepared with all of the necessary materials for packing.  Items that you will need are lots of boxes, packing tape, and plenty of material for wrapping breakable items. If you need boxes, try asking at some local retail stores if they have any empty boxes you can have. Often, they have tons of boxes that they are more than happy to give you.

Don’t wait until the last minute.  Pack one room at a time and set a goal of packing a couple of boxes a day.  As you pack each room sort through items that you may want to donate or sell.

Related: 11 Moving Tips to Make Your Move Easier

Be sure to clearly mark each box once it is packed.  Make sure to notate not only what’s in the box, but what room it goes in. Also, don’t forget to mark any breakables as “fragile” so that the person carrying the box later knows to be extra careful.

When moving, some people choose to rent a truck.  Shop around carefully when picking a company to rent a moving truck from.  Compare mileage rates and costs of moving on different days of the week.  Instead of a moving truck, some people will have a portable container brought to their house.  Once all of your house is packed up and placed inside, the company will move the container to your new home. No matter what you choose to do, make sure you plan ahead. If you wait too long to reserve a truck, you may be out of luck.

Questions about selling your Cincinnati home?
Call or text Eric Lowry at 513-368-3751

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Selling Your Cincinnati Home – Step 4

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Step 4 to Selling Your Cincinnati Home : Negotiate an Offer

Selling Your Cincinnati Home - Step 4It is extremely important to have an experienced, professional real estate agent do the negotiating for you when selling your house.

The Lowry Team has over 17 years experience negotiating home sales in the Cincinnati area. Our listings sell for around 1% more than the market average – that could mean thousands of dollars more in your pocket.

With current market conditions, homes are selling pretty close to list price. However, there may be times when you will receive a completely low ball offer.  Try not to take it personally; it’s just business.  Your real estate agent will make sure that the buyer is pre-approved for a loan and keep negotiating the offer for you.

Depending on market conditions, it may be important to try to keep negotiations going.  The more time and  money spent, the more the buyers will feel invested in reaching an agreement with you and buying your house.

It’s important to keep in mind that there is more to the negotiation process than just agreeing upon a price.  You will also be negotiating occupancy and the closing date.  Also, closing costs, repairs made to the home, and personal property are items that can make or break a deal.  In the end, sometimes a small concession is all that is needed to agree upon a final purchase contract.

Questions about selling your house?
Call/text Eric Lowry and The Lowry Team at 513-368-3751

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Selling Your Cincinnati Home – Step 3

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Step 3 to Selling Your Cincinnati Home : Stage Your Home

Selling Your Cincinnati Home - Step 3Preparing your home for sale properly can net you considerably more money at closing. It’s important to keep in mind that some rooms in your home are more important than others in the preparation process and some home improvements are a much better investment as you prepare to sell your home. Don’t waste your money though, consult your Realtor on the best steps you can take. In the meantime, here are some general steps that you could start implementing right now.

The first step in staging your home is to maximize the curb appeal. Make sure to trim the bushes and keep the lawn neatly mowed.  The curb appeal of your home will provide the first impression to potential buyers. Make it a good one!

Next, you will want to remove any clutter from your house.  Start packing up anything you are not currently using.  You are going to have to pack it up eventually anyway, so you might as well get started.  Your house will appear larger and more organized.

If you have transformed one (or more) of your bedrooms into something other than a bedroom, such as a sewing room or exercise room, change it back. If you are listing your house as a three bedroom, you want the home buyer to be able to easily visualize the three bedrooms.

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Clean up and organize the counters in the bathrooms and kitchen. They should appear neat, clean and clutter free!  Put items that are generally sitting out on the counter tops away out of sight.

After all of the steps are completed, do one last final clean up.  Deep clean your house from top to bottom; yes, even the windows!  Repair any nicks to the walls and cover them with a fresh coat of neutral paint.

Lastly, add a pop of color.  This could be some colorful towels in the half bath or fresh flowers in a vase in the entrance way.  Add color outside by planting some annuals. Place a new welcome mat by the front door or add a splash of color with a pillows on a chair.

Homes that are properly staged sell faster and for more money than homes that are not. 

Questions about selling your Cincinnati home?
Call/text Eric Lowry and The Lowry Team at 513-368-3751

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Selling Your Cincinnati Home – Step 2

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Step 2 to Selling Your Cincinnati Home : Price It Right

Selling Your Cincinnati HomeOne of the most important steps in selling your home is determining what price to list it for. Research shows that a house priced right at market value sold in just half the time compared to homes priced above market value.  In addition, homes priced at market value ended up selling for almost $4,000 more on average.

Pricing your home at or just below market value might seem a little counterintuitive, however it will work to your benefit. Many homeowners think that pricing their home a little over market value will leave them room for negotiation. In actuality, this just dramatically lessens the demand for your house (see the accompanying chart).

Selling Your Cincinnati Home 3Instead of the seller trying to ‘win’ the negotiation with one buyer, they should price it so that demand for the home is maximized. By doing this, the seller will not be fighting with a buyer over the price, but will instead have multiple buyers fighting with each other over the house. This is especially likely to happen in the current market, as housing inventory is extremely low.

Your Realtor also plays a crucial role in pricing your home. They will perform a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) for you, which takes into account recent sales of similar homes in the same market area and current market trends. This will help educate and assist you as you decide what price you will put your house on the market for.

Questions about selling your house?
Call/text Eric Lowry and The Lowry Team at 513-368-3751.

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Selling Your Cincinnati Home – Step 1

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Step 1 to Selling Your Cincinnati Home: Hire a Real Estate Professional

Selling Your Cincinnati HomeWhether you are buying or selling a home, it can be quite an adventurous and complicated journey. This is why you need an experienced real estate professional to guide you on the path to your ultimate goal.

The top 5 reasons you NEED a real estate professional in your corner haven’t changed, but have rather been strengthened by the projections of higher mortgage interest rates and home prices.

1. What do you do with all this paperwork?

Each state has different regulations regarding the contracts required for a successful sale, and these regulations are constantly changing. A true real estate professional is an expert in his or her market and can guide you through the stacks of paperwork necessary to make your dream a reality.

2. Ok, so you found your dream house, now what?

There are over 180 possible steps that need to take place during every successful real estate transaction. Don’t you want someone who has been there before, someone who knows what these actions are, to make sure that you achieve your dream?

3. Are you a good negotiator?

So maybe you’re not convinced that you need an agent to sell your home. After looking at the list of parties that you will need to be prepared to negotiate with, you’ll soon realize the value in selecting a real estate professional. From the buyer (who wants the best deal possible), to the home inspection companies, to the appraiser, there are at least 11 different people who you will need to be knowledgeable of, and answer to, during the process.

4. What is the home you’re buying/selling really worth?

It is important for your home to be priced correctly from the start to attract the right buyers and shorten the amount of time that it’s on the market. You need someone who is not emotionally connected to your home to give you the truth as to your home’s value. According to a study by Collateral Analytics, FSBOs achieve prices significantly lower than those from similar properties sold by real estate agents:

“FSBOs tend to sell for lower prices than comparable home sales, and in many cases below the average differential represented by the prevailing commission rate.”

Get the most out of your transaction by hiring a professional.

5. Do you know what’s really going on in the market?

There is so much information out there on the news and on the internet about home sales, prices, and mortgage rates; how do you know what’s going on specifically in your area? Who do you turn to in order to competitively and correctly price your home at the beginning of the selling process? How do you know what to offer on your dream home without paying too much, or offending the seller with a lowball offer?

Dave Ramsey, the financial guru, advises:

“When getting help with money, whether it’s insurance, real estate or investments, you should always look for someone with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman.”

Hiring a Realtor who has his or her finger on the pulse of the market will make your buying or selling experience an educated one. You need someone who is going to tell you the truth, not just what they think you want to hear.

Bottom Line

You wouldn’t replace the engine in your car without a trusted mechanic. Why would you make one of the most important financial decisions of your life without hiring a real estate professional?

Don’t hire an agent; hire a team…The Lowry Team! When you hire The Lowry Team, you are hiring an entire team of real estate specialists.  The Lowry Team consists of members that are focused on areas of specialization including Listing Specialists, Buyer Specialists, Transaction/Listing Coordinator, Inside Sales Associates, and a Marketing Director. Every part of the buying or selling process is handled with care, expertise, and 100% focus to ensure that you have a positive and profitable real estate experience.

Questions about selling your house?
Call or text Eric Lowry at 513-368-3751.

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