Sellers: These are the Three Most Important Factors When Listing
Updated: Jul 15, 2020
1. Proceeds
This one is simple - “How much money will I make from selling this?”
Whether you’re selling your starter home, an investment project, or even your dream house, no seller wants to write a check at closing. By far one of the biggest points of deciding whether or not to sell is understanding your proceeds.
Your Realtor should draw up a proceeds sheet which entails comparing their opinion of market value to their estimate of what a buyer would be willing to pay given the current demand.
From there, Realtors deduct your current Liens (mortgages), any closing costs, and even fees and prorations
to estimate how much of the overall proceeds from the sale will go to your pocket!
Typically, sellers use their proceeds from selling their home for a down payment on different property. If your motivation for selling is to buy something different, isn’t it important to know how much money would be available to you? This could even help with deciding how much you can afford and what neighborhoods will be available to you. This is truly a crucial first step!
Wondering what your proceeds would be? Get started HERE
2. Emotional Possession
This one is huge - “How can I make sure my home is attractive to buyers?”
Before photos are taken and before tours come through the door, you and your Realtor must look at your home with a “buyers eye”.
What do I mean by buyers eye?
You can practice it right now - walk through the front door of your home as a buyer would; disregard the family photos, the cherished memories and the choice decor and ask yourself: “Can I see myself living here?”
If a complete and total stranger can answer “yes” they have taken emotional possession. Rather than stepping over a dog toys and laundry, or seeing a sink full of dishes and cluttered areas, they should be able to focus on the space and their ability to fit their needs and lifestyle to pretend that (even for a moment) they already live there.
3. Interview your Realtor
I cannot stress how important this is - “What will you do to market my home?”
In real estate, no two agents are completely alike. They may work for the same company, perhaps the same brokerage and maybe even work for the same team, but that is typically where the similarities will end. A good agent uses their experience and professional strong suits to formulate a unique plan for each specific home they sell.
Listing should not mean that an agent will take pictures and post your home on the MLS and pray that it sells - no, it takes market segmentation, targeting and information syndication.
Those are some pretty big words, right?
Some terms may seem foreign to you, but these are all great things to bring up when interviewing Realtors. Anyone can list a home, but it takes a good agent to market and convey its value. A few good questions that I would recommend are:
“If I were to list with you..."
How would you target potential buyers and who would buy this?
Where would my home be featured and why?
What do you know about this neighborhood and the listprice:saleprice ratio?
What type of marketing is your strong suit and how would you use it for my home?
If you're currently interviewing Realtors, I'd like to throw my hat in the ring.
Click Here to schedule a time to meet!
*Important* - These are important things to ask, even if you know the Realtor personally as a friend or family member.