Things to consider before putting your home on the market

If you are thinking about selling your home in the near future, there are a variety of things to consider to make the process as quick and painless as possible.

If you are from Regina, I imagine you have been involved in at least one conversation about the housing market. If not, I am sure you have driven by a plethora of For Sale signs, and wondered to yourself, “Wow, there sure are a lot of houses for sale.” The answer is yes, absolutely there are a number of single family and condominiums for sale at the moment. Presently 1044 on the MLS, to be exact. This, in no way should scare you off, if you are thinking of selling your home. How can you stand above the crowd you say? I have the answer to your questions, and most importantly the expertise and field experienced to back it up.

1. I am placing this important rule as number 1, and do not forget it! When putting your house for sale on the market, the MOST important rule is the famous Three P's. PRICE PRICE PRICE! Forget location, price is the new location. Select the correct price from the beginning. Go in aggressive, as you would a fight. You wouldn't start off a fight with your weakest moves would you? No, you would go in it, to win it. Most sellers assume that going in with a high list price to test it out, and then lowering it later is beneficial. This actually has the opposite effect. Motivated buyers will assume you are not serious about selling you home, and possibly may think you are not willing to negotiate when your price it too high.

   Now that I have the main stress point out of the way, we can talk about the smaller things that will help you sell your home. Simple tricks and tips of the trade that'll get you that much closer to a quick sell.

2. Curb appeal: When showing houses, it has come to my realization that most people, whether they like it or not, judge a book by its cover. You want to set the expectation for your home. Simple and cost effective tricks like painting your front door, adding a new mailbox, planting some flowers, or even laying some fresh sod can help portray positive first impressions to that ever so judgmental buyer. If it happens to be winter and half the options I suggested just will not suffice. Then just normal maintenance like snow removal, a winter wreath on the door, or even a friendly snowman on the lawn so that the buyer can associate your home with a happy one.

3. Once you have the buyer through your front door, you want them to be pleased with the simple aesthetics of your home. Your interior should be clean, de-cluttered, and de-personalised. The fewer knickknacks and unnecessary furniture you have the larger your home appears. Also, de-personalizing is beneficial because, even through it still is your home, you want the buyer to be able to visualize themselves in it. Through removing family photos, and any personal religious materials, you are allowing your potential buyer to see themselves and their family within the walls of your home.

4. Lastly, the more flexible you are about scheduling appointments for viewing the better off you will be. Try to make it as easy as possible for agents to show your home. When you put restrictions, you are setting the impression that you are difficult to work with. Also there is the small detail of the over abundance of homes on the market. Unless your home is a running favourite of the buyer, it may get skipped over for convenience sake.

These points are not to say that they are the only important factors. They are the ones that strike me as the most important and most effective ones from past experience.