Researching comparables is a must. Start with ForSaleByOwner’s Pricing Scout tool.
Visit Open Houses in your neighborhood to evaluate your competition.
Conduct your own Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and use tools offered by independent sources such as the Federal Housing Finance Authority.
Give serious consideration to hiring a local appraiser to give you a professional estimate of your home’s value.
Don’t overlook the local newspaper (in print or online) when researching current prices and recently sold prices.
An actual or virtual visit to the county courthouse is a must. There you can find prices of recently sold homes and records of improvements made to comparable homes in your neighborhood.
When you have a specific price in mind, run it by a few trusted friends, neighbors or coworkers to gauge whether you’re in the right ballpark.
Analyze your research and feedback and set your price.
Make sure every room is well lit. Have a fireplace? Be ready to light a fire when buyers visit to showcase your home's warmth and added ambiance
Keep your landscaping looking trim and tamed.
Keep your sidewalk and driveway shoveled. Even if you don’t have showings scheduled every day of the week, you want to the property to look well maintained to drive-by buyers.
Make sure every room is well lit. Have a fireplace? Be ready to light a fire when buyers visit to showcase your home’s warmth and added ambiance
Keep your kitchen clean with dishes put away and the garbage out of sight.
Fresh flowers and live plants in kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms look great and add an appealing scent that’s not as overwhelming as some candles can be. Don’t go overboard – you don’t want to trigger a buyer’s allergies.
Make sure your bathrooms are spotless. Keep countertops clutter-free.
Decide on your negotiating strategy. Are you adamant about receiving full price? Will you attempt to meet the buyer in the middle? Will you work toward being certain that your absolute bottom line is met?
Over the phone or the Internet will work, but negotiating in-person can be of real benefit since it allows you to read the other side’s body language.
Getting to yes is your goal, not besting the buyer. Resolve to keep your emotions in check and approach your negotiating process in a logical manner.
Update your comparables so you enter into negotiations knowing what is happening in your local market today.
Make a list of items you would be willing to negotiate about with a buyer. For instance, would you be willing to leave your children’s play set behind as part of the deal?
Perform a thorough self-inspection of the house to anticipate what the buyer’s inspector might find. Then fix what you can and prepare to negotiate around anything you can’t afford to fix.
If your chimney is not capped, take care of that. It’s an easy fix and a chimney with no cap is noticeable.
Start by taking a good look, from the outside so you can see what house hunters will see. Then make improvements or enhancements that will make your home look great when buyers arrive.
If you’ve always thought a new patio would be a great addition to your yard, consider putting it in now. It can be a relatively inexpensive way to improve your home in a highly visible way.
Be sure your gutters, soffits and fascia are in good shape and siding is mold free.
Does your deck need work? Take care of it now.
If your chimney is not capped, take care of that. It’s an easy fix and a chimney with no cap is noticeable.
