Six Low Cost Pre-Listing Preps for Home Sellers
Increase the profit? Sometimes increasing the value of your home isn’t about increasing the actual list price dramatically but increasing the buyer’s perception of the value of your Bonita Springs home. With the help of great Bonita Springs listing agent you can tweak your home or condo to get the most bang for your buck, receive more offers if the market will bear it and receive offers closer to your list price – sometimes even above list price.
The fact of the matter is a home is going to appraise for what it is going to appraise for whether it’s located in Bonita Springs, Florida or any city. Let’s take, for example, a home valued at $400,000. If you could realize 98-100% of list price as a sale price by investing a little time and a few hundred dollars, why wouldn’t you? Here are six low cost, easy items that can reduce the gap between your list price and offer price.
1. Pricing and inventory. Know the importance of pricing on search brackets. Nearly everyone has a smart phone or a tablet and they’re searching for homes online, especially if they’re on vacation in Bonita Springs. If a home is valued at $400,000 and you price it at $405,000 you’re missing a significant price bracket of $375,000-$400,000 instead of parking right on $400,000 and straddling two brackets. More exposure. More notifications to Bonita Springs home buyers who already have searches set up and are just waiting for a new listing notification. You should also know what your inventory rate is. If your real estate agent can’t calculate that number, it’s an issue. The speed and success rate of selling your Bonita Springs home will vary wildly if there is a two year supply of homes or if there is a two month supply of homes.
2. Fix everything you can easily. Make a list or better yet get a pre-inspection and get a handy man to fix the items that come up. Your listing agent will have trustworthy dependable help who can economically perform these repairs and adjustments.
3. Eliminate polarizing issues such as odors, drastic paint colors, a carpet with a wrinkle or granny window valences. Don’t let a pepto-pink room become the point of contention when it can be eliminated for a couple hundred bucks. The same goes with a carpet wrinkle. Even the oldest of carpet gets a facelift when the wrinkle gets pulled out. The last carpet stretch we had done was in a home in Bonita Golf and Country Club. The home was beautiful and priced right but it looked like it needed new carpet. It was nearly as good as new with a $150 fix! Home buyers turn mole hills into mountains when they start guestimating repairs. After the carpet was touched up, the home buyers never even brought up the carpet and the home sellers were thrilled with their offer price that didn’t include a request to replace carpet after closing. $150 for a fix or a couple grand credit for new carpet, you be the judge.
4. Throw in a one year home warranty. It takes me about 4 seconds to pop off a text message to Donna at Home-Tech to find out how much a warranty is for a particular property. Maybe an A/C isn’t brand new but is working well and has seen regular maintenance. Alleviate a buyers worries with a $400 warranty and give them a year of peace of mind with coverage of appliances and major components.
5. Fluff up the front of the home and the front door. Make it pleasant to get to the home and to get into the home. Curb appeal sounds corny to some people but home buyers really appreciate curb appeal. Dust the beds with fresh mulch or put in fresh plants. Oil or adjust the front door. If you’re selling your Bonita Springs home and your deadbolt is installed upside down … even after living with it for all of these years, fix it. WD the lock and hinges. Make it easy to get in, without the hip bump.
6. Stage your home for showing success, from the photos through showings. We offer our home sellers complimentary staging and readying service with our listing program. It makes all the difference in the world to present well in the photos and get more buyers over the threshold and to make them stay longer when they tour. We have to make enough space for them to imagine their possessions in your home. You don’t have to have the newest, most modern decor. We can help you create a neutral space that give buyers pause for thought.
Give Chris a call if you’d like to learn more about listing your Bonita Springs home and how to easily and inexpensively get prepped for sale. 239-273-7430 is text friendly, too!