Selling your house is a team effort. I'll explain why you are the most important member and what you can do to help your real estate agent get your house sold for the most money, as quickly as possible.
The most important person on a real estate team is … YOU!
There are several things a real estate agent can do to help—or hinder—the sale of your home. But the agent is only part of the picture here. When an agent lists the house for sale, they are going to give you a bunch of things to put on your to-do list.
First, you need to tidy up. Your children’s paintings need to be put away because other people need to be able to see their own children’s paintings on the refrigerator or their own vacation photos on the mantle. You need to appeal to the masses, and potential buyers need to be able to see themselves living in the house.
And keeping the place tidy in general is beyond essential. It can be hard, but it will help you keep your sanity! The last thing you want is to get a call at 3:00 in the afternoon for a showing in an hour. You’re at work, the dishes are still in the sink from the night before, and you rushed out without making the bed that morning. It’s not in your best interest to show your house in this state since it certainly wouldn’t bring you the most money!
Second, speaking of showings, your home needs to be available for showings every day, especially on weekends. It’s impossible to sell a house if people can’t see it. Of course, that doesn’t mean it will be shown every day, but your real estate agent needs to have the ability when the request comes in. Twenty-four-hour’s notice is ideal, but sometimes someone will call and want to see the house that afternoon. The LAST thing you want is to find out they wrote an offer on the property down the street instead, just because they couldn’t get into yours!
I know this can be a huge inconvenience, but putting your personal photos and items away, keeping a tidy house, and having your house available as much as possible is truly is the difference between selling your house for the most money possible and having it sit on the market for a while and losing money.
