When you are getting ready to list your home think about those things that set your home apart from the rest. Take a step back and approach it like the potential buyer who will make an offer on your home. And, remember 2 keys ideas: 1) You don’t live in your home the same way you sell it. 2) It only takes one buyer.
If you can’t find the one thing that sets your home apart you can do 3 things: 1) Go online to virtual tours to see the homes your home is competing against. Look at homes in the same area and priced the same as you plan to list yours. 2) Go to new construction homes nearby to see how their designers arranged the furniture. Unfortunately, even if your home is a true custom – one-of-a-kind home – it doesn’t necessarily set it apart from the semi-custom homes. Semi-custom homes are constructed with integrity and if they are brand new they can show better than a home that is 10 years old that hasn’t been kept up or is dated. So, again, ask yourself what sets my home apart from all the rest? 3) Go to open houses or ask your Realtor to take you to a few homes that are direct competition.
Once you have done all you can to position and market your home then you have to wait. Waiting can often times be the hardest and most demanding part of the process! It’s not only challenging for you as the seller, it is challenging for the Realtor. Yet, the one thing I know is homes sell. We have received offers on every home we have listed so far. We have had a couple people who choose not to sell and wait for the better offer. From personal experience that is tough. We had a house we bought to flip and we didn’t get the price we wanted so we decided to rent it out. 8 years later we sold it. During those 8 years we learned a lot. My biggest advice on not taking an offer – consider what it costs to hold your house – monthly and annually: property taxes, maintenance, utilities, and the cost to get it back into show quality in order to sell it.
So again, what is it that sets your home apart? The pictures in this post are pictures of recent homes I’ve toured and interesting features that stood out to my clients.