The best price for your house | INCOMPROP BUSINESS JOURNAL

How do you make sure you get the best price for your house?

Fact is that there are certain indicators and drivers that is determining the realistic value of fixed properties. There is however a few basic principles that can be followed to assist in selling quicker, or even help to increase the price that a property fetch in the market. It may be viewed as a small margin when compared to the gross price of a property,...

BUT
....even if it is only R50 000, will you say no if someone wants to hand you R50 000 in return of a little of your own time and an expense from your side of say R 5000?

It is possible to get R50 000 or more more for you house by spending a small amount up front plus a little EFFORT from your side?   
   
HOW? You may ask?  Well it is actually quite SIMPLE!!  
(Feel free to share the link to this information.)

The first thing you need to do is to agree with yourself that you have decided to sell your house. You need to be able to make the distinction between “Your House”, which is home to you and “The House” that you are now going to sell.

SELL IN YOUR MIND

Before you actually sell your house, you need to get yourself in the right frame of mind. You will have to adapt to a seller’s approach.
1:  Get emotionally detached from your home.
2: View your house as a product for sale and not as your home any more.
3: Put on the hat of a purchaser. How will a client (purchaser) experience the product you have on offer?
4: Prepare your product for your client. (Remember, effort will pay off.)
5: Get yourself the assistance of an effective Real Estate Practitioner  that you are comfortable to work with.  Though many tend to shy away from paying commission to a real estate agent, it needs to be remembered that they do have the experience and expertise to assist you with proper evaluation, marketing and selling strategies. You don’t want the agent to skimp on service. Therefore don’t skimp on the remuneration of the agent.

FRESH PRODUCT

Memorise the keywords “FRESH PRODUCT”
Always think of the term “make it fresh” while preparing your house for sale. We all get used to our  homes and we tend to live with some things about the house that becomes a bit run down.  That bathroom ceiling that is crying out to be painted is not often heard, simply because we got used to the sound. We condone the unimportant things because there are always something much more important to spent time on.

FIRST IMPRESSION

Potential Purchasers judge your home as they get the very first view of it. MAKE IT COUNT!!
- Tidy the front garden
- Plant seasonal flowers
- Mow the lawn
- Sweep the walk ways
- Clean the structure from top to bottom:
   i.e. Roof, Gutters, Facias, Walls, Windows,
         Doors, Garage doors, Drive way
- Touch up or re-paint the street elevation of your house.
MAKE IT FRESH.

CLEAN THOROUGHLY  

Clean the inside of your house from top to bottom. THIS IS ESSENTIAL!!!

- Ceilings:
Wash down.
Check for mildew & clean. (Mildew cleaner).

- Light fittings & Ceiling fans:
Wash and clean inside.
Make sure all bulbs are fitted and working.

- Walls:
Wash down (Sugar Soap).
Remove picture studs, fill and paint.
Wash windows inside and out.
Clean inner frames of opened windows.
Clean window sills.
Clean blinds.
Wash curtains.
Wash down doors (check sides and handles)

-Floors:
Clean properly.
Have carpets cleaned & all stains removed.
Remove loose rugs that shows wear.
Fill chipped floor tiles with grouting.
MAKE IT FRESH.

DE- CLUTTER

Do this properly …LESS IS MORE!!
Rent storage if need to be and put your grandchildren’s inheritance in storage together with all your other hoarded treasure.

Remove superfluous items from all rooms. Hide figurines.
Throw out junk, newspapers and magazines. Put clothes, shoes and the like out of sight.
Clear walls as much as possible from pictures.
Remove access / bulky furniture.
MAKE IT FRESH

NEUTRALIZE

Think by yourself:  WHAT DOES THE BUYER SEE?
Potential buyers are looking for a home to buy. They’re not interested in your personalised items like family pictures, trophy’s, religious quotes or children’s artwork @ playschool.
Your buyer need to see your product (house YOU want to sell) as their future home where they will be living comfortably.
Make it easy for them by removing the items mentioned above.
Also, get rid of any loud paint colours, offensive wall coverings or in-your-face accessories.
Repaint in neutral colours. Lighter pastel colours will brighten a room up and make it look clean and bigger.
MAKE IT FRESH

A COUPLE OF DON'TS

Don’t try and act as a Selling Agent
Real Estate Agents are experienced sales people, experienced in the field of the property industry. They have various information sources available and are aware of prevailing market trends. Chances are good that they will be familiar with what other similar priced houses offer and what the selling points of your house are compared to those.

As a seller, do what you need to do to prepare your product. Once you have appointed and duly mandated a Real Estate Agent, take a step back and leave the actual selling process up to the agent. It is the agent’s job to sell the house and to get the best possible price for your product.
You, as the seller appoints the agent.
You as the seller is therefore the primary client of the agent. Though the purchaser will also be a client of the agent, the purchaser will be the secondary client of the agent. The loyalty of the agent could therefore be expected to be with the seller.
…remember, the higher the offer the agent gets on paper, the higher the commission. The agent will work for it.

- Don’t try and work the agent’s sale mandate.
- Don’t try and by-pass the agent in a sale.
- Don’t take part in the sale discussions during client viewings unless asked for information.
When asked about something during a viewing, just answer the question asked.
- Don’t elaborate on features of the house when asked something else.

Real Estate Agents are (supposed to be) professional intermediaries.
Don't be sensitive for critical remarks.
Think of your house as A PRODUCT FOR SALE
as soon as you made the decision to sell.
You want to sell your product (home), as fast as possible and for as much as possible.

Don't take potential buyers' comments / remarks personally.
Instead, think of it as free advice on how to improve your product to reach its highest potential.

Detach yourself emotionally from your home.

YOUR FOCUS:

Your focus must be on your product, but take heed.
Don't do costly renovations.
Avoid costly and major upgrades or structural changes.
It is best to limit the amount of time and money you put into your product in cleanliness and esthetical appeal rather than costly repairs.
Focus on the essentials — replace old floor coverings, tackle small repairs, paint, change outdated fixtures.
Create a clean, well light and spartan look.
Save your energy and money for your renovation projects on your new home.
Don't be confident that your house will sell itself.
The real estate market is like a game.
The more appealing your product is, the more attention will it get.
The more interest product is getting, the better the chances of getting a full price offer.
MAKE YOUR HOUSE LOOK FRESH!
Don't make the expense and purchase new furniture.
Rather focus on making your furniture less inside the house.
Spend a couple of Rands and purchase fresh looking throws for your beds.
Even the run down or stained couch can be tastefully covered in a clean fresh looking throw.
Some furnishings just need to be professionally cleaned to look fresh again.
REMEMBER, RATHER REMOVE THAN REDO
MAKE IT FRESH

Read More:

In Closure:

Have faith. You did what you had to do.
YOU MADE IT FRESH: Your product now has that extra advantage over most others on offer.

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Author: Cobus v d Merwe
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