The average American will move 11-12 times in their lifetime, according to The United Census Bureau. The motivation behind these moves ranges from changing school districts to a change in income to downsizing. The common factor is that Americans are clearly not afraid to relocate.

It’s a big, beautiful country. Whether you’re moving across the city or across the country, we have a few tips for selling your home for the most money, in the least amount of time.

Where to Start

Before selling your home, there are a few things you should consider as you enter the open market:

• Hire a Realtor – many homeowners may be tempted to test the open market by selling their home themselves. Beyond the legal ramifications, advanced resources, and expertise involved with hiring a real estate agent, hiring a trained professional is proven to earn homeowners around 24% more on the average sale of their home than by selling it on their own.
• Be Realistic About Your Home’s Value- Every homeowner wants to maximize their investment, but many fall victim to out pricing their market. Using your Realtor’s expert advice and being realistic about the price in which your home will sell, will save you time and stress.
• Put Your Best Foot Forward- It’s important to produce a clean, polished look for your home when listing. The main reason for this is to attract potential buyers through photos. If someone can see a homely, but clean and blank home, they can envision their lives within its walls.
• Have Fun- For many, their house is truly a home. While the prospect of your move and new residence is exciting, you also can’t forget the memories collected over the years. The late nights in the backyard with neighbors, playing catch with your kids in front of your home or building your first coffee table in your garage-turned woodworking shop. Whatever the memories, they are yours and you should embrace them. Host a moving party and invite the special people in your life that have helped turn walls and a roof into a home and remember the times spent together while staying excited about your next chapter.

Once you’ve established a relationship with a Realtor, priced your home in a position to sell in your market, and shown your home in the best possible light, it’s time to list your home.

Listing Your Home

When listing your home, it is important to go over your marketing strategy with your real estate agent. Understanding your strategy is key in reducing your stress as a seller, and growing your investment’s sale price. If your home has been listed, there are several steps to assist further in the process:

• Ensure Your Realtor Hires A Professional Photographer- in the same vein in which you’ve hired your Realtor to be an expert in real estate, make sure they are wise enough to hire a professional photographer to market your property in quite literally its best light. A quick iPhone photoshoot simply won’t do the trick.
• Put Your Best Foot Forward…Wait Didn’t We Cover This Already?- In a sense, yes; however, it is important to also remember the importance of keeping your home in top condition while conducting showings. Agents can have homes that are made up for the photo shoot as if a professional stager had done so, but if reality doesn’t match the picture, it could all be for naught. You only get one opportunity to make a first impression, so make sure your home is looking the part when you are ready to sell. Properly placed furniture, clean surfaces, and fresh paint can go a long way when scheduling showings.
• Plan for Flexibility- between photo shoots, showings, open houses and more, listing your home can be a major disruption to your everyday life. Staying in your home during a showing is a listing agent’s Clients can lose themselves money by saying or asking the wrong things to potential buyers. Sellers should also consider making plans for the future in terms of their everyday life such as having a place to hold their pets for a certain amount of time or bring their kids during showings and open houses.
• Be Available for Your Agent- Imagine that you’ve just found a buyer, they’re highly motivated to place an offer, the offer comes, but because you didn’t take your Realtor’s call or email, they’ve found another place and moved on. Agents and clients must establish clear communication methods and techniques to ensure negotiations can successfully be achieved.

There are many other factors that will go into the sale of your home and while hopefully, nothing unexpected happens between listing and closing, there is a way to alleviate some of the stress.

Trust Your Realtor

Realtors in Texas must undergo 180 hours of college level courses before they are able to list and sell homes; they must also take several more hours once they receive their license as part of their continued education.

Agents are smart, hardworking experts in their field. When listing your home, your success is their success and no one takes this more seriously than the Realtors at CA Modern Realty. Our real estate agents have the tools to help you successfully market and sell your home.

Contact us today and see how we can help reduce the stress of moving and put you in the best possible position to succeed.