Selling A Home In New Jersey – The Home Selling Process
Finding the right buyer who is willing pay the right price—or true market
value —for your home may not happen overnight, but following the right
steps prior to putting your home for sale will increase your chances of closing
a deal that suits both you and your home’s future owner.
1) Enhancing your home’s exterior features and environment
Prior to inviting any prospective buyers to your home, ensure that the outside of your home is presentable, tidy, and free of any major distractions or obstacles, such as snow piles on your doorsteps. Remember, you’ve got one chance to make a good impression. The following are examples of how home owners can render the outside of their homes more appealing and inviting to incoming guests.
-Trim the shrubs
-Mow the lawn and backyard; rake any leaves
-Remove any objects (e.g., toys, bicycles,) surrounding the property
-Clear the walkway and doorsteps of any snow or leftover salt or debris
-Re-paint or scrub your front door
-Turn off any sprinklers
-Clean the windows
-Tidy up your front porch
-Etc…
2) Enhancing your home’s interior features and environment
As with making the outside of your home presentable and appealing, we encourage you to do the same with the inside of your home. Since potential home buyers will be spending the bulk of their time inside your property, you will have to expend a little more time and effort cleaning, enhancing and addressing
any maintenance issues in this part of the household.
A) Improving the aesthetics: Cleaning & re-decorating
- Clean all rooms in the household: living room, bathrooms, kitchen, etc.
- Tidy up and create more room in storage areas (e.g., closets, attics)
- Apply any minor decorative work to fixture items that need attention; this could include replacing wallpaper, varnishing the floors, or adding a few touch- ups to painted walls.
- Replace any jaded, worn out, or excess ornaments and non-fixture items (e.g., plants, table cloths, shower curtains, bed sheets, towels, pillows, and area rugs, etc.)
- Remove or replace any excess or visibly tarnished furniture that could serve as minor distractions. (e.g., chipped stools) to prospective buyers.
B) Repair and maintenance
Address any maintenance issues that could surface while prospective buyers are reviewing your home. This will help preserve the structural integrity of your household and increase your chances of selling it
at your targeted price range. Verify for any leaking faucets; replace any burn-out bulbs or fuses; fix squeaky or sticky cabinets or closest doors; fill any visible cracks in the walls or floors, or replace any missing tiles or loose doorknobs. These are just some of the maintenance considerations that you ought
to seriously think about prior to showcasing your property for sale.
C) Create an accessible and safe environment for prospective buyers Homeowners with young children have grown accustomed to living with a lot of “stuff” lying around where they shouldn’t be, from roller blades to water guns to toy figurines still floating in the bathroom sink. By getting rid of the clutter in your home you will create more accessible space or “walking room”
for your guests, let alone project a more polished image of the property.
D). Camera, lights, action!
Turn all your lights on and invite as much sunshine as you can into your home prior to having potential buyers walk in the door. This will add that extra warmth and glow to your home while making it clear for your guests to see some of the finer details in the property.
3. The only guests you should be expecting are prospective buyers
Try to keep the number of people in your home at an absolute minimum before having guests tour the property. You don’t want to make your guests feel like they’re intruders while people are still in the house. Refrain from having any non-family guests (e.g., your nanny, your spouse’s best friend, your
budding neighbour) come over while you’re expecting prospective buyers.
4. Create a temporary pet-free zone
Dogs and cats can enliven the household, but try to isolate them somewhere in or outside the house while your guests tour the property. The goal here again is to have your guests review the property with as little distraction as possible. Have your pets play in the yard or in the garage.
5. Some quiet please.
Minimize or turn off any audible sound that maybe be coming from the radio, washing machine, TV, or any other noise-emitting device that could potentially detract guests from reviewing your home.
6. Managing negative feedback
For some reason or another, should a prospective buyer harshly criticize any aspect of your home, try to keep a poker face on and have one of our associates handle the negative feedback.
7. Leave it to the professional
With knowledge of both the seller’s and buyer’s needs, we will match your home’s key selling features with the requirements of buyers, thereby increasing the probability of securing a sale that serves the interests of both parties.
8. Don’t Turn Your Home into a Second Hand Store
When prospects come to view your home, don’t distract them with offers to sell those furnishings you no longer need. You may lose the biggest sale of all.
9. Help Your Agent
Your BrayBurns associate will have an easier time selling your home if showings are scheduled through this office.