Selling Your Own Home

Steps You Should Take

When selling your own home, the first thing you should do is get the home ready to show. Fix up your home so that everything is in proper working order, and have everything looking clean and neat. This is called "home staging." Staging is the process of highlighting the positive features of a home.

Buyers nowadays want the “best” and at a good value for their money. In a competitive marketplace, there’s not much point in being average - especially if you hope to sell your home quickly.

In a good market, the sale price can be 10 percent to 15 percent above the appraisal. In a weaker market, the sale price may be around the appraisal figure.

Real estate experts recommend using the services of a real estate attorney and realtor when selling your own home. When borrowers are financially strapped and need to sell their home quickly, they have a tendency to neglect important aspects; particularly obtaining legal counsel.

At minimum, real estate contracts should be reviewed by a lawyer to ensure real estate transfer documents are legally binding and properly submitted through the appropriate court.

The most important rooms that must "show well" are the bathrooms and the kitchen. Bathrooms must be clean and uncluttered. All the faucets and fixtures should work properly. The kitchen is particularly important, so let's give it some special attention.

For many buyers, the kitchen is the most important room in the house. Since the kitchen has the ability to make or break a sale, you should do everything you can to enhance it before showing your home to buyers. Next to painting, kitchen improvements have the most impact on the selling price of the house.

Remember, money you spend here is a cost of selling your own home. You don't want to do a complete renovation, but rather take some affordable steps to show the kitchen in the best possible way. Start by creating space.

The kitchen should look large and roomy. Clear counters of all clutter. Take everything you can out of drawers and shelves and move it all into storage.

Prospective buyers like to open drawers. What you want them to see is plenty of space, not a lot of old pots and pans.

Painting is always the most profitable improvement. A fresh coat of light, neutral color paint on your kitchen walls will make them look spotless and new. That's exactly the look you want.

Again, when selling your own home, keep counter tops cleared of all clutter. If they look old, you should consider new ones. The color of the counter tops should be a neutral earth-tone.

Replacing old cabinets is expensive and probably doesn't make sense. But you can change the hardware, or paint the outside surfaces. Do something to make them look fresh.

In summary, buyers will be quick to notice any shortcomings in your kitchen. So you want to do everything you can to give the room a clean, open look.

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