Selling Your Home Privately

Tips For Home Owners Selling Privately

By Tim Stokes

If you're planning on selling your home or investment property privately for the first time, here's some tips to ensure your property sells quickly and for the best possible price.

First Impressions

First impressions are critical. You can spend thousands of dollars in advertising to get the buyer to the door, but if the buyers first reaction is negative, you are back to square one.

Pretend that you are the buyer. Go out to the street and sit in your car. Then get out and walk up to main entry slowly. Have a really good look at your home. With pen and paper, make a list of all those things that you would want fixed if you were buying the home right now. These are the same items that any real buyer will want you to fix. Buyers are a poor judge of the cost of repairs, and they always build in a large margin for error.

Make the home look attractive and welcoming from the outside. Plant flowers in the front yard to add colour and warmth. Get your lawns mowed and have shrubs well trimmed. Put away all your garden tools, they don't impress a buyer, they make them think "lots of work to look after this place". Park your vehicle across the road and not in front of the house where it will obscure a buyers view of the property.

Preferably leave you car out of the garage. You want to show how spacious your garage is, not that you need to be a supermodel to squeeze out from the drivers door.

Welcoming In

The main entry and hall must create a welcoming impression. This is basic home staging. If the access is difficult, make it better. The house should have a light and pleasant odour. Keep lights turned on in darker rooms and make sure all blinds and curtains are wide open.

Clean and Uncluttered

Eliminate refrigerator art. Clear all counter tops of all but the most basic appliances. Make sure taps aren't leaking and make all stainless steel shine. The same goes for bathrooms. Think uncluttered, light, clean and sparkling.

Make sure that none of your furniture impedes traffic flow around the house. Perhaps rearrange to create more space and maybe put a few pieces in storage if necessary. Piles of anything are bad news. Box it up and store it while your home is being shown.

Keep These Out Or Away

Pets can cause allergys or be frightening to potential buyers. Take them out for a walk, or keep them occupied well away from the buyers.

Keep yourself away too if an agent is showing the property. Your presence can make a buyer feel they are intruding in your home, causing them to leave prematurely. The longer a buyer stays in your home, the more chance there is that they will make an offer.

NEVER apologise, no matter what shortcomings your home may have. Your home is the greatest place to live and a positive attitude from your agent or yourself can easily rub off on the buyer.

What's your property Worth?

What your home is worth is dependent on a number of factors, but mainly:

1. Recent comparable sales in your neighbourhood.
2. What is currently on the market in your neighbourhood.
3. The condition of your home.

What does not affect a homes value?

1. What you paid for it.
2. The amount of cash you need to buy a new home.
3. What you say your home is worth.
4. What I say your home is worth.
5. What an agent says your home is worth.

Your Home Brochure

If you are selling your home yourself, make sure you put together a good information pack. Photocopies are fine, although a colour picture on the front page, if attractive, is worthwhile. These packs should include detail on:

The size of the home (square metres or feet).

The size of the Lot.

The annual rating amount.

Names of the nearest schools, shops, parks, bus stop.
(a map with these indicated on would be even better)

A copy of the Certificate of Title or an Aerial photograph can often be very helpful.

Your contact details.

And of course your asking price or pricing details.

This article is used with kind permission from Homewardfound.co.nz, a resource of free articles and information for first home buyers and newbie investors.
Visit www.homewardfound.co.nz for more information.