Need to sell your Utah home? Maybe you’re downsizing? Maybe you’ve outgrown your house? With the Silicon Slopes expanding throughout Utah, and more companies moving to the area, we see more and more population movement which adds to the Utah Home Values changing quickly. Here are 10 things to know before selling your home!
Often times, owning a house is a person’s most valuable asset. Don’t leave the value of your most expensive asset to a computer generated algorithm or someone that isn’t an expert in the field or area. In Utah, we all know at least five Realtor’s but make sure you do your research before you sell your house!
My List of “Must’s” Before Selling:
- Interview multiple agents BEFORE hiring one. As hard as it might be, don’t just pick a family member or friend because they have their real estate license. At the end of the day, selling your house is a business – there is a lot of money at stake! Ask the agent questions such as what is their marketing plan to sell your house, do they work real estate full-time, do they have any real estate credentials, will they stage your home, will they give you a list of things to do before selling? I can’t stress how important this is and if you want to read more about these questions, check out my article What to look for when hiring a Realtor in Utah.
- You only get one chance to make a first impression. I’m sure you’ve heard that thousands of times but it’s true! You need to make sure you have curb appeal inside and outside of your home before you put it on the market.
- If you have repairs, do them before you list. I have found that if you don’t do repairs you know you need to do before you list a house, buyers typically ask for at least double what it will actually cost to repair. Not doing some repairs may even prevent you from getting an offer.
- Smell test! Now this is a BIG one and something that is very uncomfortable for people to address (both homeowners and agents tip toe around this). Every house has a smell too it – good or bad but it needs to be addressed because your house can be the most adorable house on the market but smells can turn a buyer off your house QUICKLY. Look, I love my dogs (just ask my kids – they say I love the dogs more than them); but if your animals defecate (on accident or on purpose in a litter box) in your house buyers will smell it, guaranteed. It doesn’t matter if it’s an animal smell, spices you cook with, a moisture problem, or you have air fresheners going so strong that you get dizzy walking in the house (believe me I’ve experienced all of these!).
- De-Clutter and De-Personalize. This is another hard one for people. It took my mom four years to move out of the house once my stepdad passed away but when it was time to sell, I flew to San Diego to help her because I knew no one else would care about my mom getting top dollar for her house like I did. But to get top dollar, it meant having this very difficult talk about de-cluttering and de-personalizing. Literally, the week I was there helping my mom get her house ready to sell she must have cried a dozen times (and I don’t say that with pride, it killed me to see my mom upset) but at the end of the week, she felt better than she had in years. But the one thing I kept telling her throughout the process was, “You have to pack stuff anyway when you move, so do it now when you aren’t in a time crunch to be out of your house!” Pictures on walls, knick knacks, your linen closet, kitchenware that you barely use…it all needs to be packed up. My mom had multiple offers on her house and above list price when she listed it. And she told me multiple times how happy she was that I made her pack up so much before she listed it.
- CLEAN! And I mean really clean. Baseboards, carpets, windows, shelves, cabinets, floors, ceiling fans, scuff marks and on and on. Make sure everything is well cleaned and your house looks like you imagine a new house would look.
- Staging your house. Staging increases the amount of money you get for a house and helps sell quicker. Now there are all kinds of stats you can find on this topic. Staging or semi-staging is so important when it comes time to sell.
- It’s no longer 1990. That’s right, and the real estate industry needs to catch up with that. The chances of someone driving by your house and buying from your yard sign or open house is about 7% (According to NAR 2018 Profile of Home Buyer and Seller Guide). The internet is now the number 1 source for a buyer finding their home. And Millennial’s are currently the largest group of home buyers so you need to meet them where they’re shopping. You need a strong, strategic, digital marketing plan. (See chart below from NAR)
- Cheaper isn’t always better. Look, I’m probably one of the most frugal people out there, I don’t like overpaying for things. But there is something to be said for quality and expertise. There is so much to know legality wise with the Utah real estate purchase contract that you don’t want to be on-the-hook because you or your representation didn’t understand the real estate purchase contract completely. On the same token, make sure that the agent has incentive to sell your house quickly and for top dollar. After all, if they’re getting a salary regardless if they sell your house or not – how much incentive do they have? If the house isn’t selling, most of the time they aren’t going to increase their advertising spend to have your house seen by the masses but instead have you keep lowering the price. Now, there are times for price drops but it shouldn’t be the go-to solution.
- Overpricing. If you think that overpricing can give you more room to negotiate, you could be hurting yourself more than helping sell your house. In this day and age, buyers are savvy to the market and know when a house is overpriced. This will deter people from even looking at your house or making an offer. When your house first hit’s the market, you get the most activity and interest so don’t waste that valuable time being priced too high.
If you’re considering selling your home, contact me today and let’s talk!
