Educating Sellers Preparing To Sell Southern Pines Real Estate

Are you ready to sell your Southern Pines home? Unless you have been living under a rock lately, then you know that the national real estate market has become an overwhelming buyers market-meaning there are more homes on the market than home buyers. While the Southern Pines real estate market has been lucky to not get hit quite are hard as many other areas around the country, as a home seller you are still going to have to go the extra mile to make your home stand out from the crowd. As an expert Southern Pines real estate agent, it is my job to make sure you are fully educated on your role in selling your property.

Be an Active Southern Pines Home Seller

First off, you are saving yoursef a lot of time and trouble by listing your Southern Pines home for sale with an expert Southern Pines REALTOR. Not only do real estate agents have a data base of current Southern home buyers, but we also have a network of REALTORS to market your home quicly to the right buyers-and will be able to match your home to the best buyers more quickly than if you were to attempt to sell it yourself.

However, simply because you are teamed with an expert Southern Pines real estate agent doesn't mean that you no longer need to do anything with your home! Many home sellers make the grave mistake of not wanting to stage, update, or touch up their homes, and by not doing some small, quick, and cost friendly changes you could lose out on a buyer. There are a number of matters that can affect a Souhern Pines home sellers' interests, and you owe it to yourself to be educated on how to handle the following various situations:

• Make Your Property Attractive. For example, keep your grass mowed and the lawn tidy. Trim bushes, pull weeds, add mulch, and plant some colorful flowers to enhance your curb appeal.
• Repair Broken Items. That screen that has been torn forever? The leaky sink faucet? GET THEM FIXED. A potential home buyer will only see that as a sign the house was not maintained or not cared for-and it will get them wondering what else has not been fixed. Additionally, you want your home to stand out from all the other ones for sale-having broken things for home buyers to view will only make your home rank lower on their list.
• Get Rid Of Clutter. Even though you are in love with your seashell collection from the last 20 years of family beach trips, potential home buyers will have the same warm fuzzy feeling your family does when they walk in and see seashells everywhere. Pack up everything you can to show off and optimize the SPACE in your home. Clear off kitchen counters, but appliances away, take down walls of family portiats and pack them safely for your move to your new home. Paint neutral colors throughout any rooms that need fresh coats. Take photos and items off your fridge for a fresh clean look. Get rid of any furniture you can to open up space.
• Remember To Keep Valuables Safe. Even though potential home buyers will be accompanied by an agent, remember that one agent may have  hard time watching ever member of the home buying party at all times. To avoid a disapointing situation all together, simply remove valuables or keep them safeguarded, for instance, put them in a safe, locked in a storage shed, or even pick one closet/cabinet that will remain locked during any home viewings or open houses.
• Have Your Property Available To Home Buyers. While we just went over keeping your valuables safe, it is still important to keep your home available for showings everyday, including early evenings and weekends. Remember that most home buyers will probably be working similar 9 to 5 jobs, so even though you want to come home and relax after work, keep in mind that you may need to accomadate the work schedule of potential home buyers. Have a fun place, like the local coffee shop or neighborhood parks already planned to take your family as a short notice treat whenever you find out a potentail home buyer is able to come. Also keep in mind that as your home selling agent, I will give you as much notice as possible about a home showing; however, many times home buyers and the home buying agent aren't able to give much a notice themselves, due to work schedules, how many homes they are able to fit into a day of showings, and other outside influences. 
• Let Your Agent Know A Schedule. Determine any times that you do not want the property to be shown, no matter what. For instance, if Sunday mornings is your family time, or when you want to work in your yard, then make them off limits to home showings, but leave Sunday afternoons and evenings free. 
• Don't Stick Around For Home Showings. As much as you may want to hear what home buyers think, or want to make sure everyone viewing your home is careful while opening cabinets and closets, do not stay. Not only will you make home buyers feel uncomfortable about discussing your home infront of you, you will also put foremost in their head that this is YOUR home, while you really want them to view it as THEIR home. The home seller truly will make potetial home buyers feel uncomfortable about discussing colors, carpet, flooring, space, furniture etc. You want home buyers to be able to critizie anything and talk about it-if one person in the party hates the wall color in your kitchen, they will be more likely to say it without you there, and thus open up the conversation with the rest of their party about what they would want to do to the kitchen when they move in. If home buyers don't have they chance to discuss changes they would want to create to make the home THEIRS, they may instead just tell other members of the party they didn't like the home and skip discussing what exactly they didn't like and the home seller misses the chance for them to compromise on easy changes to make them fall in love with the home. By simply giving home buyers the freedom to discuss your home as theirs, you allow them to envision themselves living there-and perhaps being reminded by other party members that the kichen color would look amazing with the artwork they got on vacation last summer. 
• What Happens When Home Buyers Arrive Without An Appointment. This will happen, and sometimes they may show up without an agent as well. Marketing your home is one of my top priorities, and you will get the occational home buyer who sees flyers, signs, and other information about your home and decide to just drive out to view it for themselves. First off, never allow people into your home without an agent. Be polite and kind, but simply tell them that they will need to contact your selling agent to set up an appointment so they can enjoy a proper tour and have plenty of time to really view the home. Sometimes you will have agents showing other homes to their clients and they come across your home at the last minute and decide to see if they can stop for a showing. Always ask to view the agent's information and ask them to give you a few minutes to get out of the house. Never leave your home unlocked, as all agents will be able to get the lock code themselves-you never have to give that code out. If you feel uncomfortable about it, you are always welcome to call your home selling agent right away, or to even tell the home buying agent that it just isn't a good time, but suggest another time or day.