Your home is probably your largest asset. The sale of it must be handled with care by a professional if you hope to protect your investment. This guide was designed with this goal in mind: to give you the tools that you need to make the most profit, to help you maintain control of the selling process, and to reduce your stress level during this time.

1. Evaluate your motivations in selling. This will help you in deciding a listing price, as well as the amount of money you are willing to invest in preparing your home for selling.
   
   
2. Keep personal information to yourself. Your reasons for selling are nobody else’s business. Don’t give a buyer ammunition to use against you.
   
   
3. Rely on your Realtor to do all the market research needed to provide you with comps showing where your home should be priced in competition with others.
   
   
4. Shop at open houses and online to see what other sellers are asking for their homes. Be sure to find out from your Realtor the actual sold prices of comparable properties.
   
   
5. Find a good Realtor who knows the market in general and your area in particular. She should furnish you with a marketing plan and information about herself. Take the time to evaluate realtors to select the person that you feel that you can work well with and that is enthusiastic about your home. Remember, selling your home takes teamwork!
   
   
6. Leave yourself some room to negotiate. Most buyers want to offer something lower than list price, and you want to have a range in mind that is acceptable. Don’t take a low offer personally.
   
   
7. Realize your home’s potential by doing what is necessary to make an initial great impression upon not only buyers but Realtors as well. People react to what they see, hear, feel and smell.
   
   
8. Don’t rely only upon your own judgment. This is your home and emotions can keep you from making an honest assessment of your home’s strengths and weaknesses. Deal with the less than desirable elements now.
   
   
9. Clean, clean, clean! Remove clutter, pack it up and move it out. Scrub and straighten. Make your home and yard shine!
   
   
10. Fix even the minor items that don’t work or have cracks. Buyers assume that a property hasn’t been well cared for if they see deferred maintenance not being addressed.
    
    
11. Make your home as neutral as possible. Help buyers “see” themselves in your home by removing most photos and person items. Flowers and a small dish of potpourri can enhance your home’s appeal. Get rid of odors. Send the dog or cat to “camp.”
    
    
12. Disclose everything. It is best to go above and beyond the call in disclosing all defects in writing.
    
    
13. Be calm during negotiations. The process doesn’t have to be adversarial, and you might have an advantage over an emotional buyer. Get as much information about your buyer as possible; this helps you negotiate more effectively. By all means get a pre-approval letter from the buyer’s lender.
    
    
14. Make sure that the contract is complete. All terms should be addressed and agreed upon in the written agreement.

This is a lot of work, but your home is valuable and you will be satisfied when all of your work pays off. Please call us if you would like additional information on what you have read here, or it you have any real estate questions.