Why Selling Your Home for the Highest Price Takes More Than Just Throwing It in the MLS

Want to get the very most money for your home in this hot sellers’ market?

Most people don’t realize there is much more to selling a home than taking a few photos and throwing it on the MLS, especially if you want the very most for it in this hot seller's market.

 

Especially these days in this hot sellers’ market, many sellers think that all it takes to sell their home is to take a few photos and throw it up on the MLS (or maybe even skip the MLS altogether).

 

Sure, that can get a house sold by listing it haphazardly, but definitely not for the most money possible, and isn’t that the goal, especially right now?

 

Over the last few years, I’ve developed a 16-point selling system I call my Formula For A Successful Sale.

 

Why bother with 16 things to get a home sold when it could sell without any of these? Because my definition of a successful sale isn’t just getting a property sold. For me, it means getting my clients the very most money possible with the least amount of stress to them.

 

To do that it takes a lot more than just taking some photos and putting them up on the MLS. Doing that is like leaving money on the table, even when you factor in paying a commission.

 

So here’s what my formula for a successful sale looks like:

 

This topic deserves an entire article, it’s that important! But, prepping doesn’t have to be time-consuming, stressful, or expensive. Read all about how to prep your home for sale, even if it could sell in a day here.

 

Pricing, especially in this hot seller's market, is both an art and a science. Homes are selling for more than the “comps” would indicate, so pricing your home for a little more than what your neighbor’s sold for may not be enough. Plus, every home is slightly different, even if they look similar from the outside. There are certain “markers” that are best to price at to attract the most buyers. Pricing even $1,000 above one of these magical “markers” can ruin the sale.

 

Most properties have incorrect square footage listed in the tax record. Why? Because most people don’t want to report to the city that their home is larger than they are being taxed on it, or they don’t really know what their square footage is to report anyway. Most of the time, the tax square footage is much lower than the actual square footage. When I list a home, I pay extra to have the square footage professionally measured so that we can use the larger square footage in our marketing and it also helps with the appraisal part of the process once you go under contract, helping the property sell AND appraise for top dollar. You need both to get the most money possible for your home.

 

Buyers love having floor plans as a takeaway so they can measure their furniture when they get home and see where it fits in each room. This really helps them visualize their life and their stuff in your home. Once they can see how their life would work in your home, they are more likely to make a strong offer.

 

Staging a home ensures that buyers see it in its very best light, and can help illustrate what a property can offer without requiring a complete makeover. In fact, surveys show that staging helps sell homes 30 times faster than the nonstaged competition and that it can increase the sale price by up to 20% on average. This is because staging a home makes it easier for buyers to recognize when a house meets their expectations, while a lack of staging could mean that a buyer is unable to visualize the space—and what it can become—in relation to their vision.

 

I personally meet with the photographer to make sure we are getting exactly what we should (and shouldn’t) in the photos. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and I would say it’s worth a whole lot more! These days, the photos have to be perfect in order to bring buyers to your home. They are THE things that will help scrolling buyers stop in their tracks and want to come to see your home. We’ve got to nail the photos.

 

In addition to just plain photos, these days buyers also want to be able to “walk through” a home without having to physically walk through. Sometimes it’s because they aren’t living in the area currently and want to make their decision to buy a home without physically going to it, other times, they just want to see every crevasse in the house that sometimes are hidden by photos that are perfectly angled. Providing a 3-D tour builds trust with buyers because they feel like they can see every part of your home, not just want one-dimensional photos provided.

 

In addition to uploading photos and the 3-D tour to the MLS, I also create a virtual tour link as well. It serves as your home’s own personal website while it’s on the market.

 

This is becoming less important as people use their phones instead of paper to remember what a home looks like, but I still like to do them because every little thing helps. Sometimes the winning buyer asks for one after we are under contract just to keep it as a memento!

 

A Pre-Listing Home Inspection ensures a smoother, more efficient transaction. When issues are discovered during a pre-listing inspection, you’re able to have them fixed ahead of putting the home on the market or choose to disclose the issues to potential buyers. Moreover, it allows the buyer to know exactly what they are purchasing at the time they submit their contract, which could minimize the home inspection contingency while under contract and make the buyers more likely to close.

 

Most buyers and even agents, don’t know what the monthly payment and cash requirements are to buy a home. I work with my lender to provide financing examples for the most likely buyers so they know exactly what their monthly payments and cash requirements would be to buy your home. Most of the time, it’s a lot less daunting when they see the numbers in black and white, which, makes them even more interested in making an offer on your home.

 

Believe it or not, open houses don’t sell a home. Serious buyers have agents and want to schedule a private showing to view a home so they can take their time and not be distracted by all the other people who are there during the open house. Even though I know that open houses don’t sell homes, I use them as a way to get direct feedback from buyers to bring back to you. It’s amazing what we can learn directly from buyers and how honest they will be with their feedback. This information is crucial as we consider when to agree to an offer and which offer to take. The other reason I do open houses is that, if entered into the MLS correctly, it gives your home another “ping” on the apps. Many buyers will search for open houses and when your home is included in the results, it’s just another reminder to buyers that your home is worth seeing.

 

You never know where you’ll find your perfect buyer. Sometimes they aren’t actively looking for a home. So, instead of just throwing it on the MLS and hoping they see it, I actively go out looking for them. Facebook ads are a way to find buyers who maybe took a break from looking or just were distracted with other things and aren’t on the MLS to see your listing.

 

I love numbers! I can tell how likely your home is to sell, how quickly, and sometimes even how many offers we can expect just from looking at all the data. When I list a home, I have specific days and times that I sync up with you to report back on the data. There are certain times during the first week you are on the market when the data really matters and can help us make decisions like whether should we take that offer that has come in right away or should we wait until after the weekend and set a deadline to review all offers at once. The numbers will give us the information we need to help you make the right decision, so I track them daily once we go live on the market.

 

Speaking of going live, did you know there is a perfect day of the week and even time of the day to list a home? There is! This one is my listing secret so I’m going to keep it under wraps until closer to when you are ready to list your home.

 

In our area, we are getting a lot of buyers from out of town. Part of their decision to buy any home is knowing about the location. So, for those buyers that might not be aware of what makes the location of your home so special, I have printouts of articles explaining what’s around the area or what’s coming in and maps so they can see where your home is in relation to things that will be important to them from parks to their commute. Whatever makes your home’s location great, I make sure there is information the buyers can see while they are touring the home and print out enough so they can take away any of the material and read on their own. Rather than convince them why the location is so good, I rely on third parties explaining what makes your home’s location so desirable, which makes them trust the information provided more than if I tell them.

 

All of the above is included in what I cover as part of my services and I handle all the logistics for everything mentioned—from coordinating schedules to meeting people at your home to making sure everything runs smoothly every step of the way.

 

My definition of a successful sale isn’t just getting a property sold. For me, it means getting my clients the very most money possible with the least amount of stress to them. To do that it takes a lot more than just taking some photos and putting them up on the MLS. Sure, you could do that, but you’d be leaving money on the table, even when you factor in paying a commission.

 

This is what it takes to get the very most for your home, no matter how great the market is.

 

If you or anyone you know is thinking about selling their home, I’d love to put my formula for a successful sale to work and let it do its magic.