Getting From 'For Sale' to 'Sold'

For Sale to Sold

Getting From 'For Sale' To 'Sold'In today's changing real estate market, many things happen quickly. Here are some key facts to keep in mind to ensure your home sale goes smoothly. Prepare When your home is up for sale, it not only needs to look good it must also be functioning in top form. KEY: Make any needed repairs before listing your home or hire a local handyman if the to-do list is too long or too hard for you to tackle. Staging You've probably heard the term "staging" -- making a home look picture-perfect and ready to move into. KEY: Don't forget to make every space in your home look welcoming, including outdoor living areas. Visit new model-home sites for ideas or search homes magazine images for inspiration if you choose not to hire a professional home stager. Appraisal In a rising market, sometimes the appraisal can be the roadblock to a closed sale. Appraisers might use comparable property sales that are out of date (more than a few months old) and will not support the current contracted sales price. KEY: Ask your real estate professional to oversee the process and provide the appraiser with information that supports your contract price, such as the features and prices of recent listings, homes under contract and closed sales.

DE-CLUTTER Prepping For The Big MoveHeading for a new home? Packing and moving your belongings can be an overwhelming task -- especially if you haven't successfully de-cluttered. As you prepare for a move, examine each drawer, closet, shelf, box, nook and cranny, then clear it out into four piles: keep, toss, sell, give away. Keep: Organize items you'll keep before you put them in a moving box. File papers, sort clothes by season or style, put like items together, group objects by room or use -- and then pack. Unpacking will be simpler and faster if you organize ahead of the move. Toss: Throwing items away may be the easiest; just put them in the garbage or recycling bin. Consider first, however, whether someone else might find those items useful or valuable. Sell: If you have the time and motivation, you could hold a yard sale to make some money on the things you no longer want or need. Or, you could take them to a local consignment store or list them for sale in your local paper or online at craigslist, eBay, etc. Give away: For items you can't sell or don't want to hassle with, determine whether they can be donated to a local organization, picked up by a worthy charity or, if time permits, offered free on craigslist or other websites. TIP: We all know that the closer we get to moving day, the more items move into the toss pile simply because of time constraints. Start early with de-cluttering to keep useful items out of the landfill.