Some considerations on how to sell my home

It seems like an easy task for which no reflection is necessary but it is somewhat more complicated and involves first knowing the answer to these questions. 



How much is my home worth?

To establish the value of the property it is essential to get the market price right.

Firstly, an independent expert is needed to value the property.

Secondly, it is essential that the expert, which is best if it is a real estate agency specializing in the area in question, informs me of all the real estate available on the market in the area, indicating the weaknesses and strengths of my home with respect to each of those offered on the market.

Thirdly, that real estate agency should provide me with a list of similar houses sold in my area in order to have an idea of the closing prices, which almost never coincide with the starting prices.

Finally and depending on all this, the real estate agency will recommend me a sale price to go on the market and sell it, which in a market like the current one where there is a latent demand; the sale process should not take more than six months.

Making a mistake in the starting price is a mistake that will lead me to offer the house in a much longer time than expected, and to have to go down until the buyer sees my offer with interest, logically in that scenario, my position towards the buyer will weaken.

So the strategy of putting the house on the market as many sellers do, with plenty of time because "they are not in a hurry" at a price higher than the valuations of the experts in the area is not a good selling strategy.



Should I entrust the sale of the house to a real estate specialist in the area?

Undoubtedly, and in spite of the digital media and general housing websites to which we all have access, the real estate agencies that work in the area of my property have resources that a private individual does not have:

- A portfolio of clients forged over the years that a private individual cannot benefit from.

- I filter visits by showing my property only to potential buyers with the capacity and intention to buy.  I am repelled by the curious.

- Professional marketing and advertising capabilities, using professional photographers, videos and other tools to assure me the first positions in my ad.

- Collaborations with other real estate agents to reach the widest spectrum of clients.

- High profile clients thanks to contacts with multinational companies that bring expatriate managers and entrepreneurs.

- Professionalism in the management of visits and dealing with the client. At this point, it is very beneficial to rely on a trustworthy agency because by placing the responsibility of the sale on it, the real estate agency will commit with the seller to achieve the objective. If the management is given to numerous real estate agencies, none of them will feel committed to the sales target.



Preparing the property to be visited

The property should be as attractive as any other product that is being offered to us. For it, everything that we can do and is in our hand helps to sell. Here are some examples:

- Ventilate the house making sure there are no odors.

- Draw curtains, blinds, etc., letting as much light as possible through the windows.

- If the house is dark, make sure to have the lights on when the buyer enters.

- All blinds should be raised.

- Eliminate noises from TVs, vacuum cleaners, and other annoying noises.

- The more impersonal the better, try to have few objects in sight, large furniture dwarf the rooms. Try to have everything tidy and few objects.

- Impersonalize the property, too many personal objects distract from the objective of the property.

- Let the agent show the property on a first visit. Buyers are much more relaxed when the seller is not there. The presence of the seller on a second visit to explain or elaborate on the virtues of the property does help.