Here are nine ways to sell your home (via Metro DC Home Info). Of course, we’d like to add a 10th step—work with Brandon Green & Associates.

1. Know why you’re selling, and keep it to yourself

The reasons behind your decision to sell affect everything from setting a price to deciding how much time and money to invest in getting your home ready for sale. What’s more important to you: the money you walk away with or the length of time your property is on the market? Different goals will dictate different strategies.

Don’t reveal your motivation to anyone else, however, or they may use it against you at the negotiating table. When asked, simply say that your housing needs have changed.

2. Do your homework before setting a price

Settling on an offering price shouldn’t be done lightly. Once you’ve set your price, you’ve told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your home, but pricing too high is as dangerous as pricing too low.

Remember that the average buyer is looking at 15 to 20 homes at the same time they are considering yours. This means that they have a basis of comparison, and if your home doesn’t compare favorably with others in the price range you’ve set, you won’t be taken seriously by prospects or agents.

As a result, your home will sit on the market for a long time and, knowing this information, new buyers on the market will think there must be something wrong with your home.

3. Do your homework

Find out what homes in your own and similar neighborhoods have sold for in the past 6 to 12 months, and research what current homes are listed for. That’s certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home.

4. Find a good real estate agent to represent your needs

Nearly three-quarters of homeowners claim that they wouldn’t use the same Realtor who sold their last home. Dissatisfaction boils down to poor communication which results in not enough feedback, lower pricing, and strained relations.

5. Maximize your home’s sales potential

Each year, corporate North America spends billions on product and packaging design. Appearance is critical, and it would be foolish to ignore this when selling your home.

You may not be able to change your home’s location or floor plan, but you can do a lot to improve its appearance. The look and feel of your home generates a greater emotional response than any other factor. Clean like you’ve never cleaned before. Pick up, straighten, unclutter, scrub, scour, and dust. Fix everything, no matter how insignificant it may appear. Present your home to get a “wow” response from prospective buyers.

Allow the buyers to imagine themselves living in your home The decision to buy a home is based on emotion, not logic. Prospective buyers want to try on your home just like they would a new suit of clothes. If you follow them around pointing out improvements or if your decor is so different that it’s difficult for a buyer to strip it away in his or her mind, you make it difficult for them to feel comfortable enough to imagine themselves an owner.

6. Make it easy for prospects to get information on your home

You may be surprised to know that some marketing tools that most agents use to sell homes (such as  traditional open houses) are not effective. In fact only 1 percent of homes are sold at an open house.

Furthermore, the prospects calling for information on your home probably value their time as much as you do. The last thing they want to be subjected to is either a game of telephone tag with an agent or an unwanted sales pitch. Make sure information about your home is available online.

7. Know your buyer

In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. What is your buyer’s motivation? Does he or she need to move quickly? Does he or she have enough money to pay you your asking price? Knowing this information gives you the upper hand in the negotiation because you know how far you can push to get what you want.

8. Make sure the contract is complete

For your part as a seller, make sure you disclose everything. Smart sellers go above and beyond the laws to disclose all known defects to their buyers in writing. If the buyer knows about a problem, he or she can’t come back with a lawsuit later on.

Make sure all terms, costs, and responsibilities are spelled out in the contract of sale, and resist the temptation to diverge from the contract. For example, if the buyer requests a move-in prior to closing, just say no. Now is not the time to take any chances of the deal falling through.

9. Don’t move out before you sell

Studies have shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is vacant because it looks forlorn, forgotten, or simply not appealing. It could even cost you thousands. If you move, you’re also telling buyers that you have a new home and are probably motivated to sell fast. This, of course, will give them the advantage at the negotiating table.

We at Brandon Green & Associates guarantee to sell your home in under 90 days or we’ll sell it for free! We get paid only when we successfully deliver results. This means if we cannot sell your home in under 90 days, we will waive our commission.

Are the other agents you are meeting with offering to put their money on the table? For more information contact us.