First Time Home Sellers

Many ads these days center around first time home buyers. But no one seems to understand that a first time home seller has just as many questions and needs! So here are a couple key points for those selling their home for the first time.


In General
1. This side is nicer - you get money instead of paying it!

2. Hire a real estate agent that you really connect with - sometimes this gets emotional and trying so it is great to be able to express your feelings as you go along.

3. As far as safety, don't let just anyone into your home. Get a card from all the real estate agents coming with their buyers and lock up your valuables. It is normal for buyers to check out your closets, not normal for them to look through your drawers. Lock the house up after they leave. Leave exterior lights on when possible. Get more tips from your real estate agent.


Showing Your Home to Prospective Buyers
1. Clean it up! Dust everywhere, vacuum, mop, make it shine. Cut down on your decorations (a.k.a. clutter, tchotckes.) While you do not want your home to look impersonal, you want these buyers to be able to imagine their stuff in the house, not just your stuff. For instance, leave your furniture out, but remove 75% of your pictures. A vase on an end table is nice, every trinket you got from your past 5 vacations is not.

2. Make it smell good. Get a really honest friend or neighbor to come over and test sniff your house as soon as they walk in the door. If it smells bad, fix it. Clean more. If the smell is animals, get them bathed professionally to remove excess fur and deodorize, clean the litter pans, whatever it takes. If it is cooking odor, clean the kitchen again and stop cooking those foods until you sell the house. DO NOT LET ANYONE SMOKE IN YOUR HOUSE. Even smokers don't like the smell when home shopping. If you just painted, open the windows when possible. Please don't just spray air freshner, as it only masks the odor. Find it and fix it, and then spray a little air freshner to compliment your cleaning. It can't be said enough - the initial smell can break the deal every time.

3. Leave, when possible. Buyers want to be able to talk to their agent about your house and will not do it if you are anywhere nearby. Buyers will also rush through the house if they feel they are intruding on you. I know it is a pain, but you want top dollar, right?

Negotiating
1. When an offer comes, let your agent explain the entire thing while you keep an open mind. Particularly in this market, most offers do not start at full price. This is the time to put your emotions on that newly cleared off shelf and think business. If the buyer offered you less money, did they waive some normal contingencies? How big is the deposit? What is a strong counter offer?

2. Everyone thinks their own home is fabulous the way it is, but the home inspection will change all that. Having the home inspection performed can be tramatic - people poking around everywhere looking for flaws. And guess what - every house has flaws, whether is is brand new, 100 years old, original or rehabbed. Sometimes overzealous sellers follow the inspector around defending every flaw, driving the inspector crazy. DON"T DO IT. Let the inspector do his or her job and stay out of the way. You can keep an eye on the process so if there is an issue you can see it, but do not argue. Real estate agents see inspection lists all the time and will be able to let you know what is and isn't reasonable for repairs in their opinion. In the end, the buyers just want to make sure they are buying a safe home and not have huge repair bills during the first few years. Keep that in mind when reviewing requests for repairs.

Getting to Settlement
1. Move. Yeah, it seems obvious but it holds up more settlements than you want to know. Know where you want to go before you list it and then get started on the preparations. Plan on being out of the house a couple days before settlement since it always takes longer than planned to get everything out.

2. Clean - once your stuff is out, go through and clean it up again. In Maryland, the standard contract calls for the house to be "broom swept." Not perfect, but not messy either. Clean out the fridge completely (no old jars of mayo.) make sure the trash is out of the basement, etc.

3. Go to settlement! At this point the buyer's financing should be done and everything is ready to go. Bring all the extra keys, some patience, and a smile. Leave the buyer your forwarding address. Settlement usually takes about an hour but can take much longer if there are any issues. And smile when you get that check!

For many more of the nuts and bolts of selling your house in Maryland, email me at julia.bayne@remax.net



Disclaimer - every house and situation is different. These are general guidelines and should be overruled by your local experts where appropriate.