Is your home priced right?

Pricing Your Home

There are a lot of factors involved. And unless you do the necessary preparation, the sale may not go smoothly. You’ll need to clean and you will need to pack. And possibly, you will need to do some updating to maximize your returns. But no matter what you do, there may be factors that are beyond your control.

If your house is dated, you can update it. Or if it’s dirty you can clean. If it needs repairs, you can get the home repaired. But if it’s in a poor location or a bad school district you cannot do anything about that. But let’s talk about the things that you can easily control.

Every time I see at house priced at $399,000 I have to laugh. If you are reading this I am sure you have looked at homes online. And every site that you can search from uses preset price ranges to choose from. If you price your home at $399,000 and someone is looking between $350,000 and $400,000 they will see your home. But what if someone is looking between $400,000 and $450,000 ? Your home does not exist in their search.

Prepare For Sale

Is your home cluttered? Are there personal pictures and family momentoes covering the walls, table tops, shelves and the mantle? You don’t want home shoppers stopping to look at your photos and momentoes. You want them to look at the house. Do you have lots of furniture in some rooms? Remove some of the furniture. As a result, It makes the room look small.

Sometimes, people live in a house and no longer notice things that others do. The owners are immune to it. I am talking about a dirty and / or smelly house. We don’t notice the smell of pets, smoke or dirty laundry. We don’t notice that the baseboard molding have an inch of dust built up or that the windows are dirty. Ask someone to come in a give a good, unbiased look at the home. Then, ask them to gauge it’s presentability and if your home is priced properly. Here’s a good idea. Ask a Realtor, better yet ask me. I’m a Realtor. And I will tell you what you need to know, not what you want to hear. Call me, Art Reiman, at 732-598-7700.

Does your home present itself as being well maintained? Buyers do not want a home that they need to perform basic maintenance on right away. They will go to the next one.

What About the Flooring>

Here’s other things to think of when pricing your home. Does the home’s flooring consist of worn, dirty carpets? Consider replacing with hardwood floors. Buyers love hardwood floors.

Is the kitchen and baths dated and tired looking? Do what you can. Buyers see a worn and tired kitchen and think it will cost them $50,000 or more. But it won’t cost that much. In fact, a new tile floor, refaced cabinets and new countertops will cost a fraction of that, and will probably give a good return on your investment.

I am not saying you need to do all of these things. Some ideas will cost little or nothing. Others ideas can be expensive. Do what you can afford, and you will see your home sell quicker and for a better price.