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The 7 Deadly Mistakes Most Home Sellers Make by Joana Hoover

1. Failing to analyze why they are selling.
2. Not preparing their home for the buyer´s eye.
3. Pricing their homes incorrectly.
4. Selling too hard during showings.
5. Not keeping up to date with a changing market.
6. Making it difficult for buyers to get information on their home.
7. Failing to obtain a pre-approved mortgage for one's next home, if they are looking to sell and move up or down.

The 8 Step System to Get Your Home Sold Fast and For Top Dollar

Selling your home is one of the most important steps in your life. This 9 step system will give you the tools you need to maximize your profits, maintain control, and reduce the stress that comes with the home selling process:

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. Do you want to cash out of your house to purchase another, or would you prefer to have an income stream from the sale of your current home? Are you Military and are being relocated to another state, (will the Government be able to help me with the sale of my current home?) Discuss these goals with me (Joana Hoover) so I can help you make a plan and map out your direction. It is always best to have a written plan and road map to keep both of us on track.

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 15-20 homes (or more, in the current market) at the same time they are considering yours. This means that they have a large 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 their buyers agents. As a result, your home will sit on the market for a long time and, knowing this; new buyers on the market may wonder if there must be something wrong with your home.

Our Plan:

1. We need to take a trip in the RE/MAX mobile around your neighborhood and look at the competition first hand.

2. I will do a Market Report showing you what homes are on the market currently, pending and sold.

3. Remember this is not to say homes in your neighborhood are the only homes we need to compare too. We also look at area, sq footage (is huge), number of bedrooms & bathrooms, view or no view, location, acreage and of course condition.

4. Once we have a good idea what our competition is doing we set the price.

5. I understand we sometimes need to set our price based on the amount we owe. If we have set our price based on these terms in 30-45 days if we still have not seen an OFFER, we must take a look at option # 1, taking a trip out to compare other home and decide how LOW we can go without giving away the FARM and the DUCKS.

3. Do more homework.

Find out what homes in your own and similar neighborhoods have sold for in the past 3-6 months, and research what current homes are listed for (my market snap shot program helps us keep up to date with our area) also I run a 30 day CMA. That´s certainly how prospective buyers will assess the worth of your home. And this is an ongoing process - even after you have put your home on the market. Have other similar homes reduced their prices? You don't want to be playing catch-up with the market. We want to be ahead of the market not behind, unless behind is the only way!

4. Maximize your home´s sales potential.

Each year, corporate 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, un-clutter, scrub, scour and dust. Fix everything, no matter how insignificant it may appear. Present your home to get a "wow" response from prospective buyers. How we sell our homes is different than how we live in them.

Allow the buyers to imagine them 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. Do NOT, 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. Leave the home if you can this is always the best way to show your home. They have hired a professional to do that for them.

I will assist you in the staging of your home to present it at its best. If you need help just ask, I have placed a team of members together who will be happy to help you www.kitsapmomentum.com/elitegroup. Also is money is an issue tell me be upfront, we must work together to build our road map. I don’t mind doing a dish, dusting a couch or even picking up a closet. No time to be prideful we have a job to do and that is sell your home!

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

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 me or you(I have an assistant available to answer questions for us in the event I am the point of contact and cannot be reached), or an unwanted sales pitch, by anyone. Make sure the internet, flyers or print ads I create are correct (two eyes are always better than one). Your answering machine should be turned on with a recording that tells a buyer’s agent if it is ok to show the home and what times are available for showings.

Make sure your flyer box is full! Buyers like to take information and read it on their time not ours. I will be driving around to check on the flyer boxes, however you can find a copy of your flyer at all times at www.kitsapmomentum.com/flyers, so if you run out CALL ME FIRST and print a few to stick in your box. I will be there within 48 hours to refill, in the event it is empty.

6. Know your buyer.

In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. What is your buyer´s motivation? Remember our road map, we will draw together. Do we need to move quickly? Does the buyer have enough money to pay you your asking price? Are they qualified VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW? Knowing this information gives you the upper hand in the negotiation because you know how far you can push to get what you want. We don’t need to accept any offer without a lender letter.

We must dig for the dirt!

7. Make sure the contract is complete.

For our part as a seller, make sure you disclose everything (Form 17). As the seller you are responsible to provide the buyer with all necessary disclosures. I can assist you with the disclosures and make sure the required disclosures are prepared correctly. I do not live in your home so I don’t know if your tub over flowed and left a water stain behind the wall but you do. Make sure all terms, costs and responsibilities are spelled out in the contract know as the Purchase and Sales contract. Now is not the time to take any chances of the deal falling through?

Do you gamble? If not we need to look at all offer as the only one we may ever get and if you can’t afford to gamble DON’T.

Once again we will make a list of all the items the buyer wants and we will review them before we sign anything. I will provide you with a net sheet to help guide us in the right direction.

8. Don´t move out before you sell.

Experience has shown that it is more difficult to sell a home that is “vacant” because it looks forlorn, forgotten, 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 highly motivated to sell fast. This, of course, will give them the advantage at the negotiating table.

I hope you will find this information very helpful in selling your home with The Momentum Group where you are a part of my TEAM!

Joana Hoover