You and your real estate agent may have already worked hard together to market your property in order to attract attention from buyers. This is half the battle when it comes to selling any home. Yet the other half is closing the deal once you have sparked that initial interest. An inspection is your time to let your property shine. When showing your property, it’s best to keep three primary goals in mind. To begin with, you’ll want to give them a great first impression of the home. Secondly, you’ll want to ensure that your property is memorable. Finally, buyers should walk away with the perception that your property is valuable, as this will lead them to be more competitive with high offers. This final point can be tackled by showing your property to multiple buyers at once, spurring the spirit of competition.
A good real estate agent can be your ally when it comes to making your property appear more valuable to buyers. Start this discussion by registering your details at LocalAgentFinder. There are thousands of real estate agents registered with this service, ensuring that you’ll be able to pick and choose the right fit for your marketing and sales needs. You can also achieve the three primary goals of showing your property by keeping the following ten tips in mind:
1. Be Prepared
A good way to increase your chances of receiving competitive offers from buyers is to show it to as many as possible. This will require your property to be in prime condition, so that you will be prepared for inspections at any time. The house should be sparkling from top to bottom. Clean the home daily and try to keep it tidy between inspections. Once you have received notice that a buyer is about to pass through, you can give the property a once-over by clearing away clutter, washing dishes, and taking out the rubbish.
2. Control your Climate
Keep buyers comfortable and happy during inspections by controlling the internal temperature. On cold days, this means turning on the heater. On hot sunny days, switch on the air conditioning system. This will make a buyer immediately associate your home with comfort and give them positive feelings about the property. It will also encourage buyers to stay longer, giving them more time to go over every detail.
3. Create a Pleasant Ambience
Try not to distract the buyer with any background noise when they stop by for an inspection. A television blaring in the background or the hum of your washing machine could ruin the careful atmosphere you’ve created, so turn all of these appliances off for inspections. If the house is too silent, on the other hand, you could turn on some light jazz or other inoffensive soft music to have in the background. You can further enhance the ambience of your property by lighting a fire or turning on a soothing fountain. All of these small details will help create positive associations in the mind of the buyer, hopefully putting them in the right mood to make a purchase.
4. Appeal to the Sense of Smell
Just as loud background noise can be distracting, strong odours can be a turn-off to buyers. You’ll want to open up all the windows to air out your property before anyone stops by for an inspection. Get rid of wet dog or mouldy smells by airing out the home. You may be tempted to mask these smells with scented candles and air fresheners, but these artificial products could irritate buyers who have allergies. Fresh flowers provide a natural alternative as well as an appealing pop of colour.
5. Lighten Up the Home
Avoid a dull, dingy environment by turning on all of your property’s lights before an inspection. Pull back all of the curtains to let the natural light stream in, even if it’s a gloomy or overcast day. You can also strategically place mirrors in the home to help illuminate dark rooms, and set up spot lights behind furniture. Ask your real estate agent if you will be holding evening inspections. When comparing agents using the online dashboard at LocalAgentFinder, it’s best to find out what hours these inspections will be held. If you are holding them in the evening, you’ll also need to turn on all exterior lights to illuminate the property.
6. Remove Pets from the Property
Your pet may be your best friend, but buyers may not see eye to eye with a strange animal in the house. It’s difficult to predict how your pets will react to strangers in their territory. When you are selling your home, it’s best to either restrain your pets outdoors or leave them in the hands of trusted friends and family for the duration of inspections. Be sure to remove pet accessories that could sway the opinion of buyers as well.
7. Provide Marketing Materials
Inspections are a great opportunity to provide additional tangible information to buyers. You can have colourful brochures or flyers printed up. Leave them in an easy to spot location, inviting buyers to pick one up on their way out the door. Be sure to include lots of memorable photos, a rundown of the best features of your property, the sale price, and contact details. Because prospective buyers will gather a number of these flyers, attention to detail is important to make yours stand out from the stack.
8. Keep Safety in Mind
When you hold inspections, you are essentially inviting strangers to walk into your home. This is particularly true during open house inspections, when literally anyone could come inside. Keep safety in mind by locking important valuables or documents somewhere safe. Never show your home alone, and consider requesting ID and contact details before the buyer is allowed inside. A sign-in sheet can also be useful when it comes time to follow up on initial buyer interest.
9. Avoid Pressuring Buyers
It’s natural that you’re keen to make a sale, but an overly aggressive or pushy demeanour can frighten buyers away. Give buyers space to thoroughly examine your home without you standing right over their shoulders. If your real estate agent is showing the house for you, it’s better for you to leave the property. This will make buyers feel more comfortable about voicing their true opinions without worrying about offending the owner. If you’re conducting your own inspections, try to stand in the background to answer questions without being too obvious in your approach.
10. Encourage Buyer Feedback
One of the most useful tools that you can gain during the inspection process is buyer feedback. If buyers are not impressed by your property, you can find out why and try to fix the problem for next time. You can encourage feedback by printing up questionnaire cards and leaving them near the door. Another option is to leave a guest book asking for comments.
With a little bit of time and preparation, you can help inspections run more smoothly and encourage buyers to make an offer. Although some homeowners will choose to show their own property, it’s usually a good idea to enlist the services of a professional real estate agent for private showings. They can organise these while you’re at work, so that you don’t have to interrupt your daily life.
What’s next?
Get started with the process of finding the right real estate agent to help you with selling your home by registering now at LocalAgentFinder. This free, no-obligation comparison tool has been used by sellers since 2007. You can receive agent proposals and increase your chances of landing a smooth and profitable sale.
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