How to get the best offer for your home
Getting your home ready to sell can be an overwhelming process. However, there are ways to do it that can get you a better offer than you expected. Here is what boomers and seniors need to know to get great offers on their homes.
Preparing the home for showings to the public
When preparing the home for showings, the goal is to put the home’s best foot forward to prospective buyers. Staging your home involves getting the outside and inside of the home in top shape.
Six Tips to Prepare Your Home:
- Declutter and Stage Each Room — You can hire a service to help declutter the home so as not to convey that lived-in look. Now’s the time to divest of some of your furnishings, collections, and heirlooms by either placing them in temporary storage or simply giving them to friends or family members who will enjoy them.
- Share Heirlooms and Valuables — Another good reason for staging the home is to put some of those treasured possessions and family heirlooms away so the public does not have access to them when they are viewing your home. Now is the time to take those treasures of a lifetime and start sharing them with family.
- Take Care of Home Repairs — It is important to fix those little things around the house that are in need of repair. Does the faucet leak? Do the doors stick? Does the house need a fresh coat of paint? Items like these can leave a negative impression in the buyers mind.
- Improve Curbside Appeal — The curb appeal of the home is also very important as this is the first thing a buyer sees when approaching the home for the first time and first impressions are very important. Hiring a company who specializes in staging for the mature home seller can remove a great deal of stress and help the family deal with other more pressing issues.
- Be Prepared for Every Showing— The senior agent can confer that they prefer to have their senior client out of the house during showings for fear of putting their client in an awkward position as they may be forced to answer a potential buyer’s sensitive questions. You must be prepared for numerous showings and some may be on short notice. You will also need to prepare for your agent to host an open house if this has been agreed too.
- Review the Real Estate Market— During the listing of your home, your agent should have discussed the current market conditions presently being experienced in your area. You should have:
- A general understanding on how the local real estate market works, along with the forces and influences affecting your local real estate market at the present time.
- Prepared questions like, "Is it a seller’s market or a buyer’s market?" Perhaps the market is more balanced and what effect that will have on the price and the average number of days it takes to sell a home like yours.If your agent has done all the right things in promoting your home to other agents and to prospective buyers looking to purchase a home in your area, preparing for an offer should be just a matter of time.
Entertaining offers and negotiating the sale
Your agent has now called to advise you that there is an offer registered on the property and would like to get together to present the offer.
This is a good time for the family to get together, either in person or on the phone, to discuss the offer. Leaving a sibling out of the discussion will only cause more grief down the road. Your senior real estate specialist will provide you and your family with unbiased advice, but will always be acting in the best interest of the homeowner.
Now that you have an offer what are your options?
You can:
- Accept the offer
- Sign back the offer
- Refuse the offer and do neither
Deciding Your Move
Your senior agent will assist you in determining if a counteroffer should be made, and help guide you through the process. Your realtor will discuss the contents of the offer, including:
- Any conditions
- Warranties or representations
- Closing date
- Price
Get a Home Inspector
Often times the buyer will request a home inspector to examine the condition of the structure and to prepare a report on the home. The inspector’s report may contain further points to be negotiated, such as cost of repairs.
Your senior’s agent will also review the terms and conditions of the offer and work with you to find a completion date that makes sense and fits into your overall plan. Keep in mind, this process can be stressful enough on a senior and their family without the thought of having to be uprooted twice.
Selling the Home — What Matters
Residential real estate is a very emotional business, your realtor needs to take all emotion out of the negotiations and focus on what really matters:
- Making sure the home seller gets the most money for their home
- Doing their best to verify that the property has not been misrepresented to the buyers
- Making sure that all documents are completed properly
- That all agency relationships are fully disclosed
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Do you have any tips on how to get a great offer for your home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Related:
What Seniors Should Know About Selling Their Homes
Planning Your Move: Dealing With Your Emotions
How Much Will It Cost Me to Move?
You've Decided to Sell But Where Do You Go?
What Are the Real Costs of Aging at Home
How to Strategically Save After Age 65
