How to sell your own home

Selling a home in any market can be cumbersome but today's market presents new challenges

There are three factors that will determine whether your home will sell

1. Location

2. Price

3. Condition

Sometimes there isn't a lot you can do about the first two unless your you have a favorable loan to value which isn't all that common these days; and moving your house isn't very practical. Condition is the one thing that most people can affect.

First thing to do that won't cost any money is to give the appearance of better condition and how you do that is to clean up. It has been estimated that homeowners could loose as much as 7.5% off the sale of their home just from not cleaning and decluttering - on a $200,000 house that is $15,000!

Second thing to look at doing is sprucing up some appearances - sometimes when we see a problem day after day we forget it is there have a friend or a professional Realtor look for small things like missing molding, unfinished projects, water stains, etc. It is not always easy to critique someone else's home so make sure you find someone that will tell you the truth.

Third is to do a little remodeling new floors give a wow factor that won't destroy your budget, new appliances will always pay for themselves, but the most important part of your home in the entrance. A recent study indicated that 95% of home buyers make their decision on whether to buy a home in the first 10 seconds. You should buy a new front door, make sure the front is clean (no spider webs, dirt, dying plants, etc.), and don't store anything in the front of the house. You can do many things to make your home look nice but if they see dying plants or spider webs by the front door the rest won't impress them anymore since they have already made up their mind.

For more helpful hints and professional advice go to Ben Strom's website  - there is so much to do in order to get a house sold and simply listing it with any old Realtor won't get it done. Contact me for a free consultation and more information by email