Sell Your Home: Tips for Making Your Scottsdale Home More Saleable
First rule: No matter where you live – whether in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix – you have to differentiate your home from its competitors before you put it on the market.
Selling your Scottsdale home? The first thing to do is to consider how your property looks from the outside. If your home has great “curb appeal”, more people will be interested in taking a look inside. Make sure the grounds are well maintained. Make your home look welcoming.
Inside, pay special attention to your bathrooms and the kitchen. Fix any leaky faucets. Add a coat of fresh paint if needed. Do whatever it takes to make your home look fresh, bright and inviting.
To make your Scottsdale home look more spacious, get rid of any clutter. This includes removing large items of furniture that my take up too much space and make your living room look crowded. Put them in storage if necessary. Pay special attention to things that might indicate maintenance issues: holes or cracks in walls or ceilings, for example. A few inexpensive repairs can go a long way to making your Scottsdale home more appealing to buyers.
Here are some basic tips:
- Make sure countertops are clear
- Replace burned out light bulbs
- Let the sun in: open your blinds and drapes.
- Leave pets with a neighbor
- Have your carpets cleaned
- Make sure your fireplace is clean (or on a cold day, have a fire burning)
Get Your Scottsdale Home Ready For Sale
Take two identical homes. If one looks dim and run-down and the other looks clean and vibrant, which will sell? That’s right: the clean one… even though the home next door is exactly the same under the surface. This is true for homes in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix or anywhere else for that matter. Buyers feel more comfortable purchasing a well-cared-for home. If what they can see looks good, they’ll assume what they can’t see has also been well maintained.
The Budget
Though it’s important to make your home look great, be careful in how you spend your money. Little things can go a long way: a coat of paint, new knobs on kitchen cabinets, a little bit of landscaping.
Don’t assume that investing in MAJOR improvements will pay off. Though big ticket items like a new roof might indeed attract buyers, it’s unlikely your home’s value will increase enough to cover the costs of the repairs. In preparing your Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix home for the market, spend as little money as possible. Don’t just throw money at your home; be creative!
Maximizing the curb appeal of your Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix home
Before putting your home on the Scottsdale real estate market, take the time necessary to make it look good. Here are some tips to enhance your home’s curb appeal:
- If you have a lawn, make sure it’s green and trim.
- Cut back hedges, water your plants.
- Repair any cracks or other faults in sidewalks, walls, etc.
- Make sure there’s no peeling paint on windows or doors
- Have your gutters cleaned and leveled.
- Make sure your roof isn’t missing any shingles.
- If you have a garage, make sure you keep its door closed.
- Don’t store old cars, RVs or boats on your property.
- Make your entryway appealing with a fresh coat of paint on your door.
Improving your interior
To enhance your Scottsdale home’s interior:- Remove all clutter and give your home a thorough cleaning. Consider moving large items into storage. The goal is to make your Scottsdale real estate look as clean, bright and spacious as possible.
- If you’re too busy to do it yourself, hire a cleaning service to come in periodically while your home is on the market.
- Remove superfluous appliances off kitchen counters.
- Get rid of all the junk in your attic and other storage areas. Since you’ll soon be moving anyway, it’s a great time to have a garage sale.
- Paint if necessary. Preferably in a soft, neutral color.
- Make any necessary minor household repairs: cracks, stains, grouting, caulking, etc.
- Pay special attention to windows and frames.
- Fix any little plumbing problems, like leaky faucets.
- Make sure heating and cooling systems are working properly.
- Put nice new towels in bathrooms on show days: little touches make an impression.
Setting the price
Every Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills or Mesa homeowner wants the best possible price for his or her home. Many different items come into play, including market conditions, mortgage rates, etc. all of which are constantly changing. Selling your luxury Scottsdale home is half science and half art… with a good deal of marketing and negotiation thrown into the mix.
What is your Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills or Mesa home worth?
To determine the value of your home, you must consider several items:
- What other similar houses have sold for, in your neighborhood.
- The local economy: the job market, population growth, number of homes available.
- How motivated you are to sell quickly. The more of a rush you’re in, the more likely you’ll have to settle for a lower price.
- Keep in mind: what you “need” to sell your home for has no effect on its value to buyers.
All transactions are unique. There is flexibility in the marketplace. The amount of flexibility depends on local real estate markets in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or wherever.
For example, imagine you are selling a luxury Scottsdale home. If very similar homes in your neighborhood have all sold within a narrow price range, you can be pretty confident what your home is worth. Depending on the Scottsdale real estate market trend, you can ask for the high end of the scale, and expect to sell in the middle.
If your neighborhood consists of widely different styles and sizes of homes, pricing can be more difficult. You need an experienced Scottsdale real estate agent to help set an asking price.
Who can help?
Shannon Connely is active in the Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Fountain Hills and Mesa real estate markets. He can provide you with assistance on pricing, marketing, negotiation and closing.
Because Shannon has handled hundreds of transactions, he’s well acquainted with all the details of previous deals… not just the asking prices and published sale prices (which don’t always reflect assorted adjustments).
Market your Scottsdale home
Each home is unique. The Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix marketplaces are always in flux, interest rates constantly change and new buyers search for homes each day. With such fluidity, marketing plans must be customized for each individual home.
Much of Shannon’s work in Scottsdale real estate sales will be quiet and unseen – yet important. The endless telephone calls, the networking, the follow-ups with open-house visitors. The conversations with ad respondents, the web postings and other efforts… these are all necessary steps in selling Scottsdale real estate.
How to market your Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix home
There are five general areas where Shannon can assist you in selling your home:
- Preparation: Before placing your Scottsdale home for sale, you must ensure it’s in show condition. Shannon will look at your home and consult with you on what items need to be fixed before listing.
- Pricing: Shannon will help you determine the optimum asking price for your Scottsdale home. He’ll also suggest any additional terms that can help make your home sell faster.
- Marketing: Shannon will develop a marketing strategy to ensure your home sells quickly.
- Negotiation: When offers start coming in, Shannon will assist in the bargaining process, offering advice based on his many years of experience in the Scottsdale real estate market.
- Closing: Once he’s found a buyer and helped you with the contract, Shannon will help you with the routine checks and inspections performed by buyers and financial institutions… to make sure your transaction goes through smoothly.
Advertising
A realtor’s largest expense has traditionally been classified newspaper advertising. However, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Phoenix properties today are also exposed through popular Internet home search/listing services, and real estate guides. And despite all these new advertising venues, a good old fashioned “For Sale” sign on the front lawn can still draw buyers.
Show your Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Phoenix home online
The Internet is a great place to view real estate listings. On this website, Shannon maintains listings of hundreds of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Phoenix homes. He also hosts information on schools, recent local sale prices, video tours, etc. So call Shannon, and make sure your home is listed on this website.
Showings and Open Houses
Only Shannon should attend the open house. Why? Well it’s nothing personal… but if owners are present, it makes buyers uncomfortable. They’ll be reluctant to open closets, flush toilets, check cabinets, etc. And they won’t feel free to talk about your home as they walk through it.
In preparing for an open house, you should:
- Open your blinds and/or drapes
- Leave some lights and lamps on
- Cook something that smells nice: cookies, bread, etc. Or simmer some vanilla.
- If it’s a cool day, perhaps light a fire in the fireplace
- If you have really nice linen and china, set the dining room table.
- And don’t forget the fancy new towels in the bathroom!
Offers on your Scottsdale home: when should you accept?
Some of the things to considering in deciding what’s an acceptable offer include:
- How close is it to your asking price?
- The fine print: is the buyer attempting to add to your costs with various requirements and adjustments?
- How long has your home been on the Scottsdale real estate market? Is it likely you’ll get a better offer?
- Are you incurring monthly expenses by waiting for a better offer?
- Do you have time to wait for other offers?
- Often you’ll get more than one offer. Which one hould you accept? What if the higher offer is from a buyer who may not be able to close? Would it be better to accept a slightly lower offer from a pre-qualified buyer?
In any case, you’ll need to carefully consider each offer and your options. Shannon knows the Scottsdale and Paradise Valley real estate market, and he can help you decide when an offer is acceptable.
Should you make a counter-offer?
If you put your Scottsdale or Paradise Valley home up for sale, you are basically making an offer to buyers. They can respond in one of three ways:
- No thanks.
- Yes, please.
- Maybe. Here’s our counter-offer.
If a buyer has made a counter offer, then you as the seller have the same three options… including making a fresh counter-offer.
The back-and-forth nature of real estate transactions can get complicated, and it’s essential to have the help of an experienced in Scottsdale real estate agent. Shannon has closed countless deals in the local market, and he’ll be there to see you through all the tricky paperwork… to make sure you get the most for your home.
Real estate negotiations – in the Scottsdale market or elsewhere – are a business process and shouldn’t be taken personally. Both sides must be prepared to make some compromises. It’s best not to look at it as a contest, and insist on “winning”. Nor should you let the other party take advantage.
In Scottsdale, you’ll find that home buyers and sellers generally treat each other respectfully. With Shannon’s help, you’ll find a buyer you can reach an agreement with.
Close the deal on your Scottsdale Real Estate
Think that once an agreement is reached, the sale is done? Think again. Many of the trickiest parts of the process haven’t even begun yet. Typically, an agreement for sale of Scottsdale real estate contain a number of terms and conditions, including:
- That the buyer can obtain funding. (This is why pre-approved buyers are preferred.)
- That your home passes one or more inspections.
- Title searches, appraisals, insurance, etc. demanded by financial institutions.
All of the above takes time. Plus there’s the matter of finding a new Scottsdale home for yourself, and arranging all the packing and moving. So it always takes a little time to close a deal. Typically, after an agreement for sale has been signed, you can expect it to take somewhere between 30 and 45 days to close.
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