People who sell a lot of homes know more about it than those who sell a home every few years. There are a few things you learn over the years – things that work and things that don’t.

There are also things when buying houses that qualify for top position on a “Do Not” list. Let’s start with the Don’ts, since they are the most fun.

Do Not:

  • List with a friend of a friend. Instead find a top agency and a top realtor. Let them know you are motivated.
  • Ignore staging
  • Let the realtor take the picture of your home. They are not photographers and almost always gum it up – shooting from the car window when there is snow on the ground, and using that tired old picture in July… Give them a nice picture of your home. Take it yourself and fix the colors using any one of a number of photo editing packages.
  • Smoke in the house. 80% of people do not smoke, if you smoke in your house, it Stinks to them. Win that 80%. Smoke outside when you are in selling mode. Change your carpets and clean the drapes because the smoke stink is impossible to get out otherwise. Sorry, but that’s the cold hard truth.
  • Let the dogs and cats own the home. Most people love dogs and cats, but they do not like their homes to smell like them nor exhibit any signs of their existence, such as stains on the carpets, cat spray marks (and aromas), fur and hair on furniture/carpets, scratched woodwork/furniture.
  • Leave a litterbox (especially a full one) in sight
  • Park a car on the grass (or leave evidence of such)
  • Have a dilapidated swing set in the backyard

Some things you should do…

Enough Of The “Don’ts”, Here Are Some Do’s:

Preparing your home for sale is a lot like preparing for a hot date. You need to create some excitement. Just like curlers and sweat pants are more comfortable, a home not prepared for selling just will not excite a buyer enough to get him/her to open his/her wallet. You have to spice it up.

Okay, So What Are Some Things I Can Do?

Paint – You were hoping we wouldn’t say that, but yes. Paint is amazing. It’s kind of like makeup. Would you go to a job interview without makeup? Why would you try to sell your biggest investment without painting it? Are you mad? paint it! Use earth tones and neutral, clean colors. Bright and loud colors can turn off buyers.

Landscaping – Just because you never go outside doesn’t mean your buyers are not interested in the yard! Make it look nice. If you are not sure how, just go heavy on the flowers. Nobody ever walked away from buying a home because there were too many flowers. Get rid of doghouses and clutter. Have your son park his dilapidated car down the street for a while. He can use the exercise – you’ve got a house to sell! Never let anyone park on the grass!

If it’s broken, fix it – There is simply no excuse for a cracked window that you never got around to fixing. It’s really easy to fix and it looks terrible for prospective buyers if they see it – and you can be sure that they will. Anything else that is broken should also be repaired.

Furnish it – if you have had to move out and leave your house empty, think about renting some classy furnishings including paintings/prints and artwork.

Sell A House Yourself or With Professionals

Before you proceed with the marketing of your home in Macon, GA, you need to decide whether you are going to sell it yourself, or use an agent/broker. Property sellers have traditionally used the services of a professional to get a sale, but increasingly, owners are selling their properties themselves.

If you need to sell your house fast there are also home buying companies in Macon, GA, such as the Sell My House 7 company. It is the easiest way to sell your house fast and for cash. You don’t need to do anything from above. The best way to sell your home fast for cash is to search for home buying companies on internet. Just type something like “sell my house fast Macon GA” on Google and you can compare different companies for the best deal.

Selling through a real estate agent is another option and has some advantages:

  • They are in the marketplace all the time, therefore they have experience in all aspects of property marketing
  • They will actively promote your property.
  • They have a database of potential customers to which your home can be advertised.
  • They are familiar with property values in a given area.
  • You pay them only when the property is sold.
  • They complete the negotiations and agree price, and liaise with your legal adviser.

But, realty services for home selling are not cheap. They are going to charge you for a successful sale. Fees vary between agents but it will still cost you a sizeable chunk of your property’s final selling price.

So, you may decide to sell your home without a broker and do the selling yourself.