By Martha Drake
Sotheby’s International Realty
You have made the decision to move and carefully selected your real estate agent. Then comes all the fun stuff: cleaning; organizing; repairing; purging; painting; staging; landscaping and generally making your house look better than it ever has. This “fun” can be nerve wracking and tiring, but your agent’s guidance can focus the preparations on what really needs to be done. Finally, the whirlwind of work has been completed and your house is listed on the MLS. And your part is mercifully done. At this point, your agent takes over and you can sit back and wait, right? Well, not really.
It may take some time to sell your house. In Greenwich, houses may take over six months to sell, based on average Days On Market statistics. Realistically, your partnership with your agent has just gotten off the ground. Your agent has many responsibilities in marketing, showing, negotiating and selling your house. But you still have a critical role, just by taking a few steps, to make sure your house is sold at the best price.
1. Separate your emotions from the sale process. Let go of your home and recognize it as another house for sale and another financial asset in your portfolio. This is often the hardest, but most important step for a seller. Obviously, you purchased your home because you loved it. You have many fond memories of enjoying your life in this special house. Those memories won’t change, but hopefully, your address will. Do not allow your emotions to interfere with proper pricing, effective negotiations or finally, selling your house. Your agent is there to professionally handle the process for you, as your advocate, to help you make the best business decisions and get the best price in selling your home.
2. Accept some inconvenience in your life. There will be ongoing interruption to your daily life while marketing your house. Try not to fight it; just embrace it and focus on your end goal, which is selling your house. Recruit your spouse and your children as helpful allies in the process, rather than adversaries. Keeping your house clean, being ready for showings on short notice and not hanging out in your pajamas are all part of the bargain.
3. Say “Yes” to all showings. It may not be easy, but the house will not sell if buyers cannot see it. Scheduling showings requires coordinating 4 parties: you, your agent, the buyer and the buyer’s agent. If you say no to a showing request, there is an excellent chance that buyer may never see your house. Agents typically show 4-6 houses when out with a buyer. If you say no, agents cannot always rearrange several other appointments to accommodate you. Agents will simply substitute another house in the schedule. Missing a showing is shooting yourself in the foot.
4. Get out of the house and take your furry friend with you. It is so important for a buyer to feel relaxed and focused while looking at a house. That will not happen if you are sitting on the back porch, hovering around the yard or waiting in your car across the street. And being distracted by your barking or exuberant dog is not helpful. Take Fido in the car or for a long walk, well in advance of the appointment time, and do not come back until you are sure the buyer has left.
5. Do not over share with family, friends, neighbors or colleagues about how the sale of your house is going. Seriously, just don’t do it. What should you say about selling your house? As little as possible. Be positive, be brief, defer questions to your agent, and then change the subject. Nobody but your agent needs to know your reason for selling, your timeline or your bottom line price. Without realizing it, your lamenting a low offer or celebrating a nascent deal can come back to haunt you. You never know how many times gossip is repeated and to whom. You hired an agent for a reason; leave the market commentary to the professional.
6. Respond to feedback. Feedback from showings is frequently sought by sellers, but it is just as frequently ignored. It is difficult to hear that a buyer felt your house is too dark, too dated, too small, too big or any other negative comments. Many sellers take the feedback as personal criticism and shut down. (Review Step 1, if necessary.) A more productive response would be to address what you can. House too dark? Take down the window treatments and add more lighting. Garage too small? Take everything out and store it elsewhere. Paint the floor, walls and doors. Turn a problem into an asset. Your agent can help interpret feedback, if you are willing to listen. Discuss what steps may need to be taken to remedy concerns and take action. You do not have to renovate your entire house based on a few comments, but simple, inexpensive actions may go a long way in changing buyer perceptions. Sometimes, however, the only efficient or possible response to issues like layout, location or land is a price adjustment.
7. React with the market. The market is dynamic. Some houses sell and other houses come on the market. Buyers enter and leave the market at different times of the year. Listen to your agent about where your house fits in the inventory as the market evolves. You may find yourself suddenly owning the best house in a price range, after a few other homes sell. Conversely, the lovely pond in your backyard or the local history of your home may not have the same value to the buyer making an offer. The market determines what your house is worth, but the market is not static. The market in May is not the same as the market in December. You cannot control the real estate market, but you do control how you react with pricing and negotiating.
If you are committed to selling your house, you should commit to these steps. And taking these steps along with your agent can make an enormous positive difference in the outcome of selling your house.
Martha Drake works at Sotheby’s International Realty in Greenwich. A town native, she combines a business background with extensive local market knowledge, working with clients across Greenwich, Cos Cob, Riverside and Old Greenwich. Contact her at martha.drake@sothebyshomes.com or 203-249-8713.
