As a REALTOR®, when I list a house (also: condo, town house, manufactured home), I intend to sell it. Keeping this in mind, after making sure it’s priced properly, I communicate with my sellers on the importance of keeping it “show ready”. The beds should be made, dishes put away, toys picked up, everything clean and bright. If a particular seller has a lot of photos and knick-knacks sitting around, I advise them that they need to be removed. Experienced REALTORS® know that most home buyers are unable to see past the”stuff”, to appreciate how desirable a house may be.
If you’re selling a house, you need to ask yourself, “How badly do I want to sell?” Assuming you’ve hired a successful, knowledgeable REALTOR® to market and sell your house, if
your REALTOR® has advised you of certain things that need to be done to make your house more desirable, you need to heed that advice. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but I am confident in my knowledge of what needs to be done, to make your house more desirable than the one up the street. It’s my goal to have my listings blow away the competition! If I’m your REALTOR®, you and I are going to need to work together. I’ll be doing the hard part in marketing, networking, researching, and keeping you abreast of changing market conditions as we go through the process of finding your buyer. You just have to keep the house ready and 
available for showings.
This brings me to the “available” part. Although you have a life and may not want your house to be shown at certain times, if you’re anxious to sell, you might need to put some of your life on hold for a little while. It’s an inconvenience, but if you go back to the question of “How badly do I want to sell?”, you may find yourself reconsidering your position on when you’ll let your house be shown. (Health problems not withstanding) In the Daytona Beach Multiple Listing System (MLS) we have 2.5 years of inventory right now! With that much inventory, both the buyer’s agent and the buyer are going to be overwhelmed. And they’re frequently looking for a way to narrow down the list of available properties in the buyer’s price range and desired area. Properties that are hard to show will not make the short list of what will be shown. This also means that a lock box is necessary.
The last thing I’d like to mention is pricing. We all know we’re in a buyers market. If you’re the seller, I’m sure you’re sick of hearing that. But it is a fact that our real estate values are in decline. Positive thinking is not going to change it, especially when the media is perpetuating the belief that all buyer’s are going to get a steal right now.
Declining prices mean that the longer your house is on the market, the lower the value will be. So if you’re in a hurry to sell, or want to get back as much of your investment as possible, you need to be priced below your competition, right from the start! Remember, banks won’t loan money on a house that doesn’t appraise. An experienced REALTOR® will determine your market value in a manner that’s similar to the banks’ requirements and an appraisers’ methods.
I have an in-depth system for determining the market value for my listings. Since this particular blog is getting long, I’ll have to post that information at a later date. If you’re interested in selling a house, condo, town house, etc., in the Daytona Beach or New Smyrna Beach area, make a Smart Choice and call me today. You can view my current listings on my web site on the Featured MLS Listings page. If you’d like to see some of my sales, go to My Sold Properties or you may want to start from the home page at www.DaytonaBeachHomeSales.com.
Lisa Hill is a member of both the Daytona Beach Area and the New Smyrna Beach Area MLS and Realtor Associations. Lisa has sold all types of real estate in Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ponce Inlet, Wilbur-by-the-Sea, Ormond Beach, Ormond-by-the-Sea, Holly Hill, South Daytona, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater and more.
