Home Selling 101: How A Seller Can Help Their Real Estate Agent

Figures show that real estate agent assisted sales have better results than private sales, but that doesn't mean that homeowners should leave real estate agents to do all the work. Yes, you are paying them a commission for this, but no one earns any money if the house doesn't sell. To make the home selling process easier for everyone involved, here are a few things you can do to help your real estate agent sell your house.

Don't expect an overnight sale

While it's true that real estate agents work hard to get you the best buyer, they do need time to do their job effectively. For most people, this isn't a problem, but there are times when people want to sell their house as quickly as possible due to personal circumstances. If you would prefer to just sell your house quickly, you can learn more about other ways to sell your house and decide which option works best for you. Some of these include auctions, or even the eBay classifieds. But if you're not in a hurry and you want the best value for your property, then let your agent do their job.

Fix any problems

No one will be interested in buying your house if there are obvious problems like holes in the wall, cracked tiles or threadbare carpets. You stand a better chance of a successful viewing if you take steps to make sure the house in good condition – the more it resembles a magazine cover, the better, so that your agent doesn't have to get creative with presentation. Most buyers want to just move into the house and not change anything, so it's up to you to replace the carpets, add a fresh coat of paint, and make any necessary repairs.

You should also clean and repair tile grout, wax wooden floors, get rid of all odours, and hang up fresh towels so that viewers can imagine themselves living there. If you have a garden, make sure it's also tidy and that the bushes are neatly trimmed.

The whole purpose of an open house is to let prospective buyers picture themselves living in the property. As such, it's best to depersonalize the house as much as you can. Once you've cleaned up, put away any family photographs or personal touches. However, you shouldn't feel the need to go overboard and move everything but the furniture. If you have some cool kitchen gadgets, leave them in place so the buyers can imagine what they could cook up in that space. If you have garden furniture, and the weather is nice, leave it out and let them conjure up images of BBQs and garden parties.

Don’t overprice

You might not be the only one who's hired a real estate agent to help them with the home selling process. Prospective buyers might not notice if you've overpriced the house, but their agents might. Always listen to any advice that your agent gives you regarding the price of your house.  Overpricing a house is the number 1 reason why homes become expired listings and fail to sell.

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