Is this an endorsement from the Christian Science Monitor?
1. Stage Your Home
2. Find the right professional
Sometimes you forget the obvious: The best, smartest thing a homeowner can do is find the right real estate agent for them. There are all kinds of pros out there, with all kinds of approaches and personalities. So how do you find the perfect fit? The easiest ways are also free:
- Get referrals. Obviously, the easiest step is simply to ask friends and family. But be careful, because an agent who did well selling your sister’s fixer-upper isn’t necessarily the best one to sell your four-bedroom raised ranch. Agents can specialize not only in geography but also in price ranges.
- Go to open houses. In this case, you aren’t checking out the home, but the agent. And don’t fret that you aren’t interested in the house – smart agents know they’re also selling themselves at open houses.
- Go online. If those first two options aren’t working for you, search sites like RealEstateAgent.com and Realtor.com. When you find a few agents you might like, check them out online before contacting them. Are their websites professional-looking and inviting? Do they promote their properties well? Then call them. If the conversation goes well, set up a meeting. But remember, you have to feel comfortable, because this individual is helping you sell your most expensive possession.
3. Clean and de-clutter
4. Maximize your home’s curb appeal
5. Invest in a friend
6. Create rooms
7. Paint
8. Bring the outdoors in and take the indoors out
9. Add storage
10. Lights, camera, action!
I was also featured prominently in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/story/2012-07-28/affluent-consumer-spending/56554548/1
Jim, since when did you start modeling for “real estate stock photos” used by lazy journalists?
It was a fluke – the AP photgrapher was wandering around looking for an open house and found me.
His photos have been in Yahoo, AOL, Huffington, WSJ, etc. If you don’t mind, I’d like to record a few so I have them for the record:
How about this one in daylife.com:
http://www.daylife.com/photo/0diZ6qI1Ht5E5?__site=daylife&q=San+Diego%2C+CA
Texas Tech’s redraiders.com:
http://redraiders.com/business/2012-06-24/rate-30-year-mortgage-falls-record-low-366-percent
PR Newswire:
http://latest.prnewswire.com/photo/0diZ6qI1Ht5E5?q=San+Diego%2C+CA
I once went to look at a home for sale where I had to step over a huge pile of toys stacked right at the front door entry. They had 2 huge dogs running around, a cat sleeping on the kitchen counter and 3 others chasing each other through the house. The kitchen had every possible dirty dish, pot and pan stacked high all over. I couldn’t even tell what type of counter top it was. It went downhill from there……..
I had made an appointment to see the home 24-hours in advance too. I see it has been on the MLS for 796 days. They were obviously not serious about selling; playing some sort of game.