When you are selling, buyers look at several things about a home. If they see that the home has been on the market for quite a while, they just naturally assume something is not right with it. It could be that it just hasn’t been advertised well. Or, it could be that the home has nothing wrong with it. For this reason, it is ideal to know when to put the home on the market.

People start looking for homes in the spring and into the early summer months. In many cases, it takes about two to three months to actually get into a home once all of the financing is going. People usually would like to be settled into their new home before the kids start school in late August or early September. If your school system is year around, look for the periods of breaks to be heavy moving periods.

People also want to move while the weather is decent. Not many people want to be lugging furniture around in the dead of winter. Again, spring, summer and into fall are the best times for this.

As for which years are the best to sell a home, this has a lot to do with the interest rate that a home buyer can get. When rates begin to fall, people start buying. If you are waiting for a period of heavy buying, for example a seller’s market, you will want to watch for interest rates to begin to fall. Yet, this can take time and may not happen for a long while.

Selling your home at the right time helps it to sell fast. It can help you to get into your new home without worrying about this one selling.

• Advertise locally. Most homes are sold to individuals that are already living in the area or the surrounding area. You will want to advertise in the newspapers and local online venues. When using these, include information such as how many bedrooms, the square footage, the fact that it has an eat in kitchen, and other features that make it stand out as better than others.
• Consider the MLS. The MLS is the Multiple Listing Service. It is a listing of all homes that are for sale. If you work with a real estate agent, they will actually include this in their advertising for you. That’s because it is the best avenue to getting everyone to know the home is out there. Even if you are selling your home yourself, you can pay to have your home listed here.

• Tell people. Don’t be worried about friends and family knowing that you are moving. Tell people that you know that the home is being sold and ask them to spread the word. If you heard that a friend of yours sister was selling their home and you were in the market, you would want to see it.

Whatever method that you are using to sell your home, you will want to make sure that people know about the home, in some form, when they learn it is on the market. You will want them to know if it is in their price range, if it is large enough for them, if it has enough bedrooms and some of the features that they are looking for. Providing this information will help potential buyers to know what the home can offer them.

The Disadvantages

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first. Here are some of the disadvantages of selling your home yourself.

• You don’t have a lot of feedback about how long it will take your home to sell, how much it will sell for or what will work the very best at making your home sell. You have only your instincts to go with and what you can learn here.

• You will need to invest in selling a home. You will need to market and advertise your home. There are some excellent helpful solutions offered right on the web to help you, but you still need to put in a few dollars to insure people know your home is for sale.
• You will not have your home listed in the MLS or multiple listing service, which is a tool that allows agents and buyers to know that your home is for sale. It is generally the location that people go to find out which homes are out there. You can pay to have your home included here, if you would like to.
• Did you price it right? While many believe their home is worth more than it is, you may not know what to really charge for your home. There are resources to help you offered on the web, but you’ll need to do your own leg work here.

The Advantages

• You don’t have to pay anyone 4, 5, 6, 7% or more to sell your home.
• You get to make all the calls and are in complete control of the situation.
• You get to determine when showings are, when people can come to see the home and you will be able to show your home.

Determine if selling your own home is right for you. Weigh these options carefully to make the right choice.

• Make sure all clutter is put away and kept away. Now, people are going to open up the cabinets and closets, so makes sure that the clutter doesn’t just go into one of these. Instead, take the time before the showing to insure that everything is put away.
• Check the smell. A home that smells good is one that is welcoming. No over powering smells should be present. Definite problems would be things like pet odors and strong cooking smells. Bake a batch of cookies or some bread beforehand if you can.

• Open the window coverings. Let the light stream in. People want to see that there is light to fill the rooms of the home.
• Keep it clean. The first time showing may be the most difficult to prepare for. You may even want to hire a professional to come in and do a thorough, deep cleaning of the home before hand.
• Keep the pets and the kids out of the home. Some people do not want to buy a home that has a pet in it. Some won’t even come in to a home where there is a dog.
• Provide your potential buyers with all that they need to know about your home. Provide them with the details of the home and ask them to leave their information so that you can call them back and thank them for coming.

Doing these things can help you to have a great showing of your home. Putting your best foot forward can help you to get more offers and to sell your home quickly.

1. What sticks out poorly? Take a walk to the curb and look at your home from the view that those that will be buying it will see it. What sticks out as something that would cause them to think twice? These are the areas you’ll need to tackle first.
2. Landscaping. Make sure that you spend some time on the landscaping. If there is time, reseed the lawn for a plush feel. Insure that it is nice and green as well. The bushes, trees and other garden aspects should be neat, free of debris and growing properly. Trim the bushes. Keep it uncluttered.
3. Get the toys and ‘stuff’ put away. You should take some time to make sure that all the stuff that is normally in your yard is put away. Now, don’t just shove it into the garage either. You should carefully organize it all to show that you have taken care of your home throughout the time you have owned it.
4. The driveway and sidewalks near your home should be clean, free of any weeds and free of cracks. If you can patch any holes or cracks, this will help. Give it a good cleaning too.
5. Clean and repair: Gutters, downspouts, lights, statuary, window sills, the roofing and siding.

Taking the time to do all of these things will help you to easily and inexpensively improve the overall look of the home. When someone drives past the home, sees the for sale sign, and looks at your home, they will want to pull into the driveway and walk right in to find just what else the home has to offer. Selling a home begins with putting the best product on the market that you can.

Outside The Home

The first impression of your home that the buyer will get is what is outside the home. When they pull up in the driveway, they will know if this is in fact something that may be a good choice for them. There are several things that you should do.

• Take a look at your home from the curb. Look at the things that stand out as good points and those that look bad. Are there shingles that are missing? Perhaps the railing is falling down. Fixing anything that you can see needs to happen.

• Clean up the landscaping to insure that it is neat.
• Make repairs to anything that seems broken.
• Paint anything that is showing signs of wear, especially if there is paint chipping.
• Is the lawn plush and green or full of weeds?
• Is the driveway in good repair?

Interior

Inside your home you can do these things easily to improve the value of your home and give the buyer what he is looking for.

• Paint, fresh paint. It is the best way to give a fresh look to a room. Go for neutral colors.
• Carpeting should be kept clean and in good repair. Fix anything that you can. If the carpet is very bad, consider replacing it, even with an inexpensive product.
• Fix anything that is unsafe.
• Remove clutter.
• Clean your fireplace.
• Get rid of any smells.
• Make sure that doors, windows, cabinets, baseboards and flooring are clean and in good repair.

Doing these things can help you in selling a home. They can help you to improve the overall look of the home, enticing individuals to come in and stay. If you can improve the impression of the buyer, he may just come back next time with an offer in hand.

To learn how much your home is actually worth, you need to take the time to have an appraisal of the home done. By doing this, you will be calling in a professional whose job it is to put a value on your home. These cost any place from several hundred dollars to several thousand. While most home buyers that are using a mortgage to purchase your home will have an appraisal done on your own, it is optimal for you to know what your home is worth before this.

If you put your home on the market for less than it is worth, it will sell quickly and you could have potentially lost money. If you put your home on the market and it is priced too high, it may take a long while to sell or it may not sell at all.

In an appraisal, the professional will take into consideration all aspects of your home including how old its systems are. Then, it will compare what your home has to those homes in the area that have recently sold. There are formulas to help them to determine the value of your home. Within a matter of days, you will learn what the true value of your home is.

There are many benefits to using an appraisal when selling a home. You can learn what things you can improve to maybe get a little more value out of your home. And, you may be able to find the right price tag to put on your home. Every home owner believes his home is worth more than it actually is. But, with an accurate appraisal, you can sell your home quickly and make money off of your investment.

So, how do you find the right one for you? Here are some tips to help you.

• Know the agent. If you know the real estate agent, you will know their personality. You will also know if they can actually do the selling for you. Those that are passive are not going to be good sales type people. Those that are dedicated will be. Those that honor commitments are excellent individuals to work with. If you know them, or someone that you trust does, this can be a good way to go.

• Experience. While experience is not everything to consider with an agent, there is no doubt that those that are more experienced are likely to be able to provide you with more service. Look at how many homes they sell, but also look at how long it takes them to sell. Keep in mind though that some homes are just harder to sell. In any case, trusting someone with selling your home means that you should be able to know what level of experience they have.
• Price and what they can do. Not all real estate agents can provide the same level of coverage to you. Those that have the ability to offer you a wider range of options in advertising are a better way to go. Yet, those that have open schedules to dedicate their selling to your home is also ideal. Of course, you will need to consider what they charge too.

Selling a home is not an easy task. When looking for a real estate agent, above all else you should know that you trust the individual to do the best job that they can with your home.

The Agent

If you use a real estate agent to sell your home, you will end up paying him a fee for doing so. This fee does change from one company to the next and can be a good chunk of your home’s value. But, for that price you get several things. You will be able to have your home advertised through real estate agent listings. Many realtors will provide for all advertising expenses. They do not get paid until your home sells so that gives them the motivation to do all that they can to sell it. You will gain more help from your agent when there are offers to consider as well. They will handle the haggling and they will then help you with all of the legal aspects. In fact, they will do the paperwork for you to insure that legally everything is taken care of.

On Your Own

If you decide to sell a home on your own, you will find that you gain back all of your money. You are able to do whatever advertising you will want to, but you are going to need to pay for it. You will also need to hire a title company or a lawyer to help with the paperwork of the transaction. Finally, you will need to insure your home is priced right for the market. Yet, you will have complete control over who you sell your home to, how much of a profit you make and the amount of time it will take to sell the house.

All of these options can be a good choice. You should carefully consider what you would like to get out of your home’s value as well as what you can handle in the legal and advertising departments. If you find a reasonable real estate agent, you may sell your home faster.

Here are some tips you can easily do to your home to help it to sell better.

• Clean it up. One of the biggest drawbacks to a home from the buyers point of view is a messy house. Get rid of the clutter. Go out and buy storage boxes and tuck al the unnecessary things away. Also, clean the windows and sills, the fans, the carpets and the walls. Get down there and clean those baseboards too. Keep your landscaping neat and clean too. A clean, organized home is a welcoming home.

• Touch up paint. If you have a bright pink room and the buyer only has boys, they are going to be turned off by the pink factor. Invest in a few gallons of paint. Look for neutral tones that are soft and warm. These will help not only to give it a more neutral look, but it will also create a cozy living area.
• Small updates help. Get rid of the old seventies style ceiling fan. Pull down the décor that is outdated. Fix up small broken things like closet doors, holes in the walls and broken light fixtures. These little things are instant, “Oh, its broken” things that the buyer is going to remember.

By taking the time to really spruce up the home and make it as modern as you can, you can actually get more for your money. One thing you will want to talk to your real estate agent about, though, is major projects. Just because you invested $30,000 into a home that you are selling does not mean that it will tack on $30,000 to the price. Small things are a great way to get more from your home.