Today I’m talking about a real estate myth I’ve been hearing from homeowners: The home will sell itself in this market. I wish this were true! Selling a house actually takes a ton of work.
Here’s what I do for every house I sell:
- Get the house ready for sale
- Conduct a market analysis to price the house
- Get listing photos done
- Write the listing and post it
- Set up all the marketing to get the house in front of the right buyers
- Host open houses and showings
- Analyze and qualify offers to present to the sellers
- Negotiate on behalf of my sellers
- Write up all the contracts
- Help the sellers through the closing process
I could go on. These are only the basics of getting a house sold. There is so much more than just putting up a For Sale sign, even for the most perfect house out there.
It’s not hard to see why this real estate myth lives on. Sellers think they can put anything on the market right now and it will sell. I don’t disagree with this thought, but at what price? Do you want top dollar for your home?
Make it look like a top-dollar home
Take the time to declutter, stage it properly and take perfect photos with a professional. I can’t tell you how many times I see real estate agents cheap out on photography by using iPhone photos for their listings. It’s such a disservice to the homeowner. I’ve sold homes sight-unseen based on staged photos. There are many places to save money but photography is NOT the place to skimp.
For instance, check out the photos below of a home I sold in Haverhill, Massachusetts. I show this to all my sellers. The top row is my iPhone photography. The bottom row is photos from the same spot taken by my real estate photographer.
Can you see the difference? Look closely. The open umbrella against the blue sky looks 1000 times more inviting than the gloom-and-doom photo above it. Picture yourself having a beer with friends around that outdoor table under the warm sun. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
I’ve upgraded my phone since the time of these photos but it’s still not the quality. A pro photographer knows how to shoot from the best angles, capture the best light and edit the photos to showcase your home in the best way possible. Just do it. The cost of a photographer isn’t outrageous and will pay itself tenfold. I can’t comprehend when agents cut corners on photography because it’s actually costing their clients potential loss.
Real Estate Myth Debunked
Last but not least, selling a home is more than just putting a listing on the multiple listing service aka MLS. I also don’t rely solely on third-party websites like Zillow or Realtor.com to do my job. My company, Bentley’s Real Estate, reinvests an exorbitant amount of money into cultivating real estate leads and growing a sizeable database of buyers. There’s a reason why we’re #1 in Greater Newburyport for marketshare for the last 3 years in a row!
And since I mentioned Zillow, please do not rely on the Zestimate for the value of your home. Zillow does NOT go into homes and sell homes. They sell clicks. That’s all I’m going to say about that for now.
Call or text me to talk about how to get your house sold for top dollar. Jeni Lu (781) 864-7372.
