Ravi Chandran
What are some home sales tips homeowners can subscribe to, to make their property that much more attractive to the buyer, especially in a pandemic?
A lot of pre- planning is needed in selling house and if you want to avail yourself to the best deal possible. It will take time, effort and a lot of patience. Some homeowners are under the misconception that they can ‘flip’ their properties frequently to make sizeable gains on their disposals.
However, whether you’re marketing your property alone or with an agent (we recommend hiring an agent), there are some things that you, as the homeowner, must avoid doing if you want to successfully market your property.
Here are five home sales tips to take note of when you’re ready to sell;
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- Pictures: If you intend to market your property on newspapers or portals, you need to provide a lot of pictures to entice potential buyers to visit to gauge if they like your property.
Amenities are important but a picture is worth a thousand words. Beautify your house before you start marketing and snap lots of pictures.
Get your agent to take photos if you don’t have a camera and provide these freely on the website and flyers. Refusing to provide pictures is one of the biggest mistake homeowners make.
- DIY seller: Unless you’re an expert at selling house or used to be an agent, it’s recommended to hire an agent. An agent will be able to take advantage of tools that you, as an owner, can’t.
The agent will be able to upload your listing on property portals, create brochures, organize open houses and filter out the interested parties from the window shoppers.
An experienced agent will also be able to help with setting up your home and taking good pictures with proper lighting so as to present your house in the best light possible.
- It is difficult for the potential buyer to imagine himself living there when he is acutely aware of the seller and his family members existing in the space. Presence: There’s nothing more awkward for a buyer then to go to an open house and find the owner and his entire family hanging around. This poses as a hindrance to the prospective buyer.
When you have an open house, you should take your family out for the day.
If you’re the direct seller, you can stay but the other members need to be out of the house until everything is over for the day’s proceedings.
You want the buyer to feel comfortable and relaxed. Having your family hang around will only make the opposite happen.
Remove all personal paraphernalia in order to make the dwelling as neutral as possible.
- Emotional attachment: When you’re selling house, it is no longer ‘your home’ but a commodity. Detach yourself from the nostalgia and hard work you’ve made to it over the years.
You have to be cognisant that if the buyer wants to demolish the walls and that living room you love so much, you cannot influence his decision or take it personally.
Similarly, don’t get offended if the buyer quotes you a low price. It’s what we all would do even if we love something. We want to try to pay the least amount possible. Counter with your offer and take it from there.
- Pricing too high: You should never price your home based on what you want but on market price and valuations. If you insist on selling house based on what you think your house is worth and not it’s actual worth, you’re likely to drive away potentially interested buyers.
And when you are forced to drop the price in the future, people are going to wonder what was wrong with the property that forced you to drop the price significantly.
Selling house is not going to be easy but if you follow these five home sales tips, you’re more likely to have an easier time.
If you are planning on selling house but are concerned about property speculations driving up prices, and unsure if you qualify for mortgage loans, mortgage consultants can set you up on a path that can get you a home loan in a quick and seamless manner.
Mortgage consultants have close links with the best lenders in town and can help you compare Singapore home loans and settle for a package that best suits your home purchase needs. You should also find out about money saving tips. You can get more resources for buying, selling and refinancing by browsing through various internet websites.
Owning a private apartment is a common aspiration in Singapore. Whether you are looking for a new home loan or to refinance your existing one, the Mortgage broker can help you get everything right from calculating mortgage repayment, comparing interest rates all through to securing the best home loans in Singapore. And the good thing is that all services of mortgage brokers are free of charge. So it’s all worth it to secure a loan through us.
Mr Paul Ho, chief mortgage officer at iCompareLoan, said, “Home sales tips are useful because selling house is a major decision. No one should make such decisions lightly or without proper consultation.”
He added, “location is a major factor in selling your homes. But besides location, other factors also play a part. So, the valuation of your home is important. Several factors go into the valuation of your home. So, it is best to talk to an expert before you make that final decision to put your real estate on the market.”
