two little ranch houses across from a well-kept cemetery in a nice suburban city near Cincinnati, in Southwest Ohio. One of them, 25 Cemetery Road (three bedrooms, one bath, 936 sq. ft., built 1957) was described as: “Neat as a pin and ready to go. Complete remodel kitchen w/SS appliances, breakfast bar, flattop stove, beautiful tile. Complete bath remodel. Hardwood floors, replaced windows. Great fenced yard, covered rear patio.” It was being fought over at $124,000+. Meanwhile, a comparable single-family home located at 19 Cemetery Road (three bedrooms, one bath, 936 sq. ft., built 1956) sold for $111,800. That’s enough of a difference (almost $15,000!) for the owner of 25 Cemetery Road to pay the cost of his real estate agent’s commission and pocket some profit. Frankly, that commission was money well spent, because it was hiring the real estate agent and following the plan that made all the difference. We’ll talk more about that as we move through this book; however, it was the advising, planning, staging, pre-marketing, marketing, negotiation, and professional know-how that sealed the deal.
THE BASIC HOME SALES P ME SALES PROCESS
We begin our look at selling your house for more with a practical examination of what the home-selling process is and how it works. To get the most money for your house, you’ll have to invest in touch-ups, improvements, staging, keeping the grass cut, and many other items.
SETTING THE LIS G THE LISTING PRICE
Setting a listing price is a strategic exercise that aligns the seller’s goals to the selling approach. If the seller is in a situation such as an impending foreclosure, in which the house must be sold quickly, that calls for a price that will move the home quickly. However, it may forfeit selling for the most money. Where the
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