Carrie Thompson - HOME-SELLING SECRETS FROM A TOP AGENT

HOME-SELLING SECRETS FROM A TOP AGENT

Carrie Thompson

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Table Of Contents

Introduction

Options For Expired Homes

Possible Reasons Your Home Didn't Sell

Thinking Of Dropping Your Price

Why Marketing Is Just As Important As List Price 17

A Little Bit Goes A Long Way

The 80/20 Rule In Action

The Secret Strategy To Sell For More Money

The Study That Proves Staging's Benefits 29

10. Prep Your House For Sale

11. The Most Important Upgrades

12. Upgrades With The Biggest Returns

13. The Great Outdoors

14. Good Pictures Make All The Difference 51

15. Words Matter

16. How I Sell Homes Other Agents Can't

17. Become An Expert Negotiator

18. How Not To Negotitate

19. Different Negotiation Tactics

20. Landing On The Perfect Price

21. How Added Incentives Sweeten The Deal 79

22. Insist On Prequalified Buyers

23. The Many Advantages Of Hiring An Agent 83

24. Why Specialized Knowledge Is Worth The Price

25. Good Vs. Bad Agents

26. What To Look For In A Real Estate Agent 95

27. What To Ask, What To Avoid, And How To Hire An Agent

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

Hello, and congratulations on opening this book! It’s a great first step toward finally selling your expired home. You might be wondering: why you should read this book rather than any of the millions of other things you could be doing? Well, I’m going to explain why with a story. Jordan wanted to sell her home, so she hired an agent from a firm with a good reputation. The agent did what she could to get Jordan’s house sold. She listed it for $499,999, made sure the photos were good and the marketing strategy was solid, and held an open house. Unfortunately, the home didn’t sell. Jordan’s agent told her to consider lowering the price so it would be closer to the other listed homes in her neighborhood. Jordan resisted; she knew her home was nicer than theirs and had several desirable features lacking in her neighbors’ houses. Jordan decided to hire a new agent, and the same thing happened: no sale, and advice to lower the price. Jordan had a few options to consider. The first was to take her agents’ advice and list her home for $450,000, which was the top of the range for comparable houses in her area. The second was to hire another agent and see if they could get her the price she wanted. Jordan chose option two. She did some research and found an agent who specialized in selling homes previous agents hadn’t been able to. Jordan’s new agent looked at the house and agreed that it was worth the original list price. Then the agent came up with a new, more specialized marketing plan. The new agent

took more, even better pictures, launched an improved marketing campaign with a wider reach than the previous agents’ advertising, and held not just regular open houses but also a broker’s open house, inviting other agents come to see the home. Just over two months later, Jordan finally sold her house for $485,000 a completely reasonable price, given that most homes will sell for less than their asking price, and far better than what she would have gotten if she were only asking $450,000 in the first place. This is why you need the RIGHT real estate agent—one who knows what your home is worth and how to sell it, even if it’s been listed before without success.

AN IMPORTANT LESSON FROM HOLLYWOOD

I know you’re reading this book to find out how to sell your hard- to-sell home, but before we dig any deeper into things, I want to talk about a movie. Go with me here—not only is the story relevant, but the lesson behind it could very well help you finally close the deal. So: did you know that The Shawshank Redemption was a box office flop? Yes, The Shawshank Redemption, the film that was nominated for over 36 awards (and won 19 of them). The one the Internet Movie Database lists as the top-rated movie of all time. The one that gets 91% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer (critic reviews) and an Audience Score that shows 98% of users like the movie. In spite of all that, it only earned $60 million worldwide. It was two spots behind a movie with Pauley Shore. Pauley Shore! And did you know The Flintstones, which came out the same year, gets 22% on the Tomatometer, has only a 24% Audience Score, and won Razzie Awards for Worst Screenplay and Worst Female Performance and was nominated for worst movie? Because for all

its failures, it also earned $358 million worldwide.

How is it possible that an awful movie could kill it money-wise but an awesome movie could be almost dead on arrival? Targeted Marketing. The people who marketed The Flintstones knew their audience and sold directly to them. In contrast, promoters for The Shawshank Redemption didn’t know how to sell it (they admitted as much)—and it shows. Co-star Morgan Freeman also thinks the title was a hindrance. He’s had plenty of fans come up to him and say the name wrong. Maybe a title that’s easier to say would’ve made a difference? It just goes to show you that every detail matters in marketing! While I myself agree that The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie, when it comes to selling your home, I’m on Team Flintstone. Not only do I know why your home isn’t selling, I know how to target its marketing to catch the interest of your ideal buyer. I’ve got years of experience using many well-proven tactics to sell expired homes, and I’m sharing them here to help you finally get that offer you’ve been waiting for. Throughout the book, I’ve also included case studies of agents who’ve used the strategies I mention to sell previously hard-to- sell homes. For example, there was seller whose house had been listed for seven months with agent A. They switched to seller B, who sold a home in 81 days for 96.8% of the asking price. As you’ll see throughout the case studies, these knowledgeable agents didn’t just finally close the deal, they got the homes sold close to their original asking prices—sometimes at or even over them! So, are you ready to learn tons of helpful tips and tricks you can use to finally sell your home, quickly and for a price you’ll definitely be happy with? Let’s get started!

CHAPTER 2 Options for Expired Homes

First of all, I just want to say that I’m sorry you’re in this position. I know it’s a stressful, frustrating, and confusing thing! But please remember you have options about what to do next. The next chapter will look at reasons your home may not have sold, but I’ll say right here that one reason could be your real estate agent. That’s why the first option to consider is getting another agent. I and many other agents out there specialize in selling expired homes, which is exactly what you need. I highly recommend doing some research to find someone specially qualified to help you with your particular situation. Now, if you’re still in your home and don’t have to move, you could always take your home off the market and stay in the house. Considering you were trying to sell your home, I know this isn’t what you want, but it may be the best option for now. It certainly doesn’t have to be for forever, but it’ll give you time to reconsider your options, think about getting a new agent, do some updates, and more. You can also consider renting out your home. One option would be to take it off the market, move out, and rent the whole place our for an extended period of time. Another option would be to keep it on the market but rent it through Airbnb or another similar form of short-term rental. You could continue to live in the house and just rent a room; or, if you’ve got a place to stay, you can rent out the entire home. Just remember that some places don’t allow rentals or Airbnb, so be sure to do your research before deciding on this option.

Along the lines of renting is temporary donation. This is when a charity organization uses your house. They don’t pay rent, but you can get a tax deduction. Be sure to consult with an accountant to see if the tax deduction would work in your favor before choosing this path, though. Another option is to consider a short sale. This is when you sell the house for less than you owe, and must be approved by the lender. If you’re approaching foreclosure, you can also see if you can reach an agreement with the lender to call off the foreclosure and take back the deed. Your last (and I mean last ) option is filing for bankruptcy. While there are negative sides to this, such as its effect on your credit score, there are positive points as well. You’ll get several months in the house for free while the foreclosure-related liabilities get delayed. This gives you some time to save up some money and figure out your next move. It may be a painful decision in the moment, but sometimes, this is the best option in the long term.

HOW A GOOD REAL ESTATE AGENT CAN HELP

If at all possible, I want to save you from a short sale, foreclosure, or bankruptcy. While there are cases where these are unavoidable, they’re not always inevitable. That’s why I always recommend talking to an agent like me who’s an expert in expired listings. I can advise you from an unbiased perspective, which is especially important when you’re dealing with all the emotions and decisions during this stressful time, and I have the experience you almost certainly lack. Agents typically have strong networks, so by hiring a new agent, you’re gaining access not just to them but to a whole new group of people who may be able to help. This includes other agents with buyers who may not have seen your home, as well as attorneys, title companies, home inspectors, and mortgage consultants. In

addition, a good agent can also give you information about tax benefits you may qualify for. Competent agents will also make sure your home is well-priced, go over improvements that could make your house more desirable to buyers (more on this in later chapters!), and be your intermediary in all kinds of transactions. They may not always give you the answers you’re hoping to hear, but they will give you answers that are in your best interest.

CHAPTER 3 Possible Reasons Your Home Didn't Sell

CASE STUDY #1:

My clients spent six months working with another agent without success before they hired me. After they switched, I sold their home in three months for 100% of the asking price. I’ve seen plenty of sellers who are pretty attached to their homes. They figure there are plenty of people out there who will see their home’s value just as clearly as they do. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. There are many possible reasons a home might not sell, including the location, the features of the property itself, the quality of the local housing market, and the actions an agent has or hasn’t taken. Thankfully, just because a home’s listing has expired doesn’t mean it won’t sell—just that it hasn’t yet. First, though, let’s get into some more of the specifics of why homes don’t sell: • The price is too high. If there’s a good reason to list your home higher than other available properties, that’s okay, and we’ll get into the details of what to do then in a later chapter. But there is a line where a home can be priced so high that buyers won’t even come to see it. • The price is too low. It’s true that a lower-priced house might sell faster, although I never believe you should use this technique to get your home sold quickly—I know the tricks to getting you the price you deserve! But when

sellers do decide to go this route, it can scare off buyers because they’ll wonder if there are problems with the home that led to the low price, even if they can’t find them. • The home looks to be in disrepair. This could be anything from a sagging gutter to chipped paint to a messy playroom. Buyers notice the details, big and small, so it’s important you don’t give them even the slightest reason to think you’ve neglected the home in any way. After all, if you haven’t kept up the visual aspects of the house, buyers will also wonder if things like plumbing and electrical systems might have problems, too. Many people just don’t want to take that risk. So, either on your own or with a professional’s help, make sure everything’s clean, bright, smelling good, and in good working order both before you put your home on the market and again before every showing. • The home isn’t welcoming. Buyers often have a hard time getting past what they see. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to imagine themselves happily living in the space. Homes overcrowded with furniture or toys or painted with strange colors could easily turn potential buyers off. First impressions matter, sometimes to the exclusion of everything else! • A bad economy. Unfortunately, this one’s out of your hands. People can get scared about spending money on such a big purchase when they’re worried about their finances. It doesn’t mean a home CAN’T sell, just that it might be a little harder. • Too much supply, not enough demand. This one’s out of your control, too, but there are some things you can do to counter the situation. For example, I advise my clients on

improvements they can make to help their homes stand out among the crowd; I also do targeted advertising, such as placing ads for a home with great indoor and outdoor play spaces in publications aimed at families with young children. • Not enough people look at the home. I’m talking about people seeing the house both in person and through advertising. This is a key area where real estate agents like myself can help. We have a variety of ways to draw people to your place, which is important because very, very few buyers purchase a home sight unseen! • Location. Everybody knows the most important element in real estate: location, location, location! Obviously, you can’t help if there’s a train that runs by every 30 minutes, or if your home’s on a busy street, or if a builder replaced your tree-lined view with an ugly office building after you moved in. But you can highlight the positive aspects of where your home is located. It could be amenities like nearby shops, restaurants, or public transportation. It could be the safe neighborhood and its great schools. It could be privacy and a nearby lake. Whatever it is, acknowledge the downsides and play up the upsides! • Selling it yourself or having a not-so-great agent. I know the idea of selling your home yourself seems like it’ll save you hassle and money, but often as not it won’t. A good agent knows everything that goes into selling a home quickly for the most amount of money possible, and does it all without you needing to be involved much at all. They use a multi-pronged approach, from a personalized marketing plan that reaches ideal buyers with professional photos that show off your home in the best possible way,

to networking with other real estate professionals, interacting with potential buyers in a quick and knowledgeable way, and taking care of home showings. As a side note, remember that it’s okay to research multiple agents and get second opinions if you’re just not sure about something the first agent told you.

WHY MARKETING IS A MUST

Now, there might be one reason or many that your home isn’t selling. A good agent can help you step back and re-evaluate, then come up with a plan for moving forward. Obviously, that plan needs to include a solid marketing strategy, but before we get into that, let’s look at a simple object many people already have in their homes: the mousetrap. You know what it looks like. The piece of wood, the metal bar, the trigger. But over 4,400 people were so sure they could improve on it that they filed patents with the U.S. Patent Office. The end result? In spite of their best efforts, the design most frequently sold in stores today is still the original, patented in 1894. Why? One big reason is that those inventors forgot they had to sell their mousetraps; you can’t just put a mousetrap out into the world and expect massive amounts of buyers to go out and purchase them. On the flip side, one company that did understand the importance of marketing (and targeted marketing at that) is Coca-Cola. They started expanding their business in the 1880s, as did RC Cola (which was started by an ex-Coca-Cola customer), Dr. Pepper, and a slew of other companies. Even into the early 1900s, there weren’t really any clear leaders in the soft drink business. That all changed by 1920, when Coca-Cola took a clear lead. They did it in a very specific way: like the other soft drink companies, Coke salesmen traveled all over the country—but unlike their

competition, Coca-Cola regularly held sales conventions. By the end of each convention, the salespeople would have a long, long list of possible customers in that area. From there, sales managers would take a good look at the list, removing anyone who was already a customer and noting the bigger potential customers. This enabled the salespeople to make more efficient use of their time by focusing on customers who were more likely to buy more product. By 1927, Coca-Cola took the next step and rebranded this aspect of their business: instead of salespeople, they became customer service representatives. Which title sounds better to you? Personally, I’d much rather work with someone whose title says they’re there to help me rather than sell something to me. Why am I sharing these stories? Because the same logic applies to homes. Even the perfect home at the perfect price needs a unique marketing strategy to catch buyers’ attention. With it, you’ll reach buyers who are genuinely interested in purchasing your home. Without it, your home—like all those now-defunct mousetraps—will wind up sitting there collecting dust, which you’ll have to clean up should you ever actually get anyone interested enough to come for a showing. Remember: all it takes is finding that one buyer who loves the home and is willing to pay more than anyone else. And, with the right marketing, that will happen, I promise. I’ve made it happen over and over again thanks to targeted marketing specifically designed to market to each home’s ideal buyer.

CHAPTER 4 Thinking of Dropping Your Price CASE STUDY #2: Agent One was getting nowhere near selling a home after six months on the market. The seller didn’t want to keep waiting around, so he hired me instead. I sold the property for 100% of his asking price in three months. Conventional wisdom says you should let as many people as possible know your house is on the market. It also says that when a home doesn’t sell, you should drop the price. Both make sense, right? Wrong. True, more people knowing about your home means the odds of it selling do increase, but what if half those people will only buy a modern ranch and your house is a Victorian with three stories plus a basement? You’re wasting time and marketing trying to sell to people who will never in a million years buy your home. Not that it’s not a nice place—it’s just not right for them! As far as dropping the price, that might get you a little more interest, but it definitely won’t get you the money your place is worth. It also might mean the people looking are the ones who hope to do a quick flip and make some money on the place—money you should be making, not them. There’s a famous company that almost fell into this trap. You may have heard of it—it’s called Google. The founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had created an internet search engine, which, at the time, was called BackRub. They were looking to sell it for $1.6 million, and began serious talks with another company, Excite.

However, Excite was concerned that BackRub was too effective. How is that possible? Because people could find what they wanted so quickly, it hurt the advertising aspect of Excite’s business. Feeling a bit desperate to sell, Page and Brin reduced the price by more than half, dropping their asking price to only $750,000. This made Excite a little more, well, excited, but they just couldn’t get past the damage it could do to their ad revenue, so they ultimately walked away from the deal. Instead of trying to find another buyer, Brin and Page decided to put their search engine out into the world wide web themselves. They renamed it Google, and then they released it. As of February 2018, Google was valued at $120.9 billion. Just a tad bit better than that Excite payday would’ve been, isn’t it? That’s why it’s important to try all your other options before dropping the price, and perhaps the most important step in that process is figuring out your ideal buyer and marketing directly to them. There’s just no overstating how important targeted marketing is. Not every agent does it, but I’m an expert who has successfully used it to sell many homes that have sat on the market for ages. If you’re curious about what my strategy would be for your home in particular, please feel free to reach out at any time.

CHAPTER 5 Why Marketing is Just as Important as List Price

CASE STUDY #3

It took me just 16 days to sell a home that a previous agent had kept on the market for six months. I even got 97% of the asking price, too! As you can imagine, the seller was extremely happy with the result.

“It’s not selling because it’s priced way too high.”

Have you ever been told this? Have you ever thought this yourself? Well, I’m here to tell you there’s a good chance it’s false. Sure, there are instances where a home is priced way over market value, but most of the time, a fairly-priced home doesn’t sell because the marketing wasn’t done right.

Let’s look at an example:

Tom’s agent is decent and has done what she can, but Tom hasn’t gotten even a nibble. The agent suggests lowering the price by $25,000 so it’s more in line with market value, but Tom knows from his own research that his house is priced right. He thanks the agent for her work, then starts looking for someone else. Tom finds a new agent—one with a record of selling homes that have sat on the market for a while. His new agent approaches things differently. Instead of recommending a price reduction, she creates a targeted marketing plan. She brings in a photographer who takes better pictures, she focuses her marketing on buyers who are likely to fall in love with the house (and will therefore 17

be willing to pay top dollar for it), and she holds not just regular open houses but also broker’s open houses, where other agents can check it out while keeping in mind their own clients who might be interested. Like her bio says, this new agent knows what she’s doing. After a little bit of negotiating with an enthusiastic buyer, she sells Tom’s house for just $2,000 less than he was asking. For the record, that’s $23,000 more than Tom would’ve gotten if he’d sold it at the first agent’s reduced price! I think this is a good time to talk about what a house is “worth.” While you obviously can’t go expecting to sell a house for $500,000 when all the other houses in the neighborhood average $250,000, there’s no such thing as an exact right price, just a range. If you’ve got the best home in your area, there’s no reason you can’t be at—or even over—the top of the current range. Like beauty, worth is in the eye of the beholder, and in this case that means both the buyer and the seller. Their final agreement may be the exact asking price, or it may be higher or lower, but the number on the contract is, at that moment in time, the home’s worth.

PREMIUM MARKETING

Have you heard of Beats by Dre™ headphones? The Dre referenced is famous rapper Dr. Dre. Now, the headphones are good, but they’re not that much better than their competitors’ products. However, they’re marketed as a premium product, and having Dr. Dre’s star power attached to the marketing helps, too. In fact, the business was doing so well that Apple bought the whole company, Beats Electronics, for $3 billion (yes, billion!) in 2014. And speaking of Apple, it’s another famous company that’s great at marketing. These days it’s a massively successful company, but

that wasn’t always the case. It was close to bankruptcy in 1997. They changed their marketing strategy and focused on people who would not only appreciate their well-designed products but would be willing to pay a premium price. One example of how they did this is their decision to market the iPhone to top executives who were frustrated with their Blackberries. As of November 2017, Apple was worth $900 billion, so I’d say their strategy worked, wouldn’t you? Again, the product itself definitely makes a difference, whether it’s phones, headphones, or a house, but it’s ultimately the marketing that gets the seller—in this case, you—the money they’re asking for. For any home seller, especially one who’s been having trouble selling, an experienced real estate agent like me can make the difference between selling and sitting on the market. I’m an expert with a thorough understanding of recently sold homes, homes currently on the market, what buyers in the area are looking for, and marketing strategy—exactly what you need to sell your house fast and for a good price.

CHAPTER 6 A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

CASE STUDY #4

My client’s home was up for sale with another agent for six months with no movement. She hired me, and I sold it within four months. Not only that, I helped her sell it for 96% of her asking price. In 1906, an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto created the Pareto Principle, also called the 80/20 Rule. The premise is that 20% of your effort nets 80% of your results. He got the idea from his garden—he realized that 80% of the pea pod seeds on a plant seemed to come from about 20% of the pea pods. He launched into research to test his theory, and, sure enough, it held up across a wide range of fields! This rule can apply to pretty much everything in your life, such as 20% of your work leading to 80% of your income, 20% of the time you spend on a project leading to 80% of its progress, etc. What about the other 80% of your effort? Well, it’s obviously important, but it’s just not as impactful as that other 20%. Microsoft found out the 80/20 Rule was legit in a couple ways. As they looked into crashes in both Office and Windows, they realized that 80% of the problems were caused by 20% of the bugs they found. Beyond that, over half of the problems came from only 1% of the imperfect code. (Note that the 80/20 rule isn’t always exactly 80% and 20%, although it’s usually close; regardless, the idea that most of any given outcome stems from a relatively small source holds).

Can you guess how the 80/20 Rule works when selling a home? Essentially, you focus on 20% of your home’s features in the marketing. Now I know you might feel like that’s not nearly enough to show off all the wonderful aspects of your place, but I promise you it is. The key is to focus on what makes your home stand out rather than elements all the other houses in the area have too. Buyers are limited in time, energy, and focus, so highlighting your home’s distinctive features will make your listing pop. That is what draws the right buyers to your place rather than your neighbors’.

CHAPTER 7 The 80/20 Rule in Action

CASE STUDY #5

After six months on the market with no bites, a seller hired me because of my expertise in selling homes that have been sitting for a while. I sold his house in three weeks, and he got 98.5% of the original asking price. Let’s dive into the 80/20 rule a bit more, including looking at how it applies to homes that have been sitting on the market for a long time. To do this, I want you to think about what drew you to buy your home over the others you saw. Chances are they probably had a similar number of bedrooms and bathrooms and other must-have items. But what specific feature or features made you decide? Was it the pool in the backyard? Being on the end of a cul-de-sac? Having a great school only a block away? These are the kind of unique features that stand out to buyers, and that’s the 20% of your home you should focus on.

Some other possible features to highlight include:

• larger lot size • privacy from neighbors • patios and decks • great views • proximity to shops, restaurants, parks, etc.

• fenced-in backyard • finished basement

Is your answer something that’s currently featured prominently in your home’s marketing? If not, it really should be. If you’re still not sure, keep reading for some more examples that show just how important following the 80/20 rule can be.

WHEN BUYERS HONE IN ON ONE UNIQUE FEATURES

Buyers Allison and Greg have three big dogs, whom they consider their babies. The most important item on their new home wish list is a large, fenced-in lot where their dogs can hang out and run around. Over the course of a few weeks, their agent takes them to several lovely homes with larger lot sizes and suggests they put a fence in themselves. They think about it and discuss putting in a lower offer because of the cost of the fence. In the meantime, they continue on with their search. The next property their agent takes them to is similar to the others in size, location, and features. This place also has a big backyard—except this one has a fence! They decide to make an offer at full asking price on the spot, solely because this is the only place they’ve found with their one most-wanted element. All’s well that ends well, right? Technically, yes. But that last house’s listing had neglected to mention the fence. Allison, Greg, and their agent could have saved a lot of time if it had been highlighted, and the seller could have sold the house much more quickly, too!

THE 20% THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Back in the mid-1990s, there was an event where several new gaming consoles were launched. Sega was up first to introduce

the Sega Saturn. The rep spoke at length about how the graphics would be better than everything else out there, how it was going to change the gaming industry, and more, including the sales price of $399. Next up was the rep from Sony, who was announced the PlayStation. The only thing he said was “299.” He didn’t waste his or the audience’s time listing essentially the same features as the Saturn, he just focused on the one thing that was different—and better. It worked. The PlayStation killed the Saturn in sales and, as of this writing, is currently on its fourth iteration, while the Saturn only sold for four years in the U.S. and Europe and six years in Japan. Now let’s take a look at another story of the 80/20 Rule playing out in the real estate world: Henry’s townhouse is laid out exactly like every other unit in the development. His home is in decent condition but pretty outdated, which may be why it’s been sitting on the market for a bit. Sienna’s looking to buy her first place, and she really wants something modern and completely move-in-ready. It needs to be in this particular development, which is right near both her work and her parents. She’s looked at a few available units but has been underwhelmed. As Sienna walks around Henry’s unit, she feels the same thing—until the agent takes her out the door to the back. The unit’s on the end, which means there’s a bigger and more private patio than the others she’s seen. Not only that, but she has an unobstructed view of the pond and a closer walk to the community pool than the other available units. Sienna has always loved the outdoors, especially the water, and these features catch her hook, line, and sinker! To her, they’re worth having to do a little work on the inside to turn the place into what she envisions.

Once again, 20% outweighs the other 80%, even though that means Sienna’s not getting what she thought was the most important thing to her—a move-in-ready home.

APPLYING THE RULE

When it comes to money, there are a lot of apps out there that help you give and get it. As of the writing of this book, Venmo’s the most popular money app for Gen Y (a.k.a. Millennials). It’s not that Venmo functions that much better than what else is out there. Instead, it’s got one fun feature the other apps don’t have: the use of emojis when sending or receiving money. Again, unique feature = key selling point! As you can see, it’s imperative to focus on the 20% of your home that make it stand out. Of course, you’ll still list all the features, because buyers want the know all the details, but emphasizing your home’s unique elements is often what brings in the motivated buyers. Now, unless you’re already really familiar with other homes in the area, this might take a bit of research on your part. It’s also a place I can help, as I am definitely familiar with features of local homes, down to the smallest details! And I know how to create a marketing push featuring the best, most distinctive aspects of your home in order to attract your ideal buyer and get it sold for a price that will make you happy.

CHAPTER 8 The Secret Strategy to Sell for More Money

Once upon a time, there were two similar condos in a luxury condo building. Seller One got $439,000 for their unit. Seller Two, however, got $549,000. That’s a $110,000 difference! The secret was the specific strategy used by Seller Two’s agent, who had actually learned the strategy from a former client. This client was a wealthy executive who agreed to hire the agent only if the agent agreed to use his strategy. Of course, the agent was a bit nervous — who wouldn’t be? But if it worked, the agent would earn a great commission. Worst case scenario, the condo wouldn’t sell, and the agent would move on to new clients. The agent ultimately agreed, and he and his client listed the condo at $554,900, almost $76,000 higher than the highest similar condo on the market. For four months, people walked through the unit but never made offers. They felt it was overpriced, especially for a unit that wasn’t even a penthouse. Then one day, the ideal buyer came for a tour—and didn’t even finish it before making an offer of $549,000, which was 98.9% of the asking price and a record sale for the building! So what’s the secret strategy, you’re wondering? It’s staging. Yes, the simple act of making the home look as visually appealing as possible can lead to your home selling for more—sometimes a lot more! How much more? Well, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), on average, staging costs 1-3% of the asking 27

price but gets a return on investment of 8-10%. That statistic alone could be enough to convince anyone, but just in case you’re not sold, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. ran a survey that showed that not only do staged homes take half as much time to sell as non-staged homes, but they tend to sell over asking price by 6% or more. In addition, the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) ran its own study in 2011. They looked at 174 homes that had been on the market unstaged. After around 156 days unsold, sellers staged their homes; after that, the homes then sold an average of 42 days after being staged—it clearly makes a difference. Overall, RESA says a staged home is usually on the market for an average of four months while an unstaged home averages six. That’s two fewer months of sellers dealing with mortgage payments, utility bills, and other expenses. Between that and the higher price staged homes often fetch, clearly this secret strategy is one to follow! In fact, it’s so important, I’ve dedicated the next two chapters to the topic, too. First you’ll learn about what the agent who sold the luxury condo found in his deep dive on staging, and then I’ll share all the details of how to make your home look its best.

CHAPTER 9 The Study That Proves Staging's Benefits

CASE STUDY #6

Another Realtor® had tried selling a house for six months with no results. The sellers turned to me hoping to change their luck. It worked! I sold their home in 98 days for full asking price. In the last chapter, I introduced you to the powerful secret of staging. As I mentioned then, the agent from the home that sold for $110,000 more than similar units did some in-depth research on staging. His report was published by the Institute for Real Estate Education; in it, he compared two recently sold townhomes in a neighborhood with 200 units with the exact same floor plan. One unit was sold in July, and another one five doors down was sold in August. The unit sold in August was purchased for $40,000 more than the one sold a month earlier. The two units were, obviously, in the same location. They had the same kitchen layout, and both kitchens had tile floors and the same cabinets. Both units also had carpeting in the bedrooms and hardwood floors in the living room. The only differences the researcher could find was that the home sold for $40,000 more had been staged by professionals and had better photos on the listing. That’s it!

EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENTS

The whole point of staging is to help potential buyers see themselves in the space. Once they do that, it’s much easier for them to fall in love with your home and make an offer. That’s 29

why you want every inch of your home to look as bright, clean, organized, and welcoming as possible. If you’ve been having a hard time selling your home, it could very well be because of your home’s lack of staging. I get that sometimes it’s hard to change things when you’ve got your home set up exactly how you like, but remember: the reason you’re selling your home is because you don’t want it to be your home anymore. It’s time to let go of your emotional attachment and do what’s best to get the house sold and put the most money you can in your pocket. The last two chapters have shown you that staging is definitely worth it from a financial standpoint. If you’re interested in hiring a professional stager, I can connect you with people who are great at it. But, if this is something you’d rather do yourself, please keep reading, because I’ll teach you all the most important elements in the next chapter.

STAGING VS. NON-STAGED CASE STUDY & REPORT

Dear Reader,

I wanted to give you the most convincing proof possible. Many people find it hard to believe the simple act of staging helps one home sell for more than another similar home. In my research, I looked for examples of similar houses being sold for differing amounts of money where only one of the two houses were staged.

The clearest example I could find was in these two listings.

This development has 200 equivalent townhomes.

Every single townhome in the neighborhood is 3 stories with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Every single unit has the exact same floor plan.

I looked for two sales there, and found these:

• 4438 Capital Dome Drive: sold on August 26. • 4456 Capital Dome Drive (5 doors down): sold on July 26, for 40,000 dollars less. I personally visited this neighborhood, and I am familiar with these properties. You could not find a better example of two identical properties that sold for different prices.

The details show these homes are identical in every major way:

• The lots the units sit on are identical as far as the desirableness of the location. • Both units had the same kitchen plan with the same cabinets and a tile floor. • Both units had nice hardwood floors in the living room, and carpeted bedrooms. Every important detail of these two townhomes was identical. I studied every aspect of these sales to find what made the difference.

There are reasons one home sold for $40,000 more than the other:

• Townhouse #4438 was professionally staged, giving it a more appealing appearance. • The agent selling #4438 took higher quality, more attractive photos of the home.

Those two seemingly small actions made the $40,000 difference! The buyers of #4438 made a higher offer because the agent presented the home in a more appealing and attractive way.

CHAPTER 10 Prep Your House for Sale

CASE STUDY #7

Six months on the market was too long for my client, so she asked me to take over the listing. After 81 days with me at the helm, she received an offer for 99.5% of her asking price. It’s pretty easy to understand why buyers want to see a home that’s well put together, right? But it’s more than just looking at nice furniture and perfectly fluffed pillows. Buyers decide if they’re interested in a home within 10 seconds of stepping in the front door. Here’s what you can do to ensure those 10 seconds lend themselves to curiosity rather than retreat:

STEP 1: DECLUTTER

I hate to break it to you, but you need to get about 50% of your things out of your house. You can toss it, donate it, sell it, or store it somewhere else—it doesn’t matter where it goes as long as it’s gone.

What, specifically, should you get rid of?

• anything personal, such as family photographs • excessive and oversized furniture • out-of-season clothing • trinkets • collections (think shelves filled with Beanie Babies)

• The general rule is to get rid of anything that would keep potential buyers from seeing themselves in the home—all those personal touches that convey your tastes and interests need to go so that buyers can envision the place as theirs instead.

STEP 2: PAINT

When’s the last time you painted your house? If it was within the last year or so, you might be able to skip this step as long as the colors you painted were neutral. Otherwise, you’ll need to grab some paintbrushes (or hire people who have them) and get to work. Literally every surface that can be painted should be:

• walls • ceilings • doors • trim • window casings • inside closets, cabinets, and shelves

Color is important. You might love burnt orange, but that doesn’t mean buyers will; in fact, the wrong colors can cause buyers to lose interest in the property all together. That’s why you should stick to neutrals: white, off-white, beige, tan, and gray.

STEP 3: UPDATES

There are a lot of things to consider when talking updates, including floors, lighting, mechanical systems, and more. Because it’s such a big topic, the next three chapters will be dedicated to it. Chapter 9 will cover whole-house updates such as flooring, storage, and lighting. Chapter 10 will look at specific rooms, especially kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Chapter 11 will tackle the outside of the home and focus specifically on curb 34

appeal.

STEP 4: ORGANIZE

Buyers want to know there’s plenty of room for their things. The best way to show them this is to make sure your home is as neat and organized as possible.

Consider the following as you reorganize your home:

• don’t fill shelves or closets—leave some breathing room • organize your clothes by color and use matching hangers • buy matching plastic, fabric, or woven bins for shelves and bookshelves • reduce the amount of dishware, silverware, and cookware so cabinets and drawers don’t look cluttered • hide exposed cables using plastic tubing or by running the cables through the drywall (much easier than it sounds!)

STEP 5: CLEAN

I’m not just talking about making the bed, washing the dishes, and dusting the coffee table. This needs to be the most thorough home cleaning you’ve ever done. No surface should remain untouched, even if it’s someplace you don’t think buyers will check. Yes, that means the tops of the cabinets, the back of the TV, corners with cobwebs or dust bunnies, blinds, walls, mirrors, windows, leather furniture, shelves… everything. It’s especially important that bathrooms and kitchens look perfect. After all, would you want to take a bath in a tub surrounded by discolored grout? Would you want to eat in a kitchen with stains of indeterminate origin on the countertops? If people can’t see themselves comfortably bathing or eating in the house, chances are they can’t see themselves buying it either. 35

A quick pro tip: I listed this as step 5 because it should be the last thing you do. Obviously, keep up with the general cleaning like you always do, but you don’t want to put all this effort into scrubbing every surface just to have to repeat it. I know this is a lot, but I’ve got a couple of tricks to make it a bit easier. The first is to consider a home inspection. This is normally something buyers will do shortly before the purchase of the house gets finalized. However, if you have a certified home inspector check out your home as you’re prepping it to sell, they’ll be able to tell you anything you need to work on (or disclose to potential buyers) before you get going. Knowing these issues in advance can save time and stress at the other end of the process, since you won’t be scrambling to fix things or unexpectedly having to accept a significantly lower price than you’d expected. The second is that handy-dandy 80/20 Rule. Remember that beyond issues that render the house unsafe (unless you sell as-is), you don’t have to do everything I talk about in this book. The ideal thing is to focus on the best updates for the biggest returns, which is something I can help you determine. I also want you to keep in mind that all the hard work is worth it. So many buyers have a hard time seeing the potential in a tired, cluttered, messy home. By taking the time to go through the steps I’ve listed above, your home will be much easier to sell!

CHAPTER 11 The Most Important Upgrades

CASE STUDY #8

In only 20 days, I sold my clients’ house for $10,000 above what they were asking. This was after another agent had unsuccessfully tried to sell it for six months! As I’m sure you’ve found in your own home searches, details really do matter when it comes to selling a home. This chapter takes a look at issues to address throughout your whole home.

STORAGE

One of the things I talked about in the previous chapter was making sure storage areas aren’t overcrowded. Storage is one of the top things buyers look for, says the National Association of Realtors®. One way to fix storage issues is to create more. If there’s space, consider building a closet, either on your own or by hiring someone else. If the room’s on the smaller side, though, it’s better to leave it as is than take away floor space. Whether or not you’re able to add closets, closet organizers are another great option to get the most storage from your space. You can buy pre-made systems or design a custom one online using Closet Maid or other similar sites. While you’re at it, look for other places to enhance storage systems, such as cabinets, linen closets, and attics.

FLOORING

First and foremost you want to make sure your floor is as clean as possible. Below is a handy chart for steps you can take before the last and most expensive option of replacing the floor completely. Let’s go a little more in depth about carpeting, which tends to fare worse than other types of flooring: Shampooing is a great option if your carpet’s in fairly decent shape. Carpet shampooers are cheap to rent and easy to use. The hardest part is that you need to take all the furniture out of the rooms. It’s also important to make sure all the soap’s out and that nobody walks on the carpet until it’s completely dry. Steam cleaning is the best option for stained carpets. If there’s only light staining, you might be fine using a steam cleaner, which, like the shampooer, can be rented. You can also hire a professional, which is a good call if the damage is more extensive. Keep in mind that if your carpet’s got some major stains, you should definitely get an estimate first. There’s a chance that cleaning it will cost more than replacing it. That’s not to say that you should replace a stained carpet. In some cases, it’s better to clean it and use rugs to minimize the appearance of the stains. As always, it’s best to be upfront about the stains regardless of their size, though! If not, buyers may still realize the carpet needs to be replaced and might wonder what else you’re trying to hide from them. Two reasons not to replace carpet, even when it’s got permanent stains, are the issue of cost and the issue of taste. Buyers might not like the new carpet you pick, or they might want a different kind of flooring altogether, so why spend all that money on a replacement that doesn’t improve your sale price anyway because your buyer thinks it’s ugly? You can always negotiate the price down a little or

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