Get The Most for Your Home In This Hot Sellers’ Market

Why Selling Your Home For The Highest Price Possible Takes More Than Just Throwing It On The MLS

Most people don’t realize there is more to selling a home than taking photos and throwing it on the MLS. Especially if you want to get the very most for it in this hot seller’s market.

This is why I created the series, “Get the Most for Your House Even In a Hot Seller’s Market” – to help you and anyone you know maximize the profits from your biggest investment and not get “caught up in what other people are doing.”

This is a must-read series, even if you aren’t selling a home anytime soon. Subscribe to it here.

This is week three in the series. Today you’ll learn about my formula for a successful sale.

Many sellers think all it takes is to take a few photos and put it on the MLS. (Or maybe even skip the MLS all together). 

Sure, that CAN get a house sold. But definitely not for the most money possible and isn’t that the goal – especially right now? 

I’ve developed a 16-point selling system that I refer to as my formula for a successful sale. 

Why bother with 16 things to get a home sold when it could sell without any of these?  Because my definition of a successful sale isn’t just getting a property sold.  For me, it means getting my clients the very most money possible with the least amount of stress to them. 

To do that, it takes a lot more than just taking some photos and putting it up on the MLS.  Doing that is like leaving money on the table, even when you factor in paying a commission. 

So here’s what my formula looks like:

• Prepping your home:  This topic deserves an entire article, it’s that important!  But, prepping doesn’t have to be time consuming, stressful or expensive.  Read all about how to prep your home for sale, even if it could sell in a day here.  

• Proper pricing:  Pricing, especially in this hot sellers market, is both an art and a science.  Homes are selling for more than the “comps” would indicate. So, pricing your home for a little more than what your neighbor’s sold for isn’t enough.  Plus, every home is slightly different, even if they look similar from the outside.  There are certain “markers” that are best to price at to attract the most buyers.  Pricing even a $1,000 above one of these magical “markers” can ruin the sale. 

• Professionally Measured Square Footage:  Many properties have incorrect square footage listing in the tax record.  Why?  Because most people don’t want to report that their home is larger than they are being taxed on it. Or, they don’t really know what their square footage is to report anyway.  Most of the time, the tax square footage is much lower than the actual square footage.  When I list a home, I have the square footage professionally measured. I do this so that we can use the larger square footage in our marketing, which increases the property value. It also impacts the appraisal once you go under contract, helping the property appraise for top dollar.  You need BOTH to get the most money possible for your home.

• Floor Plans:  Buyers LOVE having floor plans as a take-away so they can measure their furniture when they get home and see where it fits in each room.  This really helps them visualize their life and their stuff in your home.  Once they see how their life would work in your home, they are more likely to make a strong offer

• Professional photography:  I personally meet with the photographer to make sure we are getting exactly what we should (and shouldn’t) in the photos.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and I would say it’s worth a whole lot more!  These days, the photos have to be PERFECT in order to bring buyers to your home.  They are THE thing that will help scrolling buyers stop in their tracks and want to come see your home. The wrong photos will also make buyers keep scrolling or lose interest in coming to see your home at all. We’ve GOT to nail the photos. 

• 3-D Tours:  In addition to plain photos, buyers today also want to be able to “walk-through” a home without having to physically walk-through.  Sometimes they aren’t living in the area, and will make their decision to buy a home without physically going to it. Other times, they just want to see every crevice in the house that can be hidden in photos.  Providing a 3-D tour builds trust with buyers. They feel like they can see every part of your home, not just what one dimensional photos provide. 

• Virtual tour link for the MLS:  In addition to uploading photos and the 3-D tour to the MLS, I also create a virtual tour link as well.  It serves as your home’s own personal website while it’s on the market.

• Listing website link:  If you’re familiar with my professional background in digital marketing, you’ll know why this is my FAVORITE marketing tool!  The MLS only lets us do so much and say so much.  There are limits on how many characters we can use, and what we have to include – or cannot include.  I like to market my listings beyond just the MLS and so I create a web page for your listing.  It really brings homes to life more than the MLS ever could! I use this link to market it to buyers outside the MLS. Think Facebook, Instagram or other sites or apps that your potential buyer is reading content or watching videos. There are ways to find your most ideal buyers and target them with your listing. This makes a tremendous impact to get your home in front of buyers who aren’t actively searching. They could be on the fence to start looking. Or perhaps they have taken a break out of frustration from dealing with a challenging buyer’s market.

• Brochure:  This is becoming less important as people use their phones instead of paper to remember what a home looks like, but I still do them because every little thing helps. Having a digital version to share via text or email can be helpful for some buyers.  Sometimes the winning buyer asks for one after we are under contract just to keep as a memento! 

• What We’ll Miss Most:  Buyers LOVE this marketing piece.  This is something we’ll work on together. The purpose is for YOU to share all the wonderful things about what makes this home so special.  It helps buyers begin to visualize what life in your home will be like — things beyond what they can see. 

• Lender Sheets:  Most buyers and sometimes even agents, don’t know what the monthly payment and cash requirement is to buy a home.  I work with my lender partners to provide financing examples for the most likely type of buyer. It gives buyers an idea what their monthly payments and cash requirements would be to buy your home.  Most of the time, it’s a lot less daunting when they see the numbers in black and white. This can make them even more interested in making an offer on your home. 

• Open Houses:  Believe it or not, open houses don’t sell a home.  Serious buyers have agents. They want to schedule a private showing so they can take their time and not be distracted by other people.  Even though I know that open houses don’t sell homes, I use them to get direct feedback from buyers. It’s amazing what we can learn directly from buyers and how honest they will be with their feedback.  This information is crucial as we consider when to agree to an offer and which offer to take.  The other reason I do them is because it gives your home another “ping” on the apps.   Many buyers will search for open houses. So when your home is included in the results, it’s another way to get in front of potential buyers that might miss your listing based on their search criteria.

• Facebook Ads: You never know where you’ll find your perfect buyer.  Sometimes they aren’t actively looking for a home.  So instead of just throwing it on the MLS and hoping they see it, I actively go looking for THEM.  Facebook ads are a way to find buyers who took a break from looking or were distracted with other things.  You’d be surprised how often buyers step away from looking at listings, that could miss yours entirely.

• The perfect TIME and day to list your home:  Speaking of going live… Did you know there is a perfect day of the week and time of the day to list a home?  There is!  This one is my listing secret so I’m keeping it under wraps until you are ready to list your home. 😉

• Location articles, maps:  Sometimes, buyers are from out of town.  This happens more often than you’d think! Part of their decision to buy any home is knowing about the location.  For buyers that might not be familiar with the location, I include articles explaining what’s around the area. I provide maps so they can see where your home is in relation to things that are important to them. For example, they might want to be near a park, or grocery store. It helps them get a feel for their commute to work or other places they frequent.  Whatever makes your home’s location great, I make sure there is information the buyers will see. Rather than ME convince them, I rely on third parties to show what makes your home’s location so desirable. People trust third parties, which makes the information provided more impactful than if I tell them.

• Bonus Material:  This marketing feature is dependent on several factors, but mainly is used to speak to your most likely buyer.  For example, if you were selling your “starter home” and it is the type of home that today’s first-time home buyer would consider, then I would have links and brochures with information on first time home buyer programs that this type of buyer might qualify for. It would explain how these programs work and how it could make purchasing this home more affordable. This can make buyers more likely to move forward. 

All the above are what I cover as part of my services. I handle all the logistics for everything I mention above. From coordinating schedules, to meeting people at your home, to making sure everything runs smoothly – I’m there every step of the way.

My definition of a successful sale isn’t just getting a property sold.  For me, it means getting my clients the very most money possible with the least amount of stress to them.  To do that it takes a lot more than just taking some photos and putting it up on the MLS.  Sure, you could do that. But you’d be leaving money on the table, even when you factor in paying a commission. 

THIS is what it takes to get the very most for your home, no matter how great the market is. 

If anyone you know is considering selling their home, I’d love to put my formula to work and let it do it’s magic.

P.S.  If you are thinking of skipping the MLS entirely and selling off market, stay tuned for week six of this series. That week’s article is called, “Is Selling Off-Market A Good Idea?” Spoiler alert —sometimes, YES!  Learn when and how to do it and still get the very most for your home.