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No matter how much you love living in Boerne, there comes a time for every homeowner to sell.
Maybe you’ve outgrown the property, you’re moving out of state for a job, or maybe you just want a home with more opportunities (or more DIY projects you can get your hands on!)
Whatever the reason, you’re in luck: Boerne is a pretty in-demand area, and selling your home can be quite easy – as long you do it right. If you're considering selling your Boerne home in the near future, we recommend heeding these important tips from us first!
1. Find a great agent.
The right agent can make or break your sale. Just like with any profession, there are both good and not-so-good real estate agents. There are agents who will stop at nothing to market your property, prep it, stage it and find the right buyers, and there are some who will just take the old “if you build it, they will come," approach, merely listing your home and hoping buyers come to you.
For this reason, it’s crucial you do some research before hiring an agent to handle your sale. Look into your local agent pool, and create a short list of agents who may be good for the job. The biggest traits you want to look for are:
1) Experience selling properties. Just helping buyers located and purchase homes is not enough.
2) Experience in Boerne. Knowledge of the local market is crucial if you want your home priced, presented and marketed properly to area buyers.
3) Room on their plate. You don’t want anyone who’s too bogged down with other listings.
Once you have a short list of agents, set up a time to meet with each one in person. Get a feel for who you gel with best and who will make your property a priority. That’s who you should choose to list your home.
2. Get a pre-sale home inspection.
It might cost you a few hundred dollars, but let us tell you: A pre-sale home inspection can make your sale immensely easier. Home inspection reports are one of the biggest reasons potential buyers back out of a sale, and that’s something you never want to deal with. For one, it’s a waste of your time. It sets you back weeks or even months, and it makes your home harder to sell in the long run. Second, it also means you may need to drop your price. If one buyer backs out, you can bet the next one might too...and that’s something no homeowner should have to deal with!
To prevent a bad inspection from turning your sale sour, get a pre-sale inspection before you even list the home. The inspector will be able to pinpoint any problem areas that could be dangerous, expensive or deal breakers for a buyer. You can then address those issues long before your home hits the market.
3. Make major repairs.
If the home inspection reveals major issues are at work, you should invest the time and money in repairing those problems before putting your home on the market. This is especially true for big issues that could pose a safety hazard for the new homeowner or be a big cost for them to repair.
If you’re not up for handling the repairs, you and your agent can instead factor the problems into your listing price. If the inspector thinks a new roof is necessary, take the estimated cost of a replacement roof of your initial price, and use that to list your home instead. A lower price will make buyers a little more willing to accept an “as is” or problematic property.
4. Invest in staging.
To truly fall in love with a home, potential buyers need to be able to envision themselves there – to see themselves living there, raising their kids there and growing old there. While blank walls and an empty room might leave decorating options up to the imagination, they will also make a home look stark, cold and emotionless – not feelings you typically associate with “home.”
To make your place feel a little homier, invest some time and resources into staging. Add a fresh coat of paint to the walls, place fresh flowers on table tops, and create a welcoming front stoop. You can also open windows to let in natural light, or bake cookies before a showing to make your property smell more like home. It’s the little things that count in staging!
5. Price your home properly.
Now this one has a lot to do with your agent, but the key here is you should manage your expectations. Going into your sale expecting $500K for a 20-year-old, run-down home just isn’t feasible – and it’s bound to leave you disappointed. The price at which you list your home needs to be arrived at logically, using the pricing of comps (other homes in the area that have recently sold), the state of the local market (area supply and demand) and the state of your home (how well-maintained is it?).
A good real estate agent will be able to take all these factors into account and come up with a reasonable price at which to list your home. Sometimes, it may be less than what you were hoping for, but that’s OK! Demand in Boerne is high, so, occasionally, buyers end up in bidding wars, and the sellers get more than they listed for. This is always a possibility with your property.
6. Keep it spic and span.
If you’re still living in your home while it’s on the market, you’ll want to take some precautions to keep in clean and tidy at all times. That means cleaning up your home daily – picking up toys, washing dishes, and sweeping the floor as you go. It also may require the use of a professional cleaning service, especially if you’re busy working or caring for the kids. Potential buyers can stop by at any time, and you don’t want to get caught off-guard with a messy or unkempt home. That’s surely not going to impress them.
Take whatever steps necessary to ensure your home is always clean and ready for spur-of-the-moment visitors, and be sure to get all household members on board. It takes a village to keep a home market-ready.
Selling a home is a fine art. It takes the right amount of knowledge, preparation, and care to get it done, and it’s not something left up to an amateur! If you’re considering selling your Boerne home, get in touch with a Keller Williams Boerne agent as soon as possible. We’ll help evaluate your property, price it and prepare you for the sales process. Then, once everything is ready, we’ll list it on your behalf, market it and seek out the right buyers. We’ll even negotiate on your behalf and work with you throughout the closing process and, if you’re buying a new home in the area, we can help you with that side of the transaction as well.
