Why hire a Realtor to Sell Your Home in Northern Virginia?
Wondering why you should hire a Realtor to sell your home in Northern Virginia? Having trouble finding a solid buyer for your home in Northern Virginia? If that’s you, then you need an experienced realtor who knows how to get your home ready for sale, create exposure on the market, and effectively negotiate buyers’ offers. Here’s how a realtor can help you sell your home:
Helps you get started
Getting started with selling your home is not a quick and easy process. There is a lot of research involved and having the proper tools at hand is essential. This initial research involves: researching comparable currently listed properties in your area, looking at the sales activity for the past 18 months, looking up property’s ownership and deed type, finding property’s public records and property’s land use coding and deed restrictions, and much more. Additionally, a comparable market analysis (CMA) needs to be completed to find your home’s value. Unless you have the time, knowledge, and proper tools to find all this information, you’ll be better off having a knowledgeable Northern Virginia realtor do all of this for you.
Sets your home’s selling price
Effectively pricing a home so that it sells fast takes skill and a great deal of selling experience. Pricing a home incorrectly is one of the biggest caveats to selling a home. Too often, home sellers price their homes below the market value and end up leaving money on the table. Conversely, when pricing your home too high, you risk keeping your home on the market for more than 3 months. An experienced realtor sets your home’s selling price at the “fair market value” that your buyers would be willing to pay. Curious how much your home’s worth? Get a free market analysis today!
Gets your home ready to sell
Did you know that it only takes 3 seconds to make a first impression? This statistic not only applies to meeting people but also applies when your home greets potential buyers. To maximize your home’s curb appeal, a professional realtor conducts a curb appeal assessment and suggests exterior improvements your home needs. Things like landscaping, a fresh coat of exterior paint, and lighting fixtures can transform its look and appeal. Furthermore, a real estate agent will perform an interior decor assessment and suggest other home improvements that make your home more appealing to potential buyers. A knowledgeable realtor helps you prioritize the right upgrades so that you maximize your ROI.
Efficiently markets your home
Making your home attractive does not suffice. Your home needs the proper exposure along with an efficient marketing plan. To begin with, a realtor prepares the home’s MLS Profile Sheet then enters the property data into the MLS database. Printing materials and internet property ads get created along with high-quality photos, and panoramic photography to accurately showcase your home. In some cases, listing the property on the MLS and creating ads is not enough. A highly experienced agent uses an extensive network that he or she has built over many years to bring the largest pool of potential buyers to your home. This network is often comprised of past clients and other agents representing buyers. However, it is not always about bringing many buyers to your door because the more doesn’t always mean the better. A skilled realtor weeds out all the unqualified buyers that just want to view the house without planning on making an offer.
Negotiates offers & prepares your home for closing
Offer negotiations take practice and skill. Unless you’ve sold many homes in the past, you’ll most likely need to hire an experienced agent who may have negotiated hundreds of home purchases in the past. Moreover, a realtor knows what’s driving demand and is aware of the terms worth negotiating. Once an Offer-to-Purchase contract is signed and the buyer has received it, there are many legal steps to be followed and paperwork to be completed. One key item is the Seller’s Disclosure form. If you fail to disclose a hazard or defect and the buyer finds out about it after he or she moved in, you can get sued. Last but not least, the closing process can get overwhelming and complicated. Often, closing preparations involve additional paperwork and reviewing of closing documents. If you’d like to get familiar with the work that goes into the selling process, check out our resource on the “184 Reasons Why You Need A Real Estate Agent”.
It’s an extensive task to learn how to sell your own home. The selling process is complex and can turn into a full time job. A skilled agent can make a big difference because they have the experience and the time. With over 19 years experience under her belt, Michelle is highly knowledgeable of the local market in Northern Virginia. If you like in Fairfax County, Arlington County, Alexandria, Prince William County or Loudoun County, give Michelle of MMK Realty LLC a call!
To learn more about MMK Realty visit our About Us page. For more tips and information feel free to contact me and follow me on social media on Facebook @mmkrealtyllc, Twitter @MMKRealtyLLC, and Instagram @mmkrealty. Also check out our Free Market Analysis. Sign up today and we will email you a free custom assessment of the current value of your home performed by MMK’s Principal Broker, Michelle Williams.
