Stay Ahead of the Curve: Proactive Selling

As with anything else in life, becoming proactive in your pursuit of a particular goal will ultimately pay off. Everyone has heard the stories of men and women that took the reigns of their career and were able to rise through the ranks of their profession to a position of power. We’ve also all have the friend who hates his or her job, complains constantly, but does nothing to change the situation. Don’t be that person.

Getting proactive in your attempt to sell your home is perhaps the most rewarding, effective step you can take. While many sellers are more than happy to let their real estate agent take over and supply periodic updates on the situation, more and more, sellers are getting actively involved in the process to push a home sale along better than a real estate agent alone.

Know Your Home’s Weaknesses
Too many sellers these days are relying on the home inspection as part of the real estate process to tell them what needs to be fixed with a property and what the buyer might take an issue with. Don’t wait for an inspector to go through your home and point out problems after you’ve already accepted an offer. You run the risk of being surprised and having to negotiate a potential problem with an unhappy prospective buyer.

Instead, take it upon yourself to fix what needs to be fixed and perhaps commission your own appraisal. Getting your furnace or roof certified can speak volumes to a buyer that will appreciate not having to wait for an inspection to be sure that they are buying a quality home. If your personal inspection does turn something up, fix it and trumpet your new furnace or roof in your marketing materials for the home.

You can even go so far as to get an estimate for a repair that might be necessary and supply it as part of the materials you give to an interested buyer. Often times, that buyer will appreciate the fact that you have disclosed the true condition of the property and are willing to solve the problem over the course of a real estate negotiation. Getting this kind of information out in the open will only foster a stronger relationship between buyer and seller.

Follow Up With Interested Buyers
Your teacher may have told you that the best information you can get from a test you’ve taken is an understanding of the questions you got wrong. The same is true for showing a home, an exercise in dressing up your home in an attempt to give an interested buyer the best possible view of your real estate. Not every showing leads to a contract offer, obviously, and understanding what each one did not might help you better market your property.

It can be very easy to chalk up a fruitless showing to a less-than-committed buyer, but going the extra mile and getting information on why the home wasn’t up to snuff will help you later. You can contact the real estate agent of the interested buyer directly to get your reason. Don’t be pushy and certainly don’t be rude. Simply state that you’d like to know if there are steps you can take to make the home more inviting to the next interested buyer that takes a showing.

These steps can easily be taken in conjunction with a real estate agent that will likely appreciate the role you want to take in the selling process. Selling your home is often a team effort between you and your realtor, so bring a proactive nature to that team can help sell your home faster. Be that proactive person instead of the sit-back-and-take-it seller that is so common.

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