It’s going to be another sizzling-hot spring market.

We are already seeing early signs that it could be another great time to sell. Price expectations have been moderate—with many analysts predicting price growth in the 3 to 4 percent range, which is considered average.

Recently mortgage rates reached a 7-year low in January. That could spell more buyer activity than previously projected. Could that mean another awesome year of appreciation for homeowners?

All over our area, there are currently hundreds, if not thousands, of sellers planning to cash in on their equity. Some will be moving up, some will be downsizing, and others will be relocating. Regardless, almost every seller who is prepping to go on the market this year is mulling what they should or should not do as they ready their home for sale this year. Here are 5 Tips!

1. Flooring + Paint

This will vary by property, but for the most part, when I chat with a soon-to-be seller on what projects they should take on prior to putting their home on the market, they have several in mind that simply won’t boost the property’s value for the cost. In other words, they won’t get $1.50 or $2 back for every $1 spent.

My top two that positively affect price and are inexpensive? Flooring and paint.

Fresh flooring is one of the few updates that can really provide a “wow” factor for buyers—whether it’s refinishing hardwood floors, touching up scratched up trim, or replacing carpeting, this is an update that is well-worth it. Take care of it the week before you go on the market.

Paint! Easy to do—and it recreates a room. Go for light, neutral colors. We want the space to feel big, photograph well, and appeal to the masses. When readying your home for sale, we need to examine things through the lens of, “What does the typical buyer in your community at price point X expect when they walk through the door on a showing?”

I can help with those answers, but that is the framework we will be working with. Both upgrades give the buyer intrinsic feelings that this home is move-in ready, clean, fresh, modern, and new. Often that can lead to a higher-priced offer.

2. FHA-proof Your Home

FHA and VA mortgages have stricter appraisal standards than conventional loans. Because these loans are subsidized by the government, they require stricter appraisals with a heavy focus on safety issues.

Depending on the price point and situation, we should ensure that FHA buyers are able to submit an offer on your home with confidence. If your home is going to be listed at a cool million bucks, then feel free to skip this step! But if you’re planning on listing your home at or below *$340,000, then mitigating peeling paint, cracked window panes, and having sturdy handrails on staircases could maximize the buyer pool for your property.

Yes, you can take care of these items later or ask the buyer to do so if they have an FHA loan. However, sometimes FHA buyers (and their agents) will get discouraged if they view a property that is not FHA-appraisal-ready. Because of this, it’s better to be proactive than reactive.

3. Pre-Listing Home Inspection

One of the most important aspects of a transaction is disclosure of defects by the seller and the home inspection process. At home inspection, buyers do their due diligence to “kick the bricks” on the home to make sure they know what they’re getting into. A pre-listing home inspection once again puts the seller on offense instead of defense, getting ahead of any unknown defects by having them discovered by a home inspector.

Some buyers will even elect to not have a home inspection when they see the seller has had a pre-listing home inspection! The upside here is that anything discovered on the pre-listing home inspection is made available to the buyer before they write an offer. If they elect to have a home inspection later and their inspector finds the same defects, they can’t ask for price reduction, seller credit, or for those items to be fixed.

Why? It was already disclosed and is not new information.

This also plays on the psychology of the sale. The first time a buyer views your home, they will be excited at all the positives, imagining their new life in the home.  Since they and their agent reviewed the prelisting home inspection report ahead of time, ideally, they will take the negatives in stride.

It’s a lot more stressful when a home buyer learns of defects later in the middle of the transaction, like a traditional home inspection after an accepted offer. At that point, they have had days—or weeks—to let the high of an accepted offer wash off. It can be sobering when they get their home inspection report and see several items that they were not aware of, even if the items are typical and not expensive to fix.

Getting ahead of that sequence and being up front about EVERYTHING can be an awesome solution for both buyer and seller, and often get sellers to the closing table with fewer out of pocket costs for repairs—thus netting them more money.

4. Depersonalize and Declutter

When prepping your home for sale, take down family photos, religious-specific decorations, and neutralize the home as much as possible. I have had sellers push back on this saying that it won’t feel like a “home” after these changes are made.

But for some buyers, their idea of “home” is vastly different than a seller’s. Once again, we need to look at this through the lens of “What does the typical buyer in your community at price point X expect when they walk through the door on a showing?” Also, unfortunately, there are plenty of people with prejudices out there. I want to keep the identity of my clients as low-profile as possible when buyers view the home to ensure prejudices don’t enter the decision-making process and that only the home is being spotlighted.

It’s also critical that furniture is staged in a way that enhances flow from room-to-room, incites buyers’ imaginations, and removes obstructions from hallways, windows, etc. Clunky furniture can make rooms feel smaller subconsciously to buyers. Their minds take note as poorly-laid out rooms obstruct buyers from walking up to a window because there is furniture in the way for example. Buyers might not notice it consciously, but they will get a feeling of the room being small because the layout restricts mobility.

Depersonalizing, decluttering, and staging will maximize space in your home, further highlight the top-notch photos from the photographer (VRX Media) I employ for my listings and increase the walkability of your floor plan--which means your home will show better and feel bigger.

5. Time it Perfectly

Timing is everything. Sellers have had it good the last four years—but these market conditions won’t last forever. If you’re thinking of selling this year, we really need to start planning now. The spring market has been hot for weeks.

Planning when your home will go on the market and then executing that plan is often the key to netting thousands of dollars more. Maximize your exposure to buyers by putting a plan together to have your home for sale before the end of May.

…

Are you thinking of selling in 2020? Contact me to get the process started. First we’ll plan, then we’ll execute!

*The maximum loan amount for an FHA Loan on a single family home in Waukesha County is $327,750.