Fend Off the Home Selling Sharks With These 4 Pre-Listing Steps

Montgomery County Real Estate Podcast with Diane Cardano

These tips are valuable information. How valuable? It could mean $21,000. As promised, I’m revealing how I sold a home for $21,000 over the listing price in just two hours and 20 minutes! How was I able to pull this off? Well, it’s all outlined in my book, “Home Selling Sharks,” so today I’ll cite specific passages that pertain to the pre-listing process. Before anything else, the trick is to start earlier than you think. Much like Noah with the ark, prepare for the inevitable moment when the figurative flood comes. I should mention, though, that it takes more than a few months—to sell a home this quickly and secure top dollar takes a year’s worth of preparation or more. From there: 1. Hire a marketing and negotiation expert. This isn’t me telling you to find a Realtor; rather, find someone with an expert understanding of marketing and negotiation and who happens to have a real estate license. In my book, I liken not having an expert on your side to letting the so-called sharks take bites out of your sale price, which is to say you could lose out on thousands of dollars. 2. Get a pre-inspection done on the home. A pre-inspection can actually zero out your repair costs. Acting preemptively with inspections is a surefire way to sell your home for $21,000 above the listing price in two hours and 20 minutes. 3. Showcase your home by doing a professional photo shoot. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the first place buyers will turn to is the internet, so showing your home in a professional way and in its best light online is key. “Find someone with an expert understanding of marketing and negotiation and who happens to have a real estate license.” 4. Do a room-by-room review. Going from one room to the next, assess what improvements you could make so your home will jump out at a buyer. If a particular room could use new paint, get a sense of what the cost will be, but never proceed without first knowing what costs you’ll incur. Once you’ve checked off these four items, you can market your home online for all to see until it’s time for the next step, which I’ll cover in a future video. If you’d like to learn about this process in greater detail, give me a call at 215-576-8666. I’d be happy to give you a copy of my book, “Home Selling Sharks,” or you can also pick it up on Amazon. Or if you’d like a free copy personally signed by me, you’re welcome to come to my book signing at Abington Free Library on Saturday, April 27, between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. I look forward to seeing you there!