Hiring the right realtor can obviously make a huge difference in the home selling process.  From marketing expertise, to advise on pricing and home prep a good realtor is there to help at ever step of the way.

Beyond hiring the right realtor, sellers have a lot that they can do that will make a big difference, whether getting a higher price, or even the difference between selling or not.

One of the decisions a seller controls is just how easy it is for buyers and agents to see the house.  Simply put, the easier it is for people to see, the more likely the interest level is higher.  We’ve seen a few homes in Fusion lately that may have sold sooner and possibly at a higher number if there was easier access to the home.   I often joke with my clients that the ideal for a realtor is “a vacant house that is staged”.  That is rarely the reality however.  As every situation is different it’s sometimes not all that easy….whether it’s tenant occupied, sellers that work from a home office, or simply not wanting to have your life upended.

We stress to our clients that the key is to make the home accessible in certain ways even when total access isn’t.  It’s fine to limit showings to certain days or hours…but make it very easy to see other times.  If the showings need to be restricted during the week (whether because of sleeping kids, home office or just not wanting dinner to be disturbed) consider having open house so that interested parties have an alternative.  If you limit showing ability too much potential buyers will simply lose interest.

Although not all of these may be possible, there are a few things that sellers may want to consider:

• If the property is tenant occupied (and the tanants are not eager for the home to sell) consider waiting until the lease is up and selling the home after the tenants move out.
• Consider offering a rent reduction for the tenants while the home is on the market in exchange for the tenants willingly accomodating showings and open houses.
• If there are challenges allowing showings during the week, have open houses on the weekend so that your realtor can offer potential buyers options and alternatives….look like you’re accomodating.
• One nice aspect to open house that you can not only get a lot of the buyers through that might want to arrange a showing, but also get many of the less serious crowd through without much effort.
• Instead of repeatedly saying no to showing requests, make it clear when the home “can” be shown.  Your realtor can put showing instructions on the MLS that specifies all of the times that the home can be shown.

Find out what your home in Fusion South Bay is worth.