Market Preparation

Market Preparation is another important concept that can influence the final selling price of your home by as much as 5% – 15%. Most traditional agents will make a noble attempt to prepare their client’s home by simply hiring a home stager. Although this is an important step, it is not enough! It is just one part of a complete Market Preparation strategy.

Home Pre-Inspection

Most traditional agents will recommend against a seller getting an inspection on their OWN home. Why would it make sense to pay an inspector to reveal all of your home’s blemishes to a potential buyer? Here are three reasons why you should get a pre-inspection. (Make sure your real estate agent knows how to consult with you on the findings!)

1. Build trust – Most buyers will begin a relationship with a home seller on a very cautious level of trust. Buyers are always thinking “What is this seller trying to hide?” Getting a pre-inspection shows the buyer that you have absolutely nothing to hide and are willing to be fair and transparent with them. This helps start and build negotiations on a foundation of trust.

2. Increase Return on Investment – An experienced real estate professional should be able to help their client identify items on an inspection report that will be advantageous for the seller to repair before the home is on the market. These are items that most buyers will ask to be repaired anyway, yet the seller is able to do it on their terms and time frame. When you can repair items proactively, instead of as a reaction to an amendment, you will save money as a result. Furthermore, most buyers over-estimate repair costs when asking for a credit in lieu of repairs, so it’s much better to make a $100 repair before it becomes an issue, instead of negotiating over a $300 credit for that same issue discovered first by the buyer.

3. Eliminate Deal Killers – In addition to finding high payoff repairs, you’re also going to repair items that could potentially kill the deal later on in the transaction! Buyers use emotion to buy a home, and later use logic to justify their purchase. When buyer’s get an inspection, this is when their logic side kicks in and they begin looking for any little reason to justify a better deal on the home. Sometimes, what can seem like an insignificant repair like settling cracks in the walls, can be a very large emotional hurdle for a buyer to overcome. Sometimes they are not able to overcome it at all, and they walk away from the transaction, leaving the seller with wasted days that their home was off the market.

Why else do you think car dealerships sell used cars that have been pre-inspected and warranted? They understand the concept of getting a higher premium for a car that is pre-certified, than for a car that is sold “as-is.” Can you afford to sell your home “as-is?”

Home staging and pre-inspections are two of the main considerations in the Market Preparation step and they set the foundation for the next step: Market Positioning.