what seller should do when they have no time

(photo courtesy of yosigo!!!)

Selling a house is a very hectic process. As a seller, s/he will encounter many people through his/hers door during the process, not only professionals like agents, mortgage brokers, photographers, stagers, home inspectors, and also buyers. There is a lot of prep involved in planning in order to have a successful sale. If your sellers are strapped for time, it almost seems impossible to follow their professionals’ directions on how to prep their home and get it ready for sale.

Here are a few tips that can help you as an agent:

1. Plan your sale very in advanced: Selling your home is probably a decision in the making for over a period of time. It’s rarely that you wake up one day, you suddenly have the urge of selling your house. Starting from the time that you are thinking about selling, sit down and start mapping out a plan. I would recommend to first do a financial plan – how much equity you are looking to pull in and how much you need to buy your next home or if you are renting, etc. It is a really good idea to consult with a professional before you make such a big financial decision.
   Then do a timeline – if repairs are needed, how much time would you need (and pad in buffer time in case of delays), how much time would you need to pack, make arrangement at work, etc. Identify what are the to-dos and important tasks and milestones in the timeline. Figure out what blocks of time you have in your schedule from now to putting your home on the market, and plan packing and repair plans accordingly.
2. Once you have a plan of action, delegate: You don’t have to do everything by yourself. You can enlist help by getting friends and family involved or simply hires someone to do so. There are things that you have to do it yourself such as packing up personal items, banking records, etc. but there are things such as wrapping dishes in paper and place in boxes that you can have someone else do it. You can hire a professional organizer to do it for you, or generally moving companies may include packing as part of their services, same with stagers. Or hire your local high school kid at $10 a hour to pack up your books, general items, etc. Or you can have friends and family help you out for it and you pay them back in pizza and beer.
3. Follow your plan of action & do not let things slide: It is extremely to follow your timeline and don’t fall behind. Rome wasn’t built in 1 day and neither was your junk and your accumulation of material means. Putting things off will get you nowhere but trouble. So avoid that trouble by doing what you need to be doing.
4. If you are really strapped for time, hire someone to do it!
5. If you are short on time and strapped for cash to hire someone, talk to your agent and your friends and family circle. If you are strapped for cash, you may be able to borrow money from friends and family members and pay them back when the home is sold (I would of course recommend to jot something down on paper for providing a clear understanding for both parties involved to prevent future disputes). Your agent should have the ability and network to find solutions for you. You can also negotiate with the professionals, such as stagers, you hire to pay at the close of escrow when the home is sold. Keep in mind that the professionals may charge you interest for paying at the close of escrow, which is standard in the industries. Another great resource is Craig’s List, where you can post and barter services. Say you are an artist and you are short on cash right now to get ready, you trade your goods (paintings) for a professional organizer’s services. When I wrote grants for artists, I did get paid in paintings a few times.

Selling a home is an undertaking, so do enlist/hire help when you need it. Also planning will help you prepare for any possible surprises down the road because you will be more equipped to deal with the uncertainties.

For more tips like this, or look at before and after staged home photos, visit www.staged4more.com. You can also ask Cindy your burning staging questions at hello@staged4more.com

Got great tips to share? Feel free to jot down your tips here in the comment section…

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