Start With What You Need the Sale to Accomplish
Selling a house usually starts long before the FOR SALE sign goes up.
The first step is figuring out what you actually need the sale to accomplish.
Are you moving across town? Leaving Nevada? Buying another home? Downsizing? Trying to get out from under a payment? Selling an investment? Dealing with an inherited property?
Those answers affect almost everything that comes next.
Pricing Is a Strategy, Not a Website Estimate
Before choosing a list price, Lisa can help you look at the property, comparable sales, current competition, likely buyer expectations and your estimated selling costs.
A high estimated value on a website is not the same thing as a pricing strategy.
The real question is where your home fits against the properties buyers can choose from right now.
To see how pricing really works, start with What Is My Las Vegas House Really Worth? and run the numbers with What's My Home Worth?.
Preparation: Repair, Clean, or Sell As-Is
Next comes preparation.
That does not automatically mean remodeling.
Some homes need paint, cleaning and decluttering.
Others may benefit from repairs.
Some should be sold largely as-is.
Spending $30,000 because somebody on television said kitchens sell houses makes very little sense if the market is unlikely to give you that $30,000 back.
Before you spend, compare what to fix and what to leave with the guide on what to fix before selling your Las Vegas home.
Professional Presentation Matters
Once the property is ready, professional presentation matters.
Photography.
Listing information.
Online exposure.
Showing instructions.
Property-specific marketing.
Agent outreach.
Social media where appropriate.
And making the home reasonably easy for qualified buyers to see.
For many buyers the listing photos are the first showing, so see how to prepare the house for listing photos before the photographer arrives.
Then the Market Starts Talking Back
Then the market starts talking back.
Showings, inquiries, online engagement, buyer-agent feedback and offers all provide information.
If buyers love the home but repeatedly object to the same issue, that matters.
If nobody is scheduling appointments, that matters too.
Marketing a home is not:
Put it online and wait.
An Offer Is an Economic Package, Not Just a Price
When an offer arrives, price is only one term.
Financing, appraisal exposure, inspection rights, closing date, concessions, contingencies and the buyer's ability to perform can all affect the strength of the transaction.
When more than one offer arrives, compare the whole economic package, not just the largest number.
Escrow, Closing, Funding, Recording
After acceptance comes escrow.
Title work.
Disclosures.
Inspection.
Potential repair negotiations.
Financing.
Appraisal where applicable.
HOA documentation where applicable.
Final walkthrough.
Signing.
Funding.
Recording.
Only after the transaction has actually closed should a seller treat the sale as finished.
For the full walkthrough from acceptance to recording, read What Happens After I Accept an Offer? and the Complete Las Vegas Seller's Guide.
The “Maybe” Stage Is a Great Time to Talk
If you're still at the “maybe” stage, that's actually a great time to talk.
You don't need to have packed a box or chosen a moving date.
Lisa can help you understand the property, likely numbers and possible paths before you make the decision.
And if you are weighing whether to sell now or wait, compare the real cost of waiting in When Is the Best Time to Sell a House in Las Vegas?.
Want to Know What the Records Say About Your Property?
Request a free Property DNA report. Property DNA can include available property, ownership/history, mortgage-related, comparable, neighborhood, school, risk, public-record and other property information depending on available sources.
Current typical turnaround is approximately 40 minutes during normal business hours, and many reports are returned within one hour or the same business day, but turnaround is not guaranteed and can vary.
Property DNA is free through Lisa. Request a free Property DNA report.
Important
Property DNA uses third-party, public-record and other available data believed reliable but not guaranteed. It is provided for informational purposes and is not an appraisal, title search, title commitment, title insurance policy, inspection, survey, legal opinion, tax opinion, environmental report or guarantee of value.
