There is no shortage of real estate tips for first-time home buyers, but tips for first-time home sellers can sometimes be a little hard to come by. Here is a list of the most important factors that could affect how much you stand to gain from the sale of your property.

Valuable Real Estate Tips for First-Time Home Sellers

1. First-Time Home Sellers Should Get Professional Advice About a Listing Price

While you can find out what other homes like yours are listed for, what you really need to know is what they have recently sold for. Bank appraisers will pull together recent sales that are comparable to your property (comps), to determine how much they will lend buyers for your property. A licensed real estate professional can also get that information, which will give you a realistic number to shoot for.

2. Present Your Property to Its Best Advantage

You may be surprised to hear that there are several free and low-cost ways to make your home much more appealing to buyers, which can often lead to higher prices and faster sales. One of the best is to declutter, tidy, and clean inside and out. Once you’ve done that, here are some other steps you can take. Exterior Curb appeal is of utmost importance since you won’t be getting many buyers if they drive right by without stopping because they don’t like the way it looks from the outside. Here are a few easy fixes:

• Landscaping – A plain tub filled with a colorful inexpensive shrub or a few bright little plants lining the path to your front door
• Small repairs – Sagging gutters or shutters
• Paint – A pretty color on the front door or spray painting old light fixtures

Interior If you feel the interior of your home can still use a little help after you’ve tidied it up, here are a few more things you can do:

• Advanced decluttering – possibly even putting some furniture into storage
• Repair and replace – inexpensive things, like stained shower curtains or broken light switch plates
• Add a pleasant scent – baking pies, burning subtly scented candles

3. Ask About Closing Costs

Buyers are traditionally responsible for some of the closing costs, and sellers for others. However, this is sometimes negotiable, and an experienced real estate agent can give you an accurate estimate.

4. Hold an Open House

One of the best ways to put your home in front of as many buyers as possible is to hold an open house. It’s also much more convenient than having to show it over and over again to different individual buyers.

5. Accommodate Buyers

However, even if you hold an open house, or more than one, you still need to show your home to individual buyers. Some may not have been able to make the open houses. Others may want to see the property a second, or even a third time, which bodes very well for a sale. Your home does not need to be in perfect shape for each showing, a quick tidy-up is fine. If you are selling your first home, follow these easy steps and contact Hershey Real Estate Group so we can help you make the best sale possible.