Besides the important aspect of taking your paperwork to a lawyer (a detail which can not be avoided – especially here in Canada), you must make sure that you have the house ready for showing.

Use the following list of details to help you prepare your house for selling.  Some of these small details may seem trivial to you, but I can not stress enough the importance of paying attention to them.

1. De-clutter: Any home with a lot of clutter stands less chances of getting sold quickly for a good price. More and more people these days are looking at optimizing space within the house and they want to see the maximum space available.
2. Make Beds: This is not a major thing to do, but it just gives a very negative impression if not done.
3. Clean Closets: Make sure your closets and drawers are neatly arranged. It just gives an impression of order within the household. Cluttered closets symbolize chaos and give a wrong impression of your house to buyers.
4. Light: Make sure that you have your curtains drawn to let in enough natural light.  Artificial lighting can be used to enhance the interiors of your house, but don’t rely on it.  You want the house to feel upbeat, not gloomy.
5. Make Your Family Leave the house: You don;t want to have 4 or 5 family members all present when you are showing the house.  Let people take a good look and open up all of the doors and drawers without everyone watching.  Remember that they will paying a large sum for your house, so make them feel comfortable when viewing it.
6. Clean yard: Make sure your yard is clean and tidy. This too plays a major role in forming a good impression.
7. Be Accessible: You may have a very erratic schedule, but you must make sure that you are available for prospective buyers whenever they want to ask you things about your house. This is one way in which you can ensure your house gets sold quickly. Untraceable owners lose many a prospect just be being inaccessible.
8. Dogs and pets: If you have strange fascination for weird pets, or even for something as harmless as a dog, make sure you send him/her for a walk.  People who come to view your house may not be as impressed with your pet as you are.  In fact, they may actually be scared of animals and that may scare them away from purchasing your house.
9. Smell: Make sure your house does not stink under any circumstances. It is a major put off.  This may seem a little insensitive, but food odors should not be present.  Unless it is cookies fresh from the oven!
10. Check Regularly: You must inspect your own house to see everything is in place, especially the above items. Do a regular check up once a week.  Arrange the closets, mow the yard.  Make sure everything looks vibrant and happy.

PROS

• The most important PRO for selling your house yourself is MONEY. Selling your house without the help of an agent means more Money for you after the sale!
• By selling it yourself you save the commissions and fees. – We’re not talking about pennys, we are talking about THOUSANDS of dollars which you would have to pay an agent.
• Another advantage is that you are able to decide the times that are conveninet for you to have open houses and showings. It’s also completely up to you where, and when you want to advertise.

Unlike a real estate agent who is selling many houses, you can focus on YOUR house, because you are only selling your own house. It is obvious that you will have more interest in the sale than an agent…

Cons
But as mentioned above there are also disadvantages to selling your house yourself. Real estate agents are paid a lot of money for a reason. Selling a house can take a lot of energy and time. Dealing with potential buyers, open houses, closing sales and of course dealing with legal issues. Real estate agents are familiar with all the above and their experience may impact the sale. If they focus on your house that is!

Be realistic when making a decision! Will you drop everything to make a showing?

• Do you think you are indeed a good negotatior?
• Are you 100% sure you are able to close the deal?
• Selling a house can be a big project! Not everyone can sell their own house.

If the challenge of selling your house yourself excites you, and if you’re willing to put in the effort, it’s more than within your grasp to sell your house without the help of an agent. The big payoff will be when you save save thousands of dollars, and buy ourself something nice, or go on a vaction!

So to start, sit down and start evaluating your house. Finding the right price is the first and most important step when selling your house yourself.

When you’re ready, give Erika at skhomes4sale.com a call. She’ll give you all the information you need to put your house in front of thousands of eager house buying eyeballs.