This is the fifth post in the series “Real Estate Property Marketing Plan To Sell Your Oklahoma City Home”.
From our comprehensive marketing plan:
4. Repairs, painting and cleaning. This can take anywhere from a few days to more than a week. Everything’s a trade-off, and we can’t always do everything we might wish for, but we want for our homes to be as clean, as homey, as livable and as turn-key as we can possibly make them. We feel it is important to address these items prior to putting the home on the market.
I know. You’re thinking, geez, here we are on part 5 and the home’s not even on the market yet! Well, it’s coming soon. But remember the old saying, “you only have a few seconds to make a first impression”. This step (repairing / painting / cleaning) is a big part of that ‘first impression’.
Today most buyers demand that a house be in move-in condition, meaning that it’s structurally sound, in good general repair with no obvious signs of deferred maintenance, and meticulously clean, attractive and inviting. If your house doesn’t look ready to occupy, buyers will quickly move on, knowing they have many options. Don’t expect that you can skip doing the work, put the house on the market and offer a price reduction or repair allowance. In doing that you risk taking an even longer time to sell, getting no offers, or eventually getting an offer that is far lower than you anticipate. That’s a waste of money, time and effort. Keep in mind that you’re competing against new construction in pristine condition, often with buying incentives from the builder, well-maintained, existing homes and homes in foreclosure selling at a greatly reduced price.
You’re probably already aware of some necessary repairs and other chores to address. Create a list of things to do, and decide if you can manage them yourself, or if you need help. Get estimates, develop a budget and proceed according to your selling timeframe.
Series Index
Part 1 – Introduction
Part 2 – Pricing
Part 3 – Staging
Part 4 – Pre-inspection
Part 5 – Repair/Paint/Clean
Part 6 – Photography
Part 7 – Room Dimensions
Part 8 – Neighborhood Photos
Part 9 – Video
Part 10 – Single-Property Website
Part 11 – MLS
Part 12 – Listing Syndication
Part 13 – Virtual Tour
Part 14 – Property Flyers
Part 15 – Sign & Lockbox
Part 16 – Online Classifieds
Part 17 – Property Blog Post
Part 18 – Featured Listing Websites
Part 19 – YouTube
Part 20 – Trulia Pro
Part 21 – Facebook
Part 22 – Twitter
Part 23 – Open House
Part 24 – Direct Mail
Part 25 – Market Update
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