House in Order
Michael Flack | Feb 6, 2023
“I WOULD SAY TO the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering…. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory. Victory at all costs—victory in spite of all terror—victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.”
What Winston Churchill said to his House during Great Britain’s darkest hour, I would say about selling yours. Selling a house shouldn’t be easy. If you sold one and it was, you didn’t do it right. It’s likely the biggest financial transaction of your life, so I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you put in a little effort.
The non-comprehensive checklist below is based on a lifetime of experience. I haven’t always followed it, though when I didn’t, I paid for it.
- Know your home’s value. When you meet with your agent, you need to have an idea of what your home is worth. If you don’t, how can you be sure the sales price your agent suggests is the correct one?
- Find the right agent. Using the agent that sold you your home may be the easiest route, but it may not be the most profitable one. It may take a while, but you need to spend the time to find the best agent to sell your home. Remember, they all cost the same, so you might as well hire the right one. News flash: You need to interview more than one agent. And maybe, just maybe the best agent may be… you, via a “for sale by owner” or discount broker.
- Listen to your agent. You spent some time and effort hiring her, so now listen to what she says. If she doesn’t dig the lime green paint in the living room, the 10-foot-by-10-foot bridal portrait over the fireplace or the trampoline room, then maybe some changes are in order. Don’t take her constructive criticism personally. In the words of the world’s greatest businessman, “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business.”
- Stage the place and clean it so prospective buyers fall in love at first sight. Think curb and entry way appeal. The house I recently purchased has a stunning three-floor modern staircase that was highlighted with lights and artwork. When my wife first walked in the door, she wanted it—bad. It also needs to be clean, and I mean clean clean. Think Martha Stewart and Felix Unger had a love child clean. Decluttering can help, as it makes every home look bigger, better and cleaner. I realize you and your family still need to live there, but you need to make it appear as though no one actually does.
- Spend some money. If, like most people, you delayed some work on your home due to frugality or procrastination, the time is now. Not too much, but enough to put a nice shine on the place.
- You need good photographs for the MLS. Obviously.
- Market it. Your agent is going to list your home on the MLS, which will then syndicate the listing to the far reaches of the internet. She may also use other routes like direct mail, print and blogs. But you can’t let that be the end of it. You also need to market the place yourself. You have lived in your neighborhood for some time, so you have a circle of friends, neighbors, colleagues and acquaintances. You need to use them to get the word out: Facebook, LinkedIn, bulletin board at work, your sister’s friend who’s head of the PTA, and so on. When I sold my house in Houston, my personal marketing effort played a key role in getting the job done.
- If the above steps fail to work, there’s one final step that may be tried. Bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down in your backyard. It’s a well-known technique to enable a real estate miracle, as a subsequent “successful closing won’t be long in the offing.” The reason is obvious, as St. Joseph is the patron saint of house hunters. Don’t believe me, you heathens? Well, it’s well documented here. Not Catholic or Anglican? Uh-oh.
You are the captain of your real estate ship. As the former First Lord of the Admiralty may have once said, “Victory will never be found by taking the path of least resistance.”
Michael Flack blogs at AfterActionReport.info. He’s a former naval officer and 20-year veteran of the oil and gas industry. Now retired, Mike enjoys traveling, blogging and spreadsheets. Check out his earlier articles.
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Good suggestions Michael. We sold our house last November and had a very positive experience. Our house was on the market for five days and we received a cash offer 3K over our asking price. We knew about two years before we sold that there were several major projects that needed to completed before we put the house on the market. I removed the tree house lovingly constructed about 10 years earlier that our kids – now adults – played in. We also replaced our 25 year-old roof and two exterior doors about two years before we sold the property. The major work just prior to the sale involved some interior painting, some landscaping, and decluttering. Our take away from the experience was that some advance preparation and expenses made the final preparation for the sale relatively easy.
Ocher, thanks for sharing your experiences. Many sellers would be reluctant to remove a treehouse filled with memories, but it appears you realized that the effort expended was more than worth it.
When my husband and I moved into our first (and current) home I tried to find a statue of St. Joseph (hubby’s patron saint). I hit every Catholic/religious store in 50-mile radius with no luck. One place I went to the salesperson asked if I was going to bury it. I was APPALLED, I had never heard of such a thing. (I suspect my grade school and high school nuns/teachers would have also been appalled) P.S. my father finally found us a really nice one which is prominently displayed in our home to this day.
Suzie, when you do sell your home, I recommend you use Amazon to purchase the “St Joseph Statue for Selling Homes with Instruction Card and House Prayer Complete Set”. Considering your husband’s Christian name, it should be doubly effective.
Good checklist. I would like to add to always ask your broker for a discount, they might say yes. I sold two houses in Houston one in 2012 and one in 2019 and received a half percent discount on both from my listing agents. Not great negotiating, just asking.
John Redfield, I used a discount broker (Redfin) the last time I sold a house (in Houston, btw). Though asking for a discount is always a good idea.
The answer to bullet #1 (how can you be sure the likely sales price the agent you’re interviewing suggests is the correct one?) is #2 and #3 (Find the right agent and listen to him/her). The majority of homeowners think their home is worth more than it is. Agents know this and some/many will overestimate what the house will sell for, hoping an optimistic seller will pick them. Picking the agent whose estimate approximates your own estimate–whatever it is–is the wrong basis for that decision, and will often end up causing the house to be listed for too high a price, which is a big mistake. Recommending the best listing price–and why–is probably the most important contribution the real estate agent will make to your sale. Most people are simply not going to have the time or motivation to do what you suggest in the link you supplied in bullet #1–that’s what the real estate agent does every day as their job and why you’re paying them so much money for their expertise that you don’t have. How to find and pick the right agent? That’s the key question!
D Shapiro, you make a very good point that “Most people are simply not going to have the time or motivation to do . . . ” I am in the minority and therefore will have a good idea of what my home is worth. If the prospective agent has a different value in mind, then we can discuss and they can convince me.
Also, I’m “paying them so much money” because with the exception of discount brokers, FISBO, or negotiating at the margin, that is what the real estate union requires.
Thanks for your comments.
We’ve owned three homes and sold two. The first of the two sales was so long ago that I barely remember the details. What I do remember is that we shouldn’t have sold it at all. We didn’t have to—we’d already moved to our second home and were renting the first out. We didn’t want to be landlords because we had busy careers and young kids, but it was definitely a foolish financial decision to sell that house.
Our second home was a very easy purchase/sale. The home belonged to friends of ours. They were moving to a larger home and knew that we were about ready to move up. They offered to split the savings on not hiring a realtor—they showed us a professional appraisal, and our purchase price was 3% below that. The husband was a commercial realtor, and my husband is a lawyer, and we were able to figure it all out amongst ourselves. The only outside professionals we needed were the title company and for our mortgage. In return for giving us a very nice deal on the house, our friends didn’t have to show or market it, and we let them live there until their new home was available. We ended up living in that house for over 20 years and netted $500,000 when we sold it in 2019.
When we sold that home, we pretty much did everything on the list in this article. We interviewed four realtors. We decluttered, fixed, and spruced up the home before putting it on the market. We prepaid for inspections for the roof, HVAC, pest, and the city, so that there would be no surprises. The only thing we didn’t do was market it ourselves, but our area is usually a great housing market, and we didn’t really need to. Oh, and the house never looked better than it did in those MLS photos!
DrLefty, the do-it-yourself option can sometimes be the best option – thanks for sharing the details of your experience.
Interviewing more than one realtor is a pain but can be very effective. Besides finding the best agent, each agent you interview may provide some information that will help you during the process.
Good article, Michael, and great common sense.
I’m going to quibble with your second paragraph, however. The most successful and profitable home sales I’ve completed have been the easiest ones. Yes, it can be a complicated process, but I have found that if it becomes too difficult, that may be a sign that it’s the wrong deal or the wrong buyer. One of the best decisions I’ve made was pulling the plug on a sale for just that reason. One of the worst was going through with a deal even though the buyer’s complexities rang an internal alarm.
Also, merely “good” photographs don’t clear the bar anymore. So much real estate shopping is done remotely these days that you need the best photos, virtual tour and aerial drone video you can get in order to attract potential buyers from afar. Your realtor will know — and pay for — the best services available. Make sure they do not skimp on this.
I hope and believe the house I bought 15 months ago is my last, because I never want to move again!
Mike Gaynes, you make a good point, in any potential sale, simpler deals are preferable to complicated ones – when accepting an offer this complexity of the deal needs to be factored in. In the second paragraph, I’m referring to the work required before any offers are made.
You are correct, merely good, is not really good enough – they need to make your home look amazing. I agree, do not skimp on photos.