Advice for Selling SW Florida Real Estate

The SW FL Home Sale Process

The decision is made - you're selling your SW FL home. Where do you start? Who do you hire? How much is your home worth? Who can I trust to sell my home at the highest possible price? Along the Southwest Florida Gulf coast it's pretty much been a buyer's market since early in 2006 - so sellers are more concerned than ever. Agents are scrambling for business - homes are on the market longer - competition is everywhere. You want to be successful and we want to get you there.

Selling SW Florida real estate demands experience, knowledge, and an effective web presence for exposing your SW FL home to the most number of available buyers and agents. At Gulf Coast Associates we know it realistically takes 2-3 weeks to properly bring a home to market to present it in the best light. This is not where you "scrimp" on time and effort - the groundwork for presenting your SW FL home is of paramount importance - remember the first impression needs to be your best.

The Most Important Things to Consider

Price - Location - Condition - Marketing

With the number of homes - both new and existing - available for sale in today's SW Florida real estate marketplace, the competition is fierce. Therefore, the basic real estate principals are more important then ever. While you can't always control or change the particular situation you're in, you can make sound decisions in order to successfully sell your property.

How to Price Your SW FL Home

In today's market, price is more important than ever. Don't take the attitude that you can always lower the price - price it correctly to begin with - that brings in serious buyers. Their agents will be the first to tell them this home is priced right. We'll provide you with the most recent and relevant sales data so you'll know where best to consider pricing your SW FL home.

Location of Your SW FL Home

You can't change this but you can critically look at what made you love the home when you bought - use that. Did you like the privacy, the preserve in the backyard, the extra large lanai, the cul-de-sac location, or the view of the lake? Every location offers positive attributes.

Condition of Your SW FL Home

You've all heard it - Curb Appeal. Curb appeal welcomes the buyer into your home, so yard work, fresh paint, some flowers, a nice backyard; these are things that need to be ready when you go to market. And, since not everyone can upgrade flooring and appliances, if your home is cleared of clutter and personal items and spanking clean, then a fresh coat of paint will go a long way to making a house a home. Also, don't wait for a serious offer from a buyer to find out that you have termites, or that your pool motor is going bad - do your inspections now and make the repairs before you bring the home to market. A buyer is less likely to experience "remorse" if you've already addressed the items that their inspector is going to find anyway. It's one less headache that can lose the entire transaction for you by ignoring it from the start.

Marketing of Your SW FL Home

There are really only a few things the statistics consistently show will actually help sell your SW FL home. These include:

• The Multiple Listing Service - the more agent exposure the better.
• The Internet - 98% of buyers begin their home search on the Net.
• A Sign in your yard - believe it or not!

Of course, there are other marketing avenues which also have their place, however, without these essentials the likelihood of an expedient sale diminishes greatly. Every property is unique and requires a specific approach that will bring about a successful sale. We'll show you what options may work best for your situation. Then will work with you to devise a plan to meet your specific needs.

So, Who Do You Hire to Sell Your SW FL Home?

You hire someone who does several things - can prove to you where 98% or more of the buyers find your property, can provide strong match-making between potential buyers and sellers (Reverse Prospecting), employs extensive access to various, and numerous, multiple listings services (MLS) in your area, employs a tremendous amount of technological savvy, offers full service based on your flexibility and needs, and can provide you with the facts you'll need to make informed decisions.

It's also important that you get along with your agent, but once you've made up your mind to sell, remember it's now a "house" and not a "home," it's an investment and should be treated like one. Good agents practice the strongest of ethical behaviors and at Gulf Coast Associates we believe in transparency in your transaction. It might be nice to hear your home is worth more than what an informed and intelligent evaluation shows, or that you like your agent so much you're going to invite them to dinner - but it's more important that the job gets done, and done right! At Gulf Coast we take our jobs seriously - so you'll get this and more. You need only ask our clients - experience, good judgment, and creativity can and does come in one package.

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Real Estate Terms Glossary Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G-H | I-K | L | M | N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U- Z

For more information on selling your Southwest Florida real estate, call us. One of our Realtor® associates will be glad to discuss all the options available for helping you sell your SW FL home. To ask a specific question about any SW Florida homes for sale, contact us directly. We'll be happy to help!

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