Industry Expert Gives Hints on Preparing to Sell Your House

Industry Expert Gives Hints on Preparing to Sell Your House

Once you've decided to sell your home, how you do you get it to look its best for potential customers?
Industry expert Monte Mohr has some tips on how to prepare your home for the market.
Stephen from Nashville asked a very relevant question...
"We are getting ready to put our home on the market. We have heard it's a tough time to sell right
now. Can you share any helpful hints to make the process as painless as possible?"
Tip #1 - You have one opportunity to make a good first impression.
First impressions are crucial and it cannot be overstated that when people pull up to the house, you
need the house looking its best. When a buyer walks up to a home and the agent is opening up the
lockbox, they are making a judgment about what's going on inside of the house based on what they see
on the outside. When the potential buyer walks into the home you want it to smell good, sound good,
and look good.
I'll never forget a young couple I worked with awhile back. Every time we walked into a home they were
giggling, smiling, and hugging because they were so excited about their future; we'd get to the master
bedroom and they'd really snuggle. So I told the couple selling the home that I thought I could sell it if
they'd just do a few things for me. The next night we got to the home and the fireplace was going, the
sellers had just baked some cookies so the place smelled great, and they had some soft, romantic music
playing in the background. When we got to the master bedroom there were some candles lit. The
young couple looked at each other, then looked at me and giggled, and then in unison said, "We want to
buy this home." Making a good first impression really, truly makes a big difference.
Tip #2 - Your home is only worth what a buyer will pay for it.
This is a very tough reality that is hard for many people to understand. The market does not care about
your needs or agenda; your home is only worth what someone will pay for it. The market doesn't care
about your hopes. I sold a couple of my own properties last year and the market didn't care that I'd
gone through a divorce and that I needed a certain net amount of money. So don't make plans with
imagined equity. This is a hard lesson that we all need to learn. Your home is only worth the price that
somebody is willing to pay to buy it.
Tip #3 - Make sure you hire an experienced "Tour Guide" for the process.
I cannot overstate the value in getting an experienced person to help you through the process of selling
your home. If you were going to climb a treacherous mountain you wouldn't go with a brand, new tour
guide who just decided to put a stake out that day - no matter what your relationship might be to that
person. I see this sort of thing happen all the time with people. It's usually something as simple as the
organ player from church just got his/her real estate license and you want to help them out.

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Please understand that I mean no offensive to new licensees, but you are entrusting the largest
purchase - maybe of your entire life - to them. You can eliminate a lot of potential problems by going
with the right person. You should choose a person that not only do you feel a connection with, but one
that you know has "been there and done that"; a person who is only trying to help you and not just
trying to make a sale.
I have been doing this for over 25 years, and I want to share this information across the boards. This is
not only for my benefit, but I'd like to bring value to all the people of Middle Tennessee. Along those
lines, there are some new homes on the market in The Brownstones Subdivision and I thought they
were worth pointing out to you today.
Let's take a look at some Happy Customers...
I've been very blessed this month because I'm closing 19 transactions. Tom and Kryssi from Franklin just
closed last week and they decided to rent their home instead of sell it and we got them a beautiful
home on 2 acres in Franklin.
Kraig and Katrina had a unique need. They have four children and not only did they want four bedrooms
they also wanted 2 bedrooms on the main floor so that grandma and grandpa could come visit and we
found that for them in a Franklin Subdivision; they are a great family!
"With four kids we needed a large home in a great school district. Monte helped us find the perfect
home!"
Kristi and Thomas in Gallatin saved thousands of dollars because Kristi saw me on Channel 4 News and
recognized that my "We Sell Homes For Free" program was a great value. We sold their home in less
than 10 days, they saved over $9,000 and then they downsized and lowered their payment. They are a
very happy couple.
If you need help buying or selling your home, please contact me directly; I'd be privileged to help you
with your real estate needs.

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