Tip #1 – Implement a ‘Coming Soon’ Strategy
Data suggests that marketing properties as ‘Coming Soon’ before listing them in the MLS can reduce their time on market. And for most sellers, this is a welcome reduction in the disruption of daily life that lengthy time on the market can cause. In Austin, there is even an MLS status to denote Coming Soon listings and there are several real estate websites that allow properties to be marketed as Coming Soon.
To expand on this concept and make it even more effective for my clients, I offer an additional 5 Step Coming Soon strategy that you can elect to use to sell your Austin area home quickly and for top dollar. The strategy includes:
· Placing a Coming Soon Sign in the front yard
· Sending “Sneak Peek” email to my database of potential buyers
· Marketing extensively to my network of other Realtors and neighborhood groups
· Displaying Coming Soon ads to targeted Facebook users
· Offering an invitation only Sneak Peek Open House to neighbors and potential
Timing is a question that often comes up at this point. Many times, you’re working through a laundry list of items to prepare your home for the market and for professional photos. The good news is that in order to implement the Coming Soon Strategy, your property doesn’t have to be completely market-ready. If you are still decluttering, or waiting for minor repairs to be completed, or touching up paint in a room, we can still get started with the Coming Soon Strategy to create buzz about your property and maximize market attention. You should, however, be prepared to accommodate showings, if we receive requests from seriously interested buyers.
Let's meet in person to discuss each one of these options in person to determine which of these strategies would be effective and desirable to implement in your specific situation. No strings attached.
Tip #2 – Declutter Without Depersonalizing
One important step in preparing your home for sale is to pack away certain personal belongings that can make your home seem overcrowded or the rooms seem small. While I absolutely agree that this is almost always a necessary step (the typical American family does have an abundance of “stuff”, let’s be honest), I like to caution my clients not to take this too far. There is no need to depersonalize your home to the point that it becomes sterile.
Have you ever been in a home that seemed to have a warm, personal sentiment? A funky, eclectic vibe? How about a modern, intellectual atmosphere? Well, these different feelings can all appeal to buyer who are looking for distinctly different types of properties. If you are selling your home in a subdivision filled with young families, chances are the buyers who will be interested in purchasing it will have young kids or be on the road to starting a family. So while you don’t want to have an entire wall of your baby’s “First Year” pictures in unmatched frames and toddler toys strewn over all the floors, leaving a few nicely framed photos and cute stuffed animals in the nursery is entirely appropriate. There’s no need to hide the fact that you’re selling a family home.
I have over 15 years of experience working with buyers and sellers, which allows me to predict with a high level of accuracy how buyers will respond to certain decorating and personal touches when they tour a property. This allows me to help you declutter your home without depersonalizing it.
Click here to book a no-obligation consultation.
Tip #3 – Create a Plan for Handling Multiple Offers
Perhaps no situation facing buyers and sellers in the hot Austin real estate market is more frustrating and has the most potential for misunderstanding or missed opportunity, than presenting and negotiating multiple, competing offers to purchase the same property.
Consider the following dynamics:
· You want to get the highest price and best terms for your property
· Buyers want to buy at the lowest price and on the most favorable terms
· Listing brokers - acting on behalf of sellers - represent sellers’ interests
· Buyer representatives represent the interests of buyer clients.
Will a seller disclosing information about one buyer’s offer make a second buyer more likely to make a full price offer? Or will that second buyer decide to pursue a different property?
If you tell several buyers that each of them is being given the chance to make their ‘best offer’, will this result in spirited competition for your property? Or will it result in the buyers deciding not to make an offer after all?
Knowledgeable buyers and sellers realize there are rarely simple answers to complex situations. But some fundamental principles can make negotiating multiple offers in the hot Austin real estate market a little simpler. And discussing the pros and cons of these scenarios before receiving an offer on your property is the very best way to proceed.
As a seller, you have several ways to deal with multiple offers.
· You can accept the “best” offer
· You can instruct your agent to inform all potential purchasers that other offers are on the table and give them all the chance to strengthen their offers by a certain deadline
· You can counter one offer while waiting to respond to the other offers
· You can counter one offer and reject the others
Purchase offers do not have to be confidential. Many times, our clients instruct us to make all potential buyers aware that an offer is in hand, or even disclose details about one offer to another buyer in hopes of encouraging that buyer to make a “better” offer.
One tool I created for my clients’ benefit is my Multiple Offer Comparison Spreadsheet. If you’d like to download an example, click here – I’m happy to share it.
Discussing the options ahead of time is the most successful way to create a plan for handling multiple offers. I have the experience and patience to handle these situations sensitively, with the goal of selling your home at top dollar always as my highest priority.
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In order to qualify for a homestead exemption in Texas, the property must be owned by an individual (not a corporation or trust) and be used as the individual’s primary residence on January 1 of the tax year. 
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