How to Get Your House Ready to Sell Faster and for More

With Compass Concierge

By Sherry Ajluni, Team Leader, Home with Sherry Team

Did you hear? Your neighbors down the street sold their house for an absurd amount of money!

Are you hoping to replicate their result? Then you need to know how your home and agent stack up against theirs. Don’t expect top dollar if your house isn’t in tip-top shape. The market may be a seller’s market, but buyers have proven they aren’t willing to overlook deferred maintenance and outdated finishes.

To be the sale that’s the envy of the neighborhood, you need to partner with a seasoned agent who is a pro at the three P’s – preparation, pricing, and promotion. In this blog post, I’m going to focus on the first P – preparation.

Preparation

Knowing how to get your house ready to sell is the key to getting the most money for your home. The best way to be sure that you’re making home improvements that add value to your home is to select a knowledgeable realtor.

A good one is going to make sure you don’t waste your money on projects that won’t get you the results you’re looking for. Instead, she’ll help you identify the right repairs and updates to make and be respectful of your budget and timeline. With my sellers, I like to stick to projects that are going to, at a minimum, double their return on investment.

The thought of spending money on a home you’re about to sell may not sound appealing. Especially when you know moving isn’t free, and you’re going to need cash to use toward your new home. But there are programs available to sellers that provide cash upfront to make repairs and updates. The money gets paid back out of closing proceeds.

Our brokerage offers Compass Concierge, a program that allows qualified sellers to use Compass money upfront for staging, roofing, and everything in between. It’s the only program that doesn’t charge any hidden fees or interest and doesn’t restrict which vendors you can use to complete the work. You simply pay the money back at closing.

Dozens of my sellers have used Compass Concierge with outstanding results. On average, they’ve spent $18,000 on projects. I’m happy to say that each of them more than doubled the amount they invested. How’s that for return on investment?

Success Story – 1236 Everton Place, Cumming

At our initial listing meeting with the seller, we recommended a listing price of $1,100,000. The seller decided to use Compass Concierge to paint the interior of the home, refinish the main level hardwoods, replace carpeting, paint the kitchen cabinets white, lower the bar, add Quartz countertops, replace appliances, update lighting, and add a German schmear to the keeping room fireplace. Our team then paid to stage the home with furniture, artwork, and accessories. Once the work was completed, we listed it and got them under contract for $1,200,000!

Are you concerned about delaying the listing of your home while the work is completed? You aren’t alone! But don’t worry. A good agent will manage the process and pre-market your home to ensure your home gets listed and sold promptly.

For example, my team and I have established relationships with tradespeople, contractors, and stagers, to ensure that work is completed quickly and to the highest standard. We know our sellers have a lot on their plate, so we handle all the scheduling and coordination.

Additionally, while the work is being completed, we promote our listings as coming soon. We work hard to build anticipation by featuring them on our social media, our website, Compass.com, and other real estate websites like Zillow. We also have access to the Compass nationwide network of agents. We share our listings nationally in case agents have clients relocating to the Atlanta area from another state.

Success Story – 702 Opera Lane, Alpharetta

This Alpharetta townhouse was listed for 4 months with another agent. We took over the listing and professionally staged it. We re-listed it 3 weeks later for the SAME price. With better marketing and follow-up, we had them under contract in a week!

Still not convinced that investing money in your home before you list is the key to selling quickly and for a higher price? Remember the old expression, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”? Here is a little data to back up that sentiment.

Let’s chat if you want to know more about how Compass Concierge might work for you or if you just want to talk about selling your home. Even if you’re a year or two from making a move, I’d be happy to serve as your sounding board.

Sherry Ajluni has been a licensed real estate agent since 2005. She started her team 18 years ago to serve the north Atlanta suburbs. It has grown to include 5 full-time agents and 3 full-time staff. The team is consistently recognized as one of Real Trends ® Top Teams in GA. Never one to rest on past accomplishments, she is constantly searching for the best marketing tools and technology to better serve the team’s buyers and sellers. When she’s not selling homes, Sherry serves on the board of The Place of Forsyth. She has dedicated a good portion of her time and resources to helping those in need in the community. Contact Sherry at 678.744.8206 or stephanie@sherryteam.com.