How to prepare your home for the market & get the best deal.
Selling a house in Los Angeles, the city of dreams, has its ups and downs. It’s a competitive market to find housing, and it can easily seem like you need a six-figure income to afford a home. As the most populous city in California, there’s plenty to do around LA: Disneyland, Universal Studios in Hollywood, the LA County Museum of Art, the Santa Monica Pier, and endless restaurants & bars.
Let’s go over some stats: the housing market in LA has seen a 30% increase in sales from March 2021. Furthermore, Greater Los Angeles had 628 residential sales over $10 million in 2021, totaling $10.6 billion. That’s a 90.3% increase in transaction volume compared to 2020.
What does this mean? Now could be a great time to sell your home, and I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it profitably.
Hire a real estate agent
By talking to an agent who knows the local market, you’re already ahead of the game. As a represented seller, I have the unique perspectives & knowledge to make sales in Los Angeles easy.
If you look for a local real estate agent, they will be more familiar with your area and can help you narrow down potential buyers. If you prefer to sell a home on your own, make sure to do your research on the area, pricing, and how selling a house works. That’s what this article is here for – helping to make your sale happen with ease. It’s a good idea to negotiate the rates with the realtor to make sure you’re on the same page.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me for assistance. I am always happy to answer questions and share my professional opinion.
Preparing your home to sell in 5 steps
Clean and upgrade parts of the home as needed
It might be a good idea to create a budget for some home improvements. When you clean and upgrade parts of your home, including the exterior, it’ll make your house worth more and put money back in your pocket in the long run. Try and host a garage sale and trash whatever junk you might have lying around. Maybe paint rooms that have old, outdated wallpaper and consider updating your appliances. Upgrade your exterior by investing in some yard work, and if you can’t do it yourself, consider hiring a professional. Make sure the house is appealing: When you clean your house, make sure there’s no clutter, or hire a cleaning service. When the inspection comes around, you will get a more holistic view of what your house is worth.
Get a pre-sale home inspection
When you get a pre-sale home inspection, an inspector will come into your home and give you an estimate of what your house is worth based on its current condition. They will pay attention to all the small details, like the state of your flooring, if your appliances need an upgrade, the walls, bedrooms, bathrooms, and overall presentation of the home. Think about how your home would look to someone who is on a tour with a realtor and consider the impression it would make. When the inspector is finished, they will send you a report on the details of your home and if there are additional improvements they would recommend.
Take professional photos of the home
Hiring a professional photographer to take photos of your home is likely to be a worthwhile investment, though not a requirement. If you’re handy with a camera, make sure to take photos of each room, highlighting the selling points of your property. When taking photos of the exterior, take them on a sunny day, while keeping the sun out of the background to avoid glare. Look online at how other houses are marketed to get an idea of how to take photos of your home.
Create a marketing plan
Sitting down and creating a marketing plan is easiest when you have a real estate agent to draw up plans with. Marketing simply begins by putting signage in your lawn. If you’re planning to own all of the marketing yourself, take your photos and upload them to websites like Zillow, Craigslist, or even Facebook Marketplace, and put a detailed description of how much you would like to sell the house for, its current condition, and how to contact you. I’m free for any questions on how to market your home, so contact me if you need any advice.
Set the price
When setting a price for your home, there’s a lot to consider. Compare your home to others in your neighborhood and find out the average price for homes in your area. The housing market in cities like Los Angeles is competitive. For example, the average cost of a home in LA is around $998,000 (as of April 2022).
Make the deal
When making a deal, you might want to negotiate to help ensure you get the deal you’re looking for. First, you want to try and create a bidding war with multiple buyers. That will help you get the best deal and give you more options! Sometimes it might work to reject the first offer and try to negotiate with potential buyers. Make them a counteroffer and put a set time limit on when they can respond. Once you select your buyer, make sure that they have secure payment. If they’re paying with a loan, make sure a reputable bank is helping administer it. If paying in cash, this can make for an easier closing process.
Whether you’re looking to sell, or just thinking about it, you’ll want to save these steps to help make the process as smooth as possible!
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