Selling A Home in the "Off-Season"

Not everyone who relocates to the Atlanta, Georgia area decides to buy a home while they are here as “snowbirds” in the months of December through April the appeal of our "Southern Lifestyle" is so obvious or when the kids are out of school and they have the time to be choosey because they’ve got three months before the kids need to be back in school. If you need to sell a home or condominium during the “off-season,” you may need to put a little more effort and creativity into the task of selling your home

Everyone who has ever sold a home has heard the usual advice: Find a good agent, be aware of local home values, remove personal items and de-clutter the home. Touch up the paint, remove old wallpaper and keep the dog out of the way. That is all good advice, but it’s not always enough,” says Bert Stanley, the author of the Florida real estate website. You may need to go a few “extra miles” to achieve success, however if you’re selling a home in the “off-season.”

Keep these five suggestions in mind from the moment you start planning your next move:
1. Get more specific about your home’s value. You probably already know enough to use neighboring home values as comparisons in setting your asking price.. But now, some additional homework can pay off. If you need to sell quickly, stay ahead of the market by pricing yours a bit lower. In the wake of the bursting real estate bubble, it’s also important to have a heightened awareness of foreclosures in your immediate area. Any foreclosures in your immediate neighborhood wil put a dent in your home’s market value.
2. Get Involved: Just because you’re working with a Realtor® doesn’t mean you can’t do some of your own legwork. The first 10 days on the market are the most critical to selling a home because new listings get the most attention from buyers. Internet-based social media sites have opened limitless new strategies to sell your home. Also consider using sites like Craigslist, Facebook, Flickr, Zillow and YouTube. Make sure you’ve agreed with your Realtor to pay his or her commission (or some other mutually agreed-upon amount) if you sell it yourself using one of these venues. Post pictures on these sites that show your home at its best. You can even upload a narrated video tour – because that’s what you’d want to see as a buyer. At some real estate agencies, a video tour is becoming the new requirement for sellers.
3. Accept a helping hand: Take advantage of a wide range of services, beyond your local Realtor’s, that could help you streamline the buying and selling process. Some cost money, such as a home “staging” service that can help you show your home at its best If you are employed or in the military, you may find that your employer or the the military offer services you can use either for free or at discounted rates.
4. Get Creative With Your Terms: Sometimes it takes out-of-the-box ideas to seal a deal You might sweeten the pot by offering to pay some or all of a buyer’s closing costs, for example. In some communities, you may also be able to offer to pay the new owner’s membership initiation fee for the local golf, yacht or athletic club.
5. Remain flexible: According to the experts, buyers and sellers should keep their pride in check and be willing to make concessions, especially in the off season. That means not haggling over minor repairs or refusing to leave behind the chandelier your potential buyer loves. Factor in your thinking the cost of keeping up your home for several more months versus just accepting a lower selling price or letting something go with the home and having the sale done right now.
Even in the most sluggish real estate market, getting ahead of the curve can be the key to a quick sale even in a sluggish or off-season market.