What to do if you’re Selling Your New Orleans Home

When you’ve made the decision to sell your home in New Orleans, you need to know what you’re getting into. It’s not as easy as just staking up a sign reading “for sale” and hoping someone will make an offer.

Selling your New Orleans home means you need to have the right agent, the right price, and the right marketing. Here are some of the ways you can speed up the process and get your home sold for the right price.

Choose the Right Agent

Your real estate agent will make a huge difference. A good agent already has excellent marketing in place and knows how to get your home sold for the right price. Not only will they help to ensure your home is priced right from the beginning, but they will also handle all the showings and open houses.

When you choose a good New Orleans real estate agent, you’ll get someone with a network of buyers already looking for a home like yours. The agent you choose should help by providing advice to get your home ready to sell, give you accurate pricing information and have a marketing plan they know will get your home sold.

Choose the Right Price

The home price makes the biggest difference in the sales process. If you set the price too low, buyers may be skeptical and think something is wrong with the home. However, if you price it too high, it could scare away potential buyers. Then, when you reduce the price, they may think you did it because something is wrong with the home.

The right price will not only attract plenty of interested buyers but will also communicate the message that your home is a good choice. Your agent will use a comparative market analysis report to help advise you on the right list price for your home. Listen to their advice and you’ll be set up for success.

Sell More than Just the Home

You are selling a home, but you’re selling a home in a specific neighborhood with specific features, amenities, and a specific location. You may be in a neighborhood with great public schools, a country club, excellent historic feature or amazing amenities. Make sure you sell the neighborhood, along with the home.

In New Orleans, the top neighborhoods include French Quarter, Fillmore, Garden District, Downtown/Warehouse District, Broadmoor, Marigny, Algiers Point and Navarre. If you’re in one of these neighborhoods, sell it. If you’re in another neighborhood, still sell the neighborhood with the home.

Make Showings Easy

Letting your real estate agent install a lockbox makes showings very easy for prospective buyers. With a lockbox installed, you’ll likely receive more foot traffic, which could have you fielding multiple offers. You should also consider having an open house to bring in more potential buyers.

Be Prepared for Showings

There’s nothing worse than an agent showing up to your house with a prospective buyer only to find it dirty and cluttered. If you’re selling your home in New Orleans, make sure it’s clean, free of clutter, staged and ready to be shown. A good showing can lead to an offer and you have plenty of competition, even in the current seller’s market.

Having your home professionally cleaned before you list it will make it easier to keep clean before showings. In addition, consider minimalizing the clutter by eliminating anything personal and all unnecessary items. Hiring a professional stager to come in and stage your home will go a very long way to get it sold, as well.

Get Your Documents in Order

Buyers are not the only ones dealing with paperwork. As the seller, you need to fill out some mandatory forms, such as the property disclosure, sales contract, lead-based paint disclosure and a few others. Make sure you fill out all of these forms accurately or it could delay the sale of your home.

Your real estate agent will know which forms you need to fill out and will help to ensure you have all your paperwork in order. This will make it easier to move forward with listing your home and you won’t have anything to worry about.

When you’re selling a home in New Orleans, you need to consider what’s necessary for the process. Hiring the right real estate agent will go a very long way to getting the home sold. With the right agent, you’ll have the right price, the right marketing, and the right advice to ensure your home sells quickly and for a fair price.