5 Tips for Selling a Home on Indian Lake
If you own a home in Indian Lake, there may come a time when you need to sell. Maybe it’s time to upgrade or downsize or get out of the lake life altogether. Whatever your reason, you are going to want to get top-dollar for your lake property, and here are 5 ways how:
1. Log All Maintenance and Repairs
Keep a detailed record of all maintenance and repairs (and upgrades) you complete over the years. Most likely, the buyers won’t read your personal reports, but this information will be very important for your Realtor when entering the listing. Your buyers will also be happy to hear that the home was recently and regularly inspected. There comes a level of trust that pulls the buyer and seller through closing, and this practice will only strengthen that bond of trust.
2. Find the BEST Local REALTOR®
If you don’t already have one, your community should be able to help with referrals. This is really the first step in selling. Beginning with a good real estate agent who has experience and expertise in the region and with lake homes is a must when it comes to selling lake property. Your Realtor can guide you in the next few steps.
3. Clean and Declutter
Tired of cleaning yet? Hire a local cleaning service that is used to working on lake houses. They will have the experience of cleaning to the owners’ standards and keeping an eye on trouble spots.
Beyond the deep cleanse, remove all personal photos and most of your decor. As cutely decorated as it is, it will distract the buyer. The only exception is if you plan on selling the home furnished, but still, pare down on the knick-knacks. Let your buyer envision themselves and their own tastes in this space.
4. Price Wisely!
Ask your Realtor to run comparables for your area in a two-mile radius and back six months to a year. Pricing by square foot is usually just for the HGTV shows and city condos. Look for a low comp home and a high comp home to frame your property’s value. Together with your Realtor, use that “sandwich” to determine a good value point for your home.
Consider location as the most important, size next, and amenities as the least important when determining home value. Your Realtor will have plenty of experience and a knack for assessing value and pricing your home to sell. There are many strategies in pricing, so speak to your Realtor and ask for their expertise and reasoning behind the list price.
5. List Timely
Again, your Realtor will be the one to follow here. Generally, you’ll want to list your home with enough time for people to enjoy peak season. This will all depend on your particular buyers’ market and your needs and goals. Have a conversation with your agent about what works best for you, and have a contingency plan if the home doesn’t sell within thirty days. Have the tough discussions upfront before patience runs low and emotions are high. Your agent should be accommodating in developing a plan for all case scenarios before officially listing.
Following all these tips will set you as a homeowner on the right path to confident lake home ownership and successful selling. Realtors are here to guide you from listing to closing, but there is so much more before and after the sale of a home that these agents can still aid. Consider your agent your resource for the life of your home; priding themselves as ‘the source of the source,’ a Realtor can help in all things involved in home ownership. Just reach out, and ask for home ownership or selling advice today!
