STEP 1
Just like with everything else in life, once you’ve decided that you'd like to sell your property the best path to success is to put together a well-researched and comprehensive strategy. Before you can do that you need to assess what level of work, if any, needs to be done to the property to maximize your sale.
The first thing we'll do is arrange for an on-site examination of the property to determine its condition, marketability and proactively identify any potential issues that may come up later in the process. This visit can be done well in advance of the property actually going on the market and the sooner it's completed the sooner you can coordinate with contractors and other service providers to schedule work quickly and efficiently when the process is ready to begin.
This can be done while the house is occupied with tenants, and is a very unobtrusive and relatively quick visit minimizing disturbance to your tenants.
After the site visit you’re agent should provide you a comprehensive breakdown of how your property compares to others in the area that have recently sold as well as make recommendations for any repairs or renovations that should be completed prior to marketing the property.
This analysis is where your profits are made as you should only be focusing on repairs or upgrades that will net you a bigger return than the expense of the repairs themselves. The goal is to determine how to spend the least amount of money while maximizing your profits.
This scope of work should can be finalized while the tenants are still in the property even if the home is still occupied. Most importantly, this analysis will also provide you insight into how much your property may sell for and how long it’s likely to be on the market. This way you’ll have all the information you need so you can decide if selling the property is the right decision.
STEP 2
Once the tenants have moved out, or the property is vacant, the contractors can immediately begin the renovation and refurbishment process if repairs are needed. This typically includes minor cosmetic work like painting or new carpeting and occasionally, depending on the condition of the kitchen and bathrooms, we may recommend some slight upgrades like painting cabinets or replacing hardware and light fixtures.
If you did have tenants in the property, be sure to fully document the condition of the property as soon as the tenants have moved out as you may be able to apply their security deposit to the repairs or renovations depending on whether the tenants caused any damage. For instance, we recently had a client whose tenants’ children drew all over every single wall in the home with crayon, so the tenant ended up paying for the painting of the house.
You’ll also want to schedule for what’s called a “move-out” cleaning by a professional cleaning company to ensure the house presents as well as possible for both pictures and visits by potential buyers.
Oftentimes our clients live outside of the area of the home they’re selling or simply don’t have enough time in their schedule to oversee a renovation or repair project. We can provide a list of local, licensed contractors who can complete this work and we’ll also oversee the entire project for you while providing picture and video updates of the progress, so you always know how far along the project is.
STEP 3
Once the renovations are complete and the property is cleaned and ready for marketing, the next step would be to create the marketing collateral to advertise the home. This is the next biggest piece towards maximizing your profits. The online presence of the property will be crucial in determining how many potential buyers are interested in your home.
A good agent will assemble a team of professional photographers and videographers to create a full suite of digital images and assets for the property listing. For instance, we include professional photos, a video property tour, a three-dimensional rendering of the home, drone video and photography when appropriate and measured floor plans.
Since the property will likely be completely empty of furnishings while on the market, we also include virtual staging to give online buyers perspective on room layouts, use of space, and to give the home a contemporary feel to help it stand out from other properties on the market.
STEP 4
Once all of the marketing collateral has been compiled the house is ready for the market. With the current lack of inventory of properties for buyers to choose from, it’s very likely your home will be on the market for just a few days before receiving an acceptable offer or, more likely, many offers.
As an example, our typical process is to list a property for sale on Friday morning and then review offers the following Monday evening. For more information on why we choose Fridays to list properties, check out our video on why the timing of your listing going live is crucial.
In addition to selling quickly and for top dollar, another benefit of the current market is that many offers include compelling clauses like removing appraisals or waiving inspections which will help the process go as smoothly as possible while maximizing your profits.
Taking advantage of the current sellers’ market presents an unprecedented opportunity to maximize the profits you can earn on your investment property.
Once the market corrects and interest rates begin to rise there will very likely be another downturn in house prices as a result, so if your plan was to liquidate your investment property in the next 5 years this year is very likely your best opportunity for quite a while. Having the right team in place managing this process means you’ll be able to take advantage of the market while having someone else manage the entire project for you from beginning to end.
At Red Cedar we’ve become experts in helping landlords and investors sell their properties for maximum profits with minimal stress, so if you’d like to see how this process might look for you and how much you may be able to sell your property for, feel free to reach out to us for a no cost, no obligation consultation.
