How to sell your home in Charleston
Happy New Year.
As a follow up to yesterday's post on how to buy a home for sale in Charleston, here is a guide to successfully selling your home in Charleston. And when you consider that over 50 percent of all homes that are listed for sale do not sell, it's important to make certain that you carefully consider each of the elements that will result in a successful sale: price, condition, availability and choice of a Charleston real estate agent.
Price
Nothing matters more than price. Sellers generally think their home is worth more than it is, buyers of course think homes are overpriced. Let's face facts. Your home is not better than all of your neighbors homes and even if it is, appraisers will not value it above and beyond comparable homes. And so if you happen to find a buyer who will pay more just because it's your home, if the contract is contingent upon an appraisal (and most are), the sale will probably close at the appraised value. So you may as well price it right from the start.
If you don't get showings, your home is overpriced. If you get a lot of showings but nobody makes an offer, your home is overpriced. It's as simple as that.
So how do you arrive at a price. Carefully analyze a comparative market analysis (CMA) paying particular attention not only to what comparable homes have sold for but prices for other homes that are listed for sale. You want to be the next home chosen by buyers looking in your neighborhood and price range.
Condition
A home in pristine condition will sell for the highest possible price. Any repairs that are needed should be completed before you put your home on the market. Have a pre-inspection to find out what the buyer will eventually find out when they have an inspection and fix things. If you don't want to do those repairs, that's fine but make sure your price reflects the condition.
Curb appeal and clutter are factors when considering the condition of a home. From the front door with a properly working lock to taking years of accumulated stuff to a storage facility, a home that is easy on the eyes will sell more quickly.
Availability
If your home is easy to view by potential buyers, you have a much better chance of selling. If you have to have notice before a buyer can view your home, don't be so restrictive that buyers will just pass on seeing your home and view other more available homes. And if you have tenants, you just might want to consider waiting to put your home on the market until after their lease expires. The home will be easier to see without tenants rights (24 hour notice required) and will generally show much better.
Choosing a real estate agent
Ah! The final piece of the puzzle. How do you choose a Charleston real estate agent to sell your home.
Of course, the simple answer would be to just pick me.
But of course, I'm just kidding (although I am available to list your home). 
Begin by interviewing several agents but don't base your choice of agent on who will list your home for the most money or who will charge you the least. Base your choice of agent on which agent you feel will do the best job of selling your home for the highest possible price in the least possible time and with the least hassle. The job of a real estate agent when listing your home is one of marketing.
And marketing encompasses everything from taking good pictures and writing an interesting description to then communicating both to not only other agents through the Charleston MLS but to potential buyers both online and offline.
And make sure everything is ready to go the day the listing is effective. Nothing is worse that buyers seeing this:
