The most important factor in the sale of your home is the price. While we all want more money for our properties, and often we feel it is worth more because we love it so much, it is critical to price sharply for best results.

The right REALTOR can get you that last 5-10% of your asking price through professional marketing, hard work, and sales skills. However, if you are priced way too high, Buyers will skip or drive-by the listing, you will be forced to reduce the asking price, and your listing will become a dead listing. Price correctly with a REALTOR who knows your market, create excitement and attention, and sell fast for more.

To ensure your Home sells for the most amount of money in the least and most stress-free amount of time, follow these 10 steps to prepare for Buyers at your first Open House or showing:

1. Disassociate Yourself With Your Home.

• Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house -- a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf.
• Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
• Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners!
• Say goodbye to every room.
• Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.

2. De-Personalize.

Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal artifacts, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there!

3. De-Clutter!

• People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it.
• If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
• Pack up those knickknacks.
• Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.

4. Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets.

Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:

• Alphabetize spice jars.
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.

5. Rent a Storage Unit.

Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Since your bookcases are now empty, store them. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don't want buyers scratching their heads and saying, "What is this room used for?"

6. Remove/Replace Favorite Items.

If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, she won't want it. Once you tell a buyer she can't have an item, she will covet it, and it could blow your deal. Pack those items and replace them, if necessary.

7. Make Minor Repairs.

• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you've considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

8. Make the House Sparkle!

• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.

9. Scrutinize.

• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
• Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
• Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.
• Make sure window coverings hang level.
• Tune in to the room's statement and its emotional pull. Does it have impact and pizzazz?
• Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You're almost finished.

10. Check Curb Appeal.

If a buyer won't get out of her agent's car because she doesn't like the exterior of your home, you'll never get her inside.

• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Clean the pool.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant vibrant coloured flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your hedges.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.

If you simply do not have the time or energy to prepare your home in this manor than hire a professional staging company or be prepared to sell for less than your full potential as Buyers can be very picky from one house to the next.

Marketing

The Internet is the first place more and more homebuyers are beginning their search for a home. The entire home purchasing process took half as long for homebuyers who used the Internet as those who did not. They were able to view listings online and narrow down their search to the few homes they were strongly interested in.

Did You Know...

• ...87% of homebuyers used the Internet as an information source
• ...77% of Internet homebuyers drove by or viewed a home they saw online

In addition to the huge audience of excellent prospective clients, the Internet offers both convenience and cost effectiveness that traditional media cannot. Web sites are more engaging and informative than even the best brochures.

Online real estate marketing is not the way of the future; it is the way of today. Today's consumers want accurate information quickly and conveniently, and as real estate professionals we must harness the features, capabilities and opportunities of online marketing to meet these ever-increasing customer demands.

Nickolas Vidovic's marketing plan:

• Solid Worldwide Web Presence
  A strong online presence is now essential. Nickolas' website has been well recognized and awarded in the business and is viewed internationally with queries stemming from England to China.
• Photo/Video/Floor Plans
  The web is the seller's best friend, but only if your photos look good. Nickolas Vidovic will make sure that you home photos reflect all the best features and assets that your home has to offer. Custom video and floor plans will maximize exposure giving buyers the best opportunity to experience your home. Maximum visual exposure is essential.
• Twitter, Facebook, MySpace & LinkedIn
  Each new listing, open house, showing, price change and sale is broadcast to the world via various and most popular Social Medias that modern technology has to offer.
• Search Engines and Google Street View
  Ad-words campaign and automatic sync with Google Street View
• Local Market Blogs
  Up to date information with current economic news, local Real Estate information and trends, financial news with up-to-date rate changes and forecasts.
• Open Houses
  Open Houses are crucial as it gives perspective buyers the ability to physically see the home for what it really is. Viewing a home via photos is one thing, but viewing it in real life is another.
• New Listing Mail Outs
  Nickolas Vidovic does NOT hand out cheap photocopy mail-outs as it dictates not only the type of Realtor Nickolas truly is, but also emphases what type of listing is available. It’s all in the presentation! You want your home to be marketed in the best light possible.
• Newspaper and Magazine Ads
  Local sources of media are used effectively with respected, classy and informative advertising.

Preparing Your Home to be Listed

When prepared to list your home, a meeting would be arranged, at your convenience, with Nickolas Vidovic to discuss the approach in listing your home, as well as the specifics of the Contract, media and other related details. During this encounter, legal issues will be addressed stemming from the use of a Realtor to the full disclosure of the home, including all issues such as the presence of leaks, structural problems, presence of Asbestos, use of a grow-up, etc. During this time, Nickolas will go through all specific details of the Contract as well as all the necessary legal steps.

Listing your Home with Nickolas Vidovic will ensure you the following:

• The utmost personal attention to your needs and concerns during the whole course of the listing and sale of your home.
• Top quality internet coverage, photos and other sources of media to maximize exposure of your home.
• Answer all queries in a dignified and respected time frame
• Deal with all parties in the utmost respect while maintaining a positive relationship and conducting business with integrity, honesty and within the Real Estate Board code of Ethics.
• Ensure the best possible price for your home while under negotiations with perspective Buyers and their representatives.
• Ensure total trust and confidentiality with personal information.
• Ensuring that all clients receive the most stress-free experience.
• Receiving weekly updates of activities surrounding the calls, showings and feedback of the listing, as well as up-to-date community activity relating to current market forecasts, new competing listings and Sold's.
• Sound advice for pricing, staging and negotiating.
• TOTAL UNEQUIVOCAL ATTENTION AND DEDICATION!