By Dan Polimino
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked the following question from a would-be Seller, “Dan, how do you intend to sell my home for top dollar?”
The answer really boils down to three things, and it doesn’t matter if you’re selling a $200,000 home or a $20 million home. The same three things must happen for you to sell your home for top dollar.
A buyer who walks into your home must ask and answer three specific questions:
- Do I love the location? This is the most important question for any buyer. The adage in real estate that location is everything cannot be overstated.
- Do I love the finishes and the layout? This is the second most important question to the buyer, because a funky layout, dated finishes, or a place needing remodeling will kill any deal quick.
- Do I think it’s appropriately priced for both number one and number two?
Every and any buyer asks themselves those three questions, and if they answer yes to all those questions then congratulations, you’re getting an offer and selling your home. However, if they answer NO to just ONE of those three questions, you will not get an offer. It’s not more complicated than that. This has been proven true repeatedly through my 16 years in the business and over 1,300 transactions.
So, given the fact these three questions are the key to selling your home for top dollar, then what is my role in all of this? People think I sell homes, which I really don’t. So, what makes me so effective at what I do?
To answer that question, we need to look at another three key things that must happen when a seller lists their home. And again, if someone tells you it’s more than these three things, they are probably not telling you the truth. So, Mr. and Mrs. Seller here is what it’s going to take!
- Did you price it right in the first 30 days? I want to stress that pricing is completely controlled by the seller, not the listing agent. It’s critical the seller price the home correctly in the first 30 days. You don’t want to leave money on the table, and you don’t want to price it too high. Otherwise, it will just sit and accumulate days on market. People will start to think there’s something wrong with the home. Pricing it correctly to attract the maximum number of buyers in the shortest amount of time is the goal. It’s best to do so in the first 30 days when the listing is new, fresh, and there’s some urgency in the market.
- Does your home have the Wow factor? In other words, when people walk in, do they say,“Wow I get all of this for the price of _________?” Again, I want to stress this is completely controlled by the seller, not the listing agent. How the home shows and how well you’ve kept it up will be one of the biggest contributing factors to you getting a premium price. The home needs to be the prettiest girl at the dance.
- Did you hire a real estate agent or real estate team which has exceptional Marketing? Finally, we get to the one piece of the puzzle that I as the listing agent can control. What I do at a very high level is exceptional luxury marketing. Over the course of 16 years, I have built a marketing engine second to none and that’s really what makes me successful in luxury real estate. I don’t sell homes! What I do is… market exceptional homes and if they have a great location, outstanding layout/finishes and if they are priced right, they sell themselves. My job is to tell everyone about it. That’s why we at the Hawai`i Team always say, “we have the buyers” because our marketing attracts them.
If you would like to find out more about what makes our marketing exceptional then we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to us via email at team@thehawaiiteam.com or at 808-913-0899. Mahalo.
Dan Polimino is the owner of the Hawai`i Team in Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i. He and his team are the luxury residential experts for the Big Island. If you are thinking about buying or selling in Hawai’i, then please reach out to us at team@thehawaiiteam.com or call 808-913-0899.
