10 Proven Strategies to Sell a Home for Top Dollar in Georgia

• Research trends and conduct (or have your Realtor) a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) to determine an accurate listing price based on area comps, market trends, and demand.

• Professionally stage the home, or work with your REALTOR to stage. Declutter, deep clean, unpersonalize, and update as needed. Your REALTOR can advise on what updates will get you a return on investment and assist in a quick and successful sale.

• Professional media is key and will represent the home in the best light. Use a real estate photographer/videographer and include drone photography if it is advantageous. Be sure to include photo's that highlight interior, outdoor living space, community ammenities, and anything else that makes the property special.

• This is KEY! Most anyone can list the home on sites like REALTOR.com or Zillow, but if that is all you or your REALTOR is doing, you are missing out on a huge market! Make sure the listing populates to ALL online real estate media platforms locally, nationally, and internationally. Make sure it includes all details and descriptions accurately. Ask your REALTOR what their marketing reach is and how they guarantee that the listing will get the kind of exposure it needs in order to sell.

• Ask yourself why you bought this property. What do you love about it? What do your neighbors enjoy and what things are people attracted to in the area? What makes your home different than others on the market?

• First impressions are everything. You want someone to love the home before they even open the door. What are they thinking when they pull up....is the yard taken care of, is the landscaping attractive, is the outside of the home well cared for or does it need any obvious maintenance? Is the home inviting? All of these questions are important to ask so try to look at the outside of your home objectively. 

• This is going to depend on the market at the time you sell. If it is a Buyer's market, you may want to consider a lender or seller concession incentive to entise the Buyer and making your home the obvious and best choice. 

• This is something that really requires an understanding of how to reach the audience you are looking for and having the means and tools to do so. An experienced REALTOR is going to be the best resource for you here.

• Open the home and formally invite Real Estate Brokers and the public to come and view it with you or your REALTOR available to answer any questions. This is also a great opportunity to sell the details of the home instead of relying on the Buyer agent or the online listing description. Invite neighbors to come by as well....you never know, they may have friends that want to move closer and your home might be the perfect opportunity!

• Some people may not agree that this is an important step..."I can do it myself" they say...perhaps. Transactions without a listing agent happen all the time, without error. Hopefully you haven't been involved in a real estate transaction that is the opposite of that and that has gotten complicated and costly because those kinds of transactions also happen all the time. Keep in mind that a full-time and experienced REALTOR has the knowledge and negotiation experience to not only protect your best interests, but they also fully understand Georgia contracts and the associated deadlines/obligations. Additionally, and if they have been doing it for a while, they have a network of professionals that are also experienced and capable of getting things done while protecting all parties involved (i.e. closing attorneys, inspectors, lenders, etc.). The final point we will make is this...the cost of a REALTOR compesation is typically going to be less than the amount of money you could potentially lose without having that kind of representation. Do you really want to risk the biggest investment you have and not use a professional that knows how to price the home, market the home, and protect you?

The AtHome Team

Noelle Larson & Susi O'Connor

AtHome@EVAtlanta.com