Read This Before Listing Your Home In Nashville

Nashville’s market is hot right now, there’s no doubt about that. There are more people than ever moving to Tennessee making it a great time to sell your house. There’s a lot of money to be made in this process.

Are you thinking of selling your house in Nashville? We can help. We put together a list of steps to look out for when you begin the sales process. It’s important you begin your sale in the right way to maximize your profits. Part of this comes with asking the right questions when you select a realtor.

At Felix Homes, we love to help people save money when they sell. It’s what we do. Here’s what you need to know before listing your home for sale in Nashville.

Step 1: Research Where You Plan To Move

Start with a goal in mind. You need to know where you are going to land before you make your move. Many people don’t plan out where they want to move before listing their homes. This isn’t the right strategy.

If you’re thinking about selling, the first step is to determine where you will move. Having a destination gives you an idea of a budget and an endpoint for your home sale.

Maybe you have been eyeing a new neighborhood, a bigger home in your existing area, or you just want to go back to renting to plan on something more long-term. You have to have a plan in place.

PRO TIP: View the newest listings for sale in Nashville

Step 2: Determine If It’s A Good Time To Sell Your Home

Standard advice says to sell your house in the summer because you will get the best price for it during these months. That’s not always the case.

You will get the best price for your house when supply and demand are in your favor. This is always true, so let’s break that down. If there’s a low supply of homes in your market, people will pay more for your house, and your sales process will be quicker. But how do you determine demand?

An experienced real estate agent will be able to evaluate demand. At Felix Homes, we have access to market reports that allow our agents to determine if it's a good time to sell. It’s essential to have a realtor in your corner that has their pulse on the market.

Step 3: Find An Experienced Real Estate Agent

When you pick the right agent to list your home, you make more money. It also can be a smoother process with fewer headaches. Many people have real estate licenses, but not all realtors have experience.

How do you pick the right real estate agent? Ask a potential realtor how many houses they have sold in the past 12 months. An experienced agent should have sold at least 12 homes in the past 12 months. But that’s not all. We’ve detailed how to choose a top real estate agent.

At Felix Homes, our team of experienced agents has an extra trick up their sleeves. They only charge a 1.5% listing commission compared to the 3% commission most agents will charge. Find an experienced agent that will make you the most money on your home sale.

Step 4: Research Comps To Determine A List Price

Once you pick an agent, then it’s time for the work to get started. Your real estate agent will get the ball rolling by researching recently sold homes in your neighborhood. This will get you an idea of a fair list price. The process is often referred to as a CMA or comparative market analysis.

It can help to have an experienced agent. There’s a lot of nuances when determining which comps to use for a CMA. It’s crucial to use homes that have sold in the past 12 months. It’s especially true in Nashville because the market is changing every month. You do not want to price your house using outdated comps. You also don’t want to look at the wrong comparable homes. Ideally, comps should be located in the same subdivision or within 2 miles away. Homes in your CMA should be roughly the same age and share the same core characteristics. Some examples of these essential characteristics are the same number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and similar square footage.

Once you’ve found at least 3-7 comps, you will want to compare how much they each sold for on a price-per-square-foot basis. It ensures you are looking at a valid comparison. An experienced agent will be able to discern between houses that are a good fit for your CMA.

Step 5: Get Your Home Ready For The Market

There are a few things you may need to get your home ready to list. Most of the time, these are minor tweaks to your home, and very rarely does it make financial sense to do a significant renovation before listing your home.

Your agent should be able to make recommendations on how to get your home ready for the market. An experienced agent should know exactly what potential buyers will look for and how to weigh the pros and cons of any updates and repairs.

For most homeowners, this entails deep cleaning and decluttering. A quick repainting of an outdoor deck or a quick landscape session is all that most houses need. Don’t forget to mow the lawn and vacuum while you’re at it.

Step 6: Schedule Listing Photos

You will want to make sure your agent uses an experienced photographer. Before hiring an agent, ask them for pictures of a previous listing to verify that they meet your standards. A photo is worth a million words. Bad real estate photos mean fewer showings, and this can lead to lower offers. Don’t miss out on earning your home’s true worth.

At Felix Homes, all of our listing photos are edited to make sure they look their best. We also include drone photography so that prospective buyers can get a sense of the neighborhood and any community amenities.

For homes that are completely empty, consider having the photos virtually staged so that prospective buyers can get a sense of a room's layout. Virtual staging is significantly more cost-effective than physically staging a home with a similar outcome.

Step 7: Put The Marketing Plan In Action

Your realtor should be able to tell you exactly how they will market your home before you hire them. This is important. Ask them how they will do this during the interview process.

Every real estate agent will list the home on the multiple listing service or MLS. The MLS is the main distribution for real estate listings. Your home listing will then get syndicated to other real estate listing websites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Felix Homes.

Another common advertising strategy is to run targeted ads for your listing on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Your realtor should also promote the home to their social media network including local Facebook community groups.

Offline marketing efforts usually include hosting an open house, having a yard sign, and even using print advertising.

But the biggest point is to look for transparency in the marketing plan. Know what you are agreeing to with your realtor before you hire them.

Step 8: Sit Back And Relax While The Offers Come Pouring In

Here’s the best part–you just get to watch the offers pour in. If your home is priced properly and your photos look great, it should be a matter of time before you get offers. But you want to maximize your offers so you can have a bidding war. This will make you the most money possible.

A lot of realtors will brag about selling a home in less than a day but at Felix Homes, we're of the opinion that selling a home in less than 24 hours typically means that you left money on the table. Selling a home is a lot like an auction so would you rather have 10 buyers come to your auction over the course of a day or 30 buyers over the course of 4 days?

Your realtor should break down your offers so you can understand the pros and cons of each. Some things to make sure you understand before picking an offer: purchase price, contingencies, closing costs, and closing date.

If you decide to accept the offer, you will officially be under-contract which will kick off the closing period.

Choose An Experienced Realtor Who Takes A Lower Commission

At Felix Homes, we are passionate about making you more money when you sell your home. We don’t think you have to sacrifice quality service for a higher commission. That’s why we entered the real estate game. Reach out to us today to get started selling your home the right way. We’re here to help.

PRO TIP: Read testimonials from our past clients who have bought and sold with Felix