Chapter 7 – Sell for a profit
After you've finished your flip, you need to sell it as fast as possible, for a good price, as close as possible to your calculated ARV. If you have made a good deal right from the start you will be able to sell the house in a rather short period of time, but you should still consider couple of points.
The most important feature of your flipped house is the price you are going sell for – depending on this feature you will either be able to sell and make a profit or you will be left behind by the competitors in the market. When a buyer goes out to buy something he first compares the prices. So, you would want to fix a price within the local market and this means you need to keep an eye on the other properties for sale in the area. There is nothing wrong is listing the property a little over the other houses, as long as you are sure it will sell due to certain unique features or something else that makes it stand out in the crowd.
But it is always better to stay close to the average rate going on in the market. As a professional seller you need to understand the demand in the area as it is the most important thing; as long as there is a demand, you will be able to effectively sell your house.
You might want to take a look at the way the prices move up and down each season, as they are prone to fall down in autumn and winter and rise up again in the hot season. Based on this, there are areas where it's best to wait for the spring instead of selling in winter, especially if you haven't considered this seasonal change when you made your first calculations around the property.
You can also list the house at different prices, to increase its attractiveness. For example, you can list it at $180,000 without furniture and $200,000 with furniture. This will give the buyer multiple options, at least in theory and this is very appealing for the human brain. Another trick is to list the property at odd numbers, like $187,000 instead of $190,000 – this is a marketing trick that works like a charm on most buyers.
Regardless what you consider, you must list the property at a competitive price, which allows you to make a profit and find a buyer in a relatively short period of time, to prevent losses.
List for sale a home, not a house
One of the best tricks to attract people and make them buy a house is helping them visualize themselves living inside that house. This means turning the house into a home!
This way you will be presenting a lifestyle, a concept which is much more than a house and people will resonate better with this idea. Make your potential buyer feel at home in the house, by adding furniture and some design items, like flowers and linings to make the place look like it is ready to accommodate its guests.
Staging the house with some décor items can increase its value, as strange as it may sounds, so don't skip this process. There are many ways to find the furniture and the decorations, each one with its own advantages and drawbacks. You can chose to borrow the furniture, buy it for cheap or close a deal with a local furniture shop. You can also be creative and use props, for example, air mattresses can be made to look exactly like a bed, but they come at a lower price and are easier to move around.
When you shoot the pictures for the promotional posts make sure you capture that cosy feel. There are always spots that need a little more attention due to a slightly crooked tile or something alike, which doesn't actually alter the house's functionality, but can leave a poor impression.
Hide them with plants – you will be hitting two rabbits with the same arrow, as plants can transform a room and make it more homey, as well as hiding the small faults. Another important step is making the house smell great by using fresh flowers and vanilla deodorizers, which remind the brain of cookies. As we all know cookies are linked to homes and grandmothers, the smell can go a long way in the way the house appeals to potential buyers.
Speaking of cookies, placing a bowl of chocolates on the table can also attract people; after all who does not love chocolates.
After everything has been set, call a professional real estate photographer, because you won’t be able to take amazing shots of the house. In a world dominated by amazing video art, especially in the online medium, where your buyers might be, you need to attract people to your house, to see it and fall in love with it. And iPhone photographies are not going to do the job.
Make it BIG!
When you want to sell your flipped home you need to make a buzz around it, so that everyone gets to know you are selling a house and not every house, but your own masterpiece. Listing the property in offline and online medium are well known methods to advertise the property, but you can aim for a classier and most flamboyant promotion.
Having an opening party where people can see the house and the modifications you have done to it is a great way to create a buzz, as people will talk about the event and the word might reach someone who is interested to buy a property in the area.
Send out postcards with the house's pictures to the locals and ask them if they have a new neighbour in mind.
Use all the tools you can find to advertise the property and if you need to, ask the help of a real estate agent to sell the house and collect your money. You deserve them, after all that hard work!