Seller's Guide

Keep personal décor and trinkets out of sight. This will allow visiting buyers to visualize how they can make the house their own.

Don’t let buyers find leaky faucets or creaky hinges when they tour your home. Taking care of these small but important repairs will convince them that every part of the house is working as they should.

Wow your potential buyers even before they take one step inside your house. Set a positive and pleasant mood right from the start of your home tour.

Assigning the right asking price for your home is essential to the success of your home sale. If you set an unreasonable list price based on emotions and personal biases, your listing will struggle to gain interest from serious buyers and savvy buyer’s agents.

Use your agent’s local expertise. In addition to researching average Pleasanton, California home prices, review properties similar to your home. Look into current listings and recent sales to determine a reasonable price range that comparable homes are fetching from local buyers.

Work closely with your agent to craft effective marketing materials and techniques designed to catch the attention of your target buyers. These include:

• High-definition photos and videos
• Accurate, comprehensive, and creatively written descriptions
• High visibility on various online platforms such as real estate websites and social media
• Advertisements in prominent local publications and other similar promotional materials

Your agent will determine the best time to make your listing publicly available, aiming to maximize exposure and visibility as soon as it goes live.

If you are a luxury property owner who would rather stay anonymous, ask your agent to market your home through their exclusive network and personal contacts.

Patience is key at this stage of the selling process. Instead of getting excited or overwhelmed by early offers, sit down with your agent to review every detail of an offer package – from the offer price, to contingencies, to mortgage terms and schedules.

Work with your agent to negotiate toward a mutually agreeable “sweet spot” between your buyer’s offer and your asking price. Your agent will provide an objective and level-headed stance representing your best interests at this crucial and often stressful juncture.