15 Essential Tips for Buyers and Sellers

Buying or selling property means staying on top of a lot of details. One way to make the process easier on you is to look for trustworthy sources. Finding up to date news on the Malaysia property market with PropertyGuru Malaysia is easy, for one. Plus, the listing site also allows sellers to post your properties and buyers to browse through available homes.

Buyer Tips

·         Location is key. Consider central locations. You want easy and convenient access, after all. Going for properties along major transportation hubs, near train stations or bus stations, is a good way to improve your access and make commuting to anywhere less stressful and much more convenient.

·         Listen to the latest trends. While the market growth is slow, experts seem to think that 2016 is a great year to invest in properties, with projections that market prices will come surging right back by 2019 or 2020, The Malay Mail Online says. By keeping up to date with such news, you’ve got a solid gauge on whether it’s a good time to invest or not.

·         Know why you’re buying it. Be clear on your reasons for buying it. Do you intend to use it as a temporary or secondary residence? Or maybe you’d like to lease it out and take advantage of the rental income it brings? Asione says it’s an ideal time to scoop up properties and rent them out until the ringgit stabilizes. Then that’s the right time to sell them. So whatever your reasons are, make sure you’re clear on the why. It’ll affect a number of your buying decisions.

·        Look beyond visual appeal. A lot of buyers don’t often look beyond the staging and that can be a missed opportunity. Look for the structural bones of the property instead of the bad sofa set or those bland-looking walls. Remember that you can change the interior of the home easily enough. But knocking down a wall to expand a space or putting one up to build a room requires more planning, trouble and expense.

·         Wait it out. If you’ve been eyeing a particular property, but think the price isn’t reasonable yet, then don’t rush in and swoop it up. Take your time.

·         Don’t be too picky. Some homebuyers believe they’ll just step into a room and magic will happen. That’s rarely the case when you’re buying. Often, shopping for a home means you’ve got to settle for the choices that are well within your price range. Going beyond your budget for a home is unthinkable and might spell a huge financial disaster for you so when you’ve got a budget, stick to it.

·         Don’t be an emotional buyer. While it’s nice to have an instant connection to a home, unless you can afford it, you can’t let your heart rule over your head. Be smart about your buying decision. Go for something that’s an ideal fit for what you need: the right size, a good location and the best price you can get, given your price range.

Seller Tips

·        Repair and replace. Before you put up the property in the market, make sure to repair and replace whatever needs to be repaired or replaced. Rotting floorboards? Leaky pipes? Fix them up as best as you can. If not fix, then replace. This can cut into your funds though so the best thing to do is to make sure you never let your property fall into such disarray in the first place.

·         Show it in the best light. Visual appeal matters a great deal. So set the stage, so to speak. Use whatever furnishings or props you have handy to make the home as welcoming and inviting as possible. You want to make them fall in love with the property at first sight. That, coupled with good structural bones, will help sell your property faster.

·         Clear your things. You want to make them feel at home right from the get-go and that’s hardly possible if the first thing they see on the door is your grandmother’s cross or last year’s Halloween decorations. So remove all signs of you and your family from the property. This can make the buyers uncomfortable, so they might not explore the property as much. If the property happens to be ideal for their needs, those trappings could set the deal back a few steps. To ensure nothing gets in the way of a quick sale, keep the property welcoming but impersonal by taking out all your personal knick-knacks and possessions and hiding them somewhere buyers won’t find them.

·         Paint the walls. You’d be surprised at the dramatic change freshly painted walls can do to bring a room back to life. It doesn’t cost much and it can make the difference between a dreary room and a sunny one. For some buyers, it could even be enough to seal the deal. So if you want to give your property the best chance at beating every other home on the block, then this should be on your to-do list.

·         Be realistic about the price. A major reason homes sell quickly enough is their price tag. Is yours realistic? Or maybe it’s a bit higher than the average property in your location?  Homeowners often believe their properties are worth more on the market. Want to know if your price is on target? Hire a realtor to provide you with an accurate market value of your property. That’s going to help you secure the best price for your home. However, you’ll have to note that the longer your property stays on the market, the harder it is for you to sell. That’s because other buyers will assume something is wrong with the home. So best to get the price right from the get-go to attract your target buyers instead of turning them away.

·         Best condition trumps competition. If your home is in tip-top shape, then it’s likely to sell faster than the other properties in the same location. Which is why cleaning up the property is a good idea. It’ll attract buyers better if they see gleaming floors, clean windows and bright walls instead of stepping through the door and finding nothing but broken floorboards, a leaky roof and fat spiders ready to fall on unsuspecting house guests.

·         Make it “Move-in” Ready. Most homebuyers want to expedite the process as much as possible. One way to encourage that is to get your home in a state where the buyer can immediately move in and start living there. That means keeping the plumbing system up to code, ensuring the doors as well as appliances—if there are any—comply with electrical building codes, among other things.

·         Fix your curb. The curb is often one of the first things your buyers will see so make sure you make the best impression possible. You can pull this off by trimming the bushes, fixing the fence and the door.

Buying or selling a home can be challenging. You’ve got a lot of details to see to. You might even encounter horrible buyers or sellers along the way. But armed with a whole lot of research, you can make this experience a great one for you and your buyer or seller.