Selling your home: Organize and prioritize your time

You will need to give up some of your spare time in order to get your house ready to sell and to show prospective buyers through it.

That's why it's important to gain control of your time and use it wisely. It is easy for days to "just slip away" without having made much progress in selling your house. Being busy and being productive are two different things.

In some ways selling your own home can be likened to being under "house arrest." But think of how much you could save in commission by doing the jobs an agent would normally do!

One way to boost efficiency is to prioritize tasks. Draw four squares on a piece of paper. Mark the squares as follows:

• IMPORTANT AND URGENT

• IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT

• UNIMPORTANT BUT URGENT

• UNIMPORTANT AND NOT URGENT

Now put each of your daily tasks into one of the four boxes.

The point I'm making is that it is important to prioritize your tasks and know the value of everything you do. Why I say this is because most of us spend too much of our time working in the wrong squares.

We do tasks that are IMPORTANT AND URGENT because we have to. That's good!!!

We do tasks that are UNIMPORTANT BUT URGENT, because they demand our attention. Things like personal phone calls etc.

We do things that are UNIMPORTANT AND NOT URGENT because we want to... they are a good way to pass the day and can be fun. Again phone calls can be in this category, so can reading irrelevant mail, clowning around, trivia, gossip, escape activities like TV etc.

Most of us don't spend enough time doing things that are IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT.

Eg. Prevention, forward planning, relationship building, preparation, goal setting, devising marketing strategies, cash flow budgeting, setting values and standards, introducing efficient systems etc.

We often put IMPORTANT tasks off because they are NOT URGENT or get overshadowed by the day-to-day activities in our lives.

Selling your house is IMPORTANT and URGENT. You are either going to do it or you are not! So spending more time on tasks that are IMPORTANT and either URGENT or NOT URGENT will prove to be productive.

Accept that not everyone will like your house

When you use an agent he or she usually hears all the comments (good and bad) about the property. The agent will usually provide you with feedback. However, when you are selling your property yourself, you'll probably hear these comments first hand. Although, realize that sometimes people will have a different attitude when talking directly with the property owner. Either they'll be more polite by not telling you what they really think, or they'll be very direct and attempt to knock the price down by criticizing the property at every opportunity.

Anyway, be prepared for people to pick holes in you home. It may not always be pleasant as to some extent they are criticizing your personality. You probably chose the decor... you planted the trees... you designed the kitchen layout etc. So when someone says "it sucks!" ... that's not very nice to hear.

Accept that you are never going to please everyone.

TO SELL YOUR HOUSE -IT TAKES ONLY ONE QUALIFIED BUYER !

By using a systematic marketing plan you should have a steady flow of potential buyers that make the negative observations of any single person look irrelevant.

To sell, you have to know your strengths and weaknesses

Your role will be essential in the whole process. You will be director of operations, chief organizer, sales person, negotiator etc.

So start by making a list of your strengths and weakness. You'll then be better prepared to capitalize on your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. You might be quite surprised at what you come up with.

When selling your home, develop a systematic plan

Selling your own home is not like selling some goods at a flea market or holding a garage sale. Your home is more important than that, so the sale deserves far more attention to planning for the right outcome. Unlike a garage sale, your house will have a higher price ticket and it's not going to sell in a few hours.

The key here is to be organized and to have a systematic plan for reaching your goal. One of the advantages of having a plan is that it helps you keep your eye on the ball.

It is easy to get distracted by what might be happening on the sidelines. Don't be put off by a neighboring property suddenly coming on the market. Be aware of what they are doing and understand their strategies and tactics (if they rave any). Know their strengths and their weaknesses. Know your strengths and your weaknesses. Don't be put off your game... just run your own race.

This blog will help you draw up that road map. That way you'll be able to rest assured knowing you're doing everything you possibly can to get your house sold.

So, don't just put an ad in the newspaper and expect to sell your house... there's more to it than that. Have a plan, because it can be your road map to help you get were you want to go.