Selling a home in Miami requires special consideration as Miami is a unique housing market. Some buyers look to Miami for vacation homes, beach front property, high end property, off-beach property, fixer uppers, condos, etc. If you have all the time in the world to sell your home or if you have a unique property, finding the right real estate agent to market your home is probably your best bet. But for the rest of you – if you don’t have a lot of time, or simply want to sell your home quickly (and still get a good value!), here are some tips:

1. 1. Price it Right the First Time – Check out comps for your Miami Property on places like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com. Do your best to look at properties that have recently sold to get an idea of how to price your property. And be realistic when identifying comparable properties – this means looking for recent sales in the same neighborhood and properties of the same size with similar features (e.g., driveway, pool, new kitchen, etc). One of the biggest problems sellers have is that they are emotionally attached to their property and price it too high. Look at the comps through the buyers eyes, and ask “Does mine match up? How does mine compare?” Remember, buyers are savy and always looking for a deal. If you do not price your property correctly, buyers will pass yours by and go for another. Your property will sit on the market, and you will periodically have to lower your price. Not only will you not be able to sell your house quickly, but buyers will see your house as unattractive since it has been sitting on the market for a long number of days.

If you price your property too low, on the other hand, you are not getting the full value of your property; however, one of the best strategies to sell quickly is to identify the current comps and price yours a haircut lower. You want buyers to say “Yes it has all the things these other houses have and is slightly more affordable! Let’s go for it!”. You don’t have to sell at a huge discount, rather, you are smartly and strategically setting a slightly lower price than the other houses on the market. Don’t think of it as losing money – think of it as saving yourself months and months of having to lower your price.

1. 2. Sell to an All Cash Buyer – If you receive multiple offers on your house, and one of the offers is cash, consider the cash offer even if it is lower than the other offers. Mortgages can fall through for several reasons (e.g., the buyer’s finances change, the house appraises for less than the market value, etc. If that happens, you are back at square one with having to find a new buyer, and you run into the problem of having a house that has been “sitting on the market. Therefore, if selling quickly is important to you, and selling to an all cash buyer is an option – go for it!

1. 3. Check out a Real Estate Investor – Some places specialize in buying houses quickly. One example is real estate investors. These are not people who are looking for the perfect house. They are looking for a property they can fix up. They have a faster timeline and are not looking with a microscope, as say a young family with a baby who is buying their forever home. Real estate investors who specialize in buying fixer uppers won’t require you to do repairs prior to the sale, instead you can sell your home in its current condition, regardless of how bad of a shape your property is in. Some of these types of real estate investors in the Miami Area are House Heroes, Florida Home Solutions, and Sam Buys Houses. You can meet with a few and see what kind of offers they are willing to give you! Another benefit of selling to Real Estate Investors is that they do this professionally and they are motivated to get the deal done, so things tend to move quickly!

1. 4. Be Available to Show Your Home – You would be shocked, but one of the biggest problems with being able to sell a house quickly is sellers not making the house available for viewing. Whether you are working with an agent, listing your house yourself, or selling directly to a real estate investor – make your house open for early morning, late night, weekend, and last minute showings. People can’t buy your house unless they can see it and very often buyers can come only after work, on the weekends, or on the same day. Although its inconvenient, deal with it and get the deal done!

1. 5. Work with a Pro (either a Real Estate Investor or an Agent) - Don’t go it alone! Many people think they will get a better price for their home by doing a For Sale by Owner and not paying a commission to a real estate agent. Listen up – if you want to avoid paying a commission to a real estate agent, I suggest selling your property directly to a real estate investor as described in # 3 above. This way you don’t have to worry about things like having a marketing strategy, staging your home, getting professional photographs taken, etc. The other alternative to selling directly to an investor is to go with an real estate agent who has experience selling homes quickly. The right agents can zero in on the right comps, market your property for a quick sale, and can tap into his or her network of buyers (which also usually includes real estate investors). Good real estate agents are worth every penny of their commission. Unless you are a marketing expert with the right skills and networks, a For Sale By Owner is not worth it. You will lose more money with the mediocre pictures you take and inability to vet your buyers. You will soon be wishing you had just gone with an agent. You can read about some additional considerations here: http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2015/05/04/hiring-realtor-vs-for-sale-by-owner.html