research recent sales and on-the-market properties
Search the classified ads. Online resources provide another window onto the market, however you will find that the quality of data, including what is actually available, varies greatly. Do your homework! It is one of the most important decisions you’ll make.

Another option is to have your apartment “appraised”. An appraiser in New York State is a licensed professional, who can write up a real appraisal which a bank can use to qualify lending. Real estate sales agents’ do not provide appraisal services; although they may provide evaluations from the perspective of marketability. A good broker will advise you about what the data, experience and instinct say that a well promoted property would fetch. Many of your potential customers will have brokers advising them, they will already have this data. You need to have it as well to negotiate properly.

proper pricing
You’ll need to set the correct asking price. Some sellers have some information about recent sales in their apartment buildings. That’s part of the story, but they will need more on surrounding properties and the current market. Even the most recent sales data often lags behind the market by a few months, and the online tools are close to guesswork. Be careful of over-pricing. The of the marketplace is pretty transparent, because of the Internet and the practice of holding open houses. It has created a very well informed customer. Buyers will pass on an overpriced listing in pursuit of competing properties where the value relationship is more equitably perceived.

working with customers
Selling your home is when all sorts of people will be coming into your home. Some will be very nice folks who are out to buy, many will be window shopping on a Sunday afternoon, your intuitions about who’s real, and how you qualify them, is crucial. Some will see the “sale by owner” label as an invitation to submit low ball offers. Try talking to everyone and keep a list of your visitors. The risk of having a deal fall through and being back on the market later, can be the beginning of a stale listing or could negatively affect a deal on your next property.

working with agents
Decide upon how you want to work with agents who may wish to bring customers to the listing. Owners can contact various agencies with an “open listing”, meaning that the seller will bear all costs in money and time for marketing, but may work with broker’s representing customers. You’ll need to keep updating open listings with all the agencies, whenever the listing information (such as price, open house, or showing schedules) changes. In NYC, a majority of buyers are broker represented. By not dealing with their offers, you may be cutting off a significant pool of customers. So it’s worth giving some thought to the issue.

showing your home

• Be prepared to get busy.
• Set aside the time to take on the tasks required.
• Spend money on advertising. Promote!
• Get great photos, hire a photographer if needed.
• You must have a clear floor plan too. Have one drawn if the one you have is too complex, or has been copied a few hundred times.
• Prepare a color fact sheet with information, pictures and floor plans
• Use your answering machine to help provide information to callers
• Make your living spaces uncluttered
• Remove family photos, let your customers imagine themselves living there
• Make everything sparkle
• Send the dog and the kids out for an errand, before showings
• Keep a visitors list
• Put your valuables away