Sell Your Home Quigley: The Ultimate Guide to Illinois Real Estate

By Randi Lynn Quigley

Selling your home is a uniquely emotional affair. Think of your house as the backdrop to a life you’ve built for you and your family. It’s where you go to find peace and joy. It is the shelter you seek when it storms. To you, it is your perfect serenity -- each door opens to memorable, cherished times, and the pride you feel in each of its polished features is matched only by your natural acceptance of its charming flaws. The perfect mix of what makes you feel comfortable and loved.
It’s not easy to look at your home without bias and see it of what it is truly, one of the largest assets you will secure in your lifetime. The return on this investment is crucial, one that can make a significant impact on your financial future. Navigating a home transaction is complex, with many moving parts. It’s a path you should not try alone.
Balancing this sentimental journey of a home sale with the financial reality of a property transaction is what we do. It requires local expertise, market intuition, and a good deal of emotional intelligence and working experience. As your devoted real estate professionals, we will always have your best interest at heart, and in mind. Allow us to orchestrate the process, negotiate on your behalf, and bring you comfortably to the closing table.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Apr 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781982266288

Randi Lynn Quigley

My name is Randi Lynn and I am a Full Time Real Estate Broker dedicated to Superior Customer Service. I have been around Real Estate for 19 years earning many awards from Centurion, International Diamond Society Award, Quality Service Customer Service Awards, and hold designations including SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist) and Certified Corporate Relocation Specialist. I went Full Time into Real Estate in 2013 after obtaining my BBA with a Major in Marketing, 2014 was honored as in the Top 10 Agents of my entire Region, & the Top Selling Agent at Coldwell Banker’s Orland Park Office; Selling an average of 14 Million to 22 Million Plus Each Year. My husband, Steve, joined Real Estate in 2018 and with his Rural and Farming Background, his expertise in these types of properties is undeniable. Together we provide service that stands above all the rest. We live the life of Real Estate and this has become more than just a career, it is our passion and true calling. Living the lifestyle and always putting our clients best interest at heart. Treating you as part of our family is how we run our business.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Randi Lynn Kalinski-Quigley.

www.SellYourHomeQuigley.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

844-682-1282

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-6627-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-6628-8 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date:    03/31/2021

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 Do THIS To Have Great Showings And Get Top Dollar For Your Home

CHAPTER 2 You Only Get One Chance To Make A First Impression: The Absolute Importance of CURB APPEAL

CHAPTER 3 The Twelve Most Costly Mistakes Made By Homebuyers (And How To Avoid Them!)

CHAPTER 4 Dos and Don’ts for Choosing The Real Estate Agent That’s Right For You

CHAPTER 5 First-Time Homebuyer? Six Things You MUST Do (That Most First-Time Homebuyers Completely Ignore)

CHAPTER 6 Should You Sell Your Home Without An Agent? Insider Tips For Marketing Your Home As A For Sale By Owner

BONUS CHAPTER: Think Your House Is Ready For The Market? Here’s Why Staging Will Help Your Home Sell Faster…….For A Higher Price!

To be successful in real estate, you must always and consistently put your clients’ best interests first. When you do, your personal needs will be realized beyond your greatest expectations. – Randi Lynn

*Please Note that this book is written stating my personal opinion of how I perceive the Real Estate market from my Experience as a Full Time Professional Realtor in the South and Southwest Chicagoland Area – Randi Lynn

LIST

SELL

Close

REPEAT

28235.png

1

Do THIS To Have Great Showings And Get Top Dollar For Your Home

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

W hen it comes to selling ANYTHING (not just real estate) it’s the buyer that matters. Not the seller. So it is very important to make sure that your home is as appealing and neutral as it can be to all parties walking in viewing your home.

You should think of completely DECLUTTERING and organizing your home. I know many real estate agents out there are thinking it, but some are too timid to tell their clients this. I understand this can be very time consuming; however, when you are listing your home to move, you are going to have to organize and most likely get rid of the clutter anyways… so why not do it before you list your home. This truly will give you much better Feedback on Showings and help sell your home faster, for the top dollar. In the relationship that Sellers have with their agent, there needs to be honest communication from both parties in order to have the most successful transaction. I always say that this is a Team Sport so it is my job to be as open and honest with you from the start that I can be.

Organizing and decluttering your home allows the potential buyers to be able to see the entire space and they will be able to envision what it’s like to actually live there. That is the main goal, to make your house appealing to others.

Let’s get into specifics.

The fridge is just one area that we see decorated that shouldn’t be. Trust me, being a mom of 4 I get it! I have such a hard time not displaying all of my children’s artwork ALL over the house. But as for the refrigerator, especially, when you are aiming to sell your home, try to keep it clean- think Like New.

Now that we are discussing the kitchen, if you have any small appliances sitting out, put them in a pantry. I know you use your toaster daily, as well as some other items, but if whatever it is doesn’t look good in a photo……..put it away.

And that goes for the rest of the stuff in your house that buyers don’t care to see. Think of your home as one of those model homes sold by a housing developer. They are bare—the idea is to create the psychological impression on potential buyers that this could be THEIR home. That this IS their home.

It almost goes without saying that creating this impression is really difficult if your personal stuff is everywhere.

Have Nothing In

Your House That

You Do Not Know To

Be Useful, or

Believe To Be

Beautiful

-William Morris

Here’s a quick list of stuff to hide/put away:

• Toaster, mixer, and other kitchen appliances

• Knick knacks

• Book collections

• Posters

• Anything on your fridge (photos, magnets, etc)

• Magazines on the coffee table

• Newspapers

As you can probably tell by reading this list, your house should to be BARE! Completely Organized. This can literally be worth thousands and thousands of dollars to you in the final sale price. I do not, however, suggest completely depersonalizing your home. Some agents will tell you to take down all family pictures. Of course, I do not suggest leaving photos all over the home without frames, cluttered, etc. Yet, a family photo or pictures of the children (as long as you’re comfortable with leaving them up) makes the home appear more welcoming.

I actually have a great tip… when showing your home, leave an empty laundry basket near the front door. Before you have a showing, make sure that you pick up anything that is just laying around, whether it be on the floor or counter top… wherever it may be. If it looks like it doesn’t belong, put it in the basket and bring it with you! If you have a few minutes, take out the vacuum and make the clean lines in the carpet- simple! Also, put an air freshener right by the front door so as soon as they walk into your home they smell something AMAZING… These simple, little things, can help make the showing that much better for the potential buyers!!

Real estate is just as much art as it is science. Part of the art side of selling a home is value perception. And the perceived value of your home is much higher when it’s clean, decluttered, and simply organized.

Let’s get into even more specifics….

Family photos, again,...touchy subject. It’s OK to have a couple family photos out, but when your