I have been a Realtor in Sarasota since 1998 and in that time I have received some common questions from home sellers that I will answer. 
Question. A Real Estate agent is coming to show my home, should I stay in the home so I can answer questions and show the buyers around or should I leave during the showing?
Answer. The only good reason I can think of that the owner would want to stay would be for security reasons. But if your not worried about security, than it is definitely better to not be in the home at the time of showings or open houses. You want the buyers to be able to speak freely with each other and to their agent. With the owner around the buyers will be afraid to say what they are really thinking. Second, you don’t really want to be around to answer questions. It is best not to answer any questions unless your agent is present with you. If you answer questions you could be giving away information that will help the buyers in their negotiations with you. Thirdly, the buyers need to see the home as it is their own and having the owner there doesn’t help.
Question. My home needs to be updated. Should I update it or just sell it the way it is?
Answer. In the Sarasota Real Estate Market, you will get more money for your home if you update it, even after taking into consideration the costs involved. However, it will take some of your time to do a good job. Even if you are hiring out all the labor for the job, it is still going to take time to manage the project. Also it is important to know what you are doing and most importantly have enough money to finish the job. I have run across seller’s who try to sell a partially remodeled home. An example that I have seen was an owner who lived in a home for many years that was dated. He wanted to sell it so he decided to remodel the house. He remodeled part of the house very expensively, and then either ran out of time or money to do the rest of the house. The remodeled part looked great, but the rest of the house didn’t. The remodeling he did not add much value to the house, because the potential buyers who looked at the house were focusing on what still had to be done.
Obviously, you will get more money if you are selling a “move in condition” home. The extra money that you receive will in most instances compensate you for the extra effort you have spent to remodel the home. So if you have the time, money, and know how to properly remodel a home, then remodel it, but if not, then just sell it in it’s current condition.
If you are thinking of selling your home and you have a question that you want answered please e-mail me. If I think it would good for a blog post, I will post the question and answer to my Sarasota Real Estate Blog.
Let’s Connect