Tips For Sellers – San Pedro Belize

Selling a home is more than just putting a sign in the front yard. Curb appeal is just as important as the layout of the furniture.

1. Don’t use an agent that has been in San Pedro for a short period of time because they will not know the island well enough to represent potential clients. There are very few street signs and no numbers on land or homes. The majority of the island is raw land. We get phones calls from other agents that do not know the island and ask about property that they have no clue as to where it’s located. It’s like the blind leading the blind. This is a huge potential for the new agent to show the wrong property, and waste a lot of valuable time.

2. Your agent should be bonded in some way by owning real estate and having long term ties with the community.  We have a lot of fly by night agents. They are here today and gone tomorrow.

Tim and I have been living in San Pedro since 1997. We know the island very well, own our own home and are well connected in the community.

3. If you are selling a home make sure that the potential buyer is able to view the property when needed. Being prepared to show at any giving moment could be critical. People are normally here anywhere from for 7 to 10 days and when they fall in love with San Pedro they are ready to buy. If your agent doesn’t know the island or the product well, you could lose the sale.

4. Being prepared: Your agent needs to be prepared at all times and approachable for clients and other agents. They need to have all the answers and be able to answer all questions.

MLS Ambergris caye

5. Marketing and Advertising: Your agent should do all they can to market your property. It should look it’s best at all times. Checking on the property on a regular basis is very important to ensure that it is ready for show at ant given moment. Use a realtor that is in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service – representing sellers under a listing contract to widely share information about properties with other brokers) is a huge advantage. Make sure your agent is doing all they can do to make the sell happen. The details are what separates the good from the best.

6. Make sure your agent has all the tools for showing your property: Golf cart, boat, in some cases helicopter and plane. It is very important to have both a golf cart and boat on the island. There are a lot of areas you can’t get to by any other means than a boat. If you can’t get there, you can’t show it, you can’t sell it.

7. Setting the price – How bad do you need to sell? Things to consider: The market, neighborhood, and you budget. A good agent will be able to direct you in the right way and help set the selling price. If you over price your property expect it to stay on the market longer than it should.

8. Do you need to rent while selling? You need to figure out if you can leave the property vacant while selling. Sometimes a home can look cluttered if you have renters and can hurt the sell. Rents can get in the way and hurt more than they can help. We have had renters that have talked down properties because they didn’t want the house to sale and have to move.

9. Getting rid of personal items and clutter is very important. If a house has to much furniture and clutter it will look like there is not enough room for the potential buyers belongings. This is a problem when renting.

10. Staging the living space. First impressions are everything. What you see when you walk in the door will set the tone for the rest of the showing.

11. Sometimes it takes money to get a place ready for show. Can you afford to do upgrades before selling? Painting is a very easy and a cheap way to spruce up your home. Little things like fixing any broken molding, light fixtures, ceiling fans, broken tile, outlets, ect., anything that is visible to the eyes should be address first.

12. All cabinetry, fixtures and appliances should be the best you can afford and in good shape. Make sure the best features of you house stand out.

13. The place should be bright and airy. Do all windows open? Is there a view of the water? Make sure that the view is accentuated.

14. The seller and/or renter should not be around when the house is being shown by agent. The seller will let their personal feelings get in the way. The agent is neutral and will let the buyer form their own opinion.

15. Offer financing when possible. If you can offer financing it will help expand your listing to more buyers. You should consider this before you put your property up for sale and have a general idea of the terms that you would want as for as  how much down, payment plan, interest rate, and timeline for payoff. 

 It is a buyers market expect to be flexible and negotiate. !!!