If you’re selling your home, or thinking of selling your home, you probably are facing a fierce competitor — that foreclosed home down the street.

The bank is eager to get rid of it. So the biggest challenge you’ll face is price, and price is something you’ll have to come to grips with early in the process.

However, there are ways you can set your property apart from foreclosures and give yourself an edge when sellers are comparing properties.

1. First, see if your neighborhood has foreclosed properties — if you can, you might want to wait until they are sold before listing your home.

Next, figure out a suitable price. Appraisers no longer take into account if a home next to yours is a foreclosure — a comp is a comp. Simply put, the risk factor of buying a foreclosure is no longer considered as high. Also, buyers can still do due diligence on the home — they have the time to do an inspection of the home, and they can still back out of a deal if something risky arises in the process.

2. The one factor where your home will stand out is its livability. A vacant home feels cold and sterile, while one that’s occupied has a cozier feel that’s more attractive to would-be buyers. Exercise this advantage when showing your home, and put extra effort into staging.

3. With all of the foreclosures on the market, many of these homes are being seen at their worst. Keep your home nice and clean and well-maintained. If people can see clearly that it’s a well-cared-for home — and will have fewer potential headaches for them — it will attract more positive attention.

4. Keep a vivid paper trail and photos of work, like any remodeling work, that you’ve done on your home to show potential buyers. This kind of information can be hard to track down on a foreclosure. This will increase buyers’ confidence about considering your home for purchase.

5. Finally, get real about the new market. Things are getting better, but there are still challenges for buyers, including the challenges of nailing down home loans. Be respectful of that.

And buyers themselves are very aggressive about getting a good deal. So don’t be insulted by a low offer; work with any offer to see if you can meet halfway. You know the bank will be doing the same with its foreclosure.

Source: Relocation.com