Editors Note: After six years here, we Working Gringos have both bought and sold houses. And we aren’t the only ones! If you are a regular reader of our website, you probably know that the Merida and Yucatan real estate markets are some of the hottest in the world, especially now after the subprime mortgage debacle in the United States that continues to unfold. The following article by one of our friends, Mitch Keenan, the owner of Mexico International, points out some tips for those of you who are selling your homes here. Mitch has been selling homes here for longer than we have been living here, so you can be sure he speaks from experience.

Yucatan is Hot!

Yucatan is a hot real estate market! Homes are selling. Even during our slower months, from August through November, home sales in 2007 have remained steady. If your home is not selling, there is a reason. It’s not just bad luck.

Things that affect the sale of your home include: location, floor plan, quality of construction, architecture, neighbors, traffic, available inventory and demand in the marketplace. The bad news is that these things are aspects of the marketplace that are nearly impossible or very expensive to change. The good news is that, despite this, there are many ways you can improve the chances of a quick sale. So, if you want to improve your odds, here are Mitch’s 8 Tips For Selling Your Yucatan House and they all revolve around one concept: Eliminate Negatives!

Househunting Strategies

Typically buyers look at six or more homes a day, especially here in the Yucatan where they are often on a quick trip just for the purpose of househunting. Buyers will TOSS the negative houses off their list first. Sometimes they don’t even remember exactly what impacted them negatively about the property.

Imagine that your buyers have returned to their hotel. They have seen 15 houses over the last three days. They have a drink and discuss the homes that are still in the running. Your buyers saw so many homes they do not remember everything they saw exactly. Actually, they liked your home, but there was just something wrong, some nagging little negative they may not even remember for sure, but they TOSS your house and continue with their decision making process. You’re done. They aren’t even going to make you an offer.

Sigh…

It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are eight things you can do to make your house one that they will remember at the end of the day:

Eight Steps To Selling Your Home in the Yucatan

1. Price

Overpricing your home is a deadly sin. It’s okay to test the market, but if you are going to test the market, it is important to listen to what the market tells you and make the proper adjustments. If you are overpriced, you probably know it (check in with your gut – what does it say?). That’s okay. We are not here to talk about over-priced homes. We are here to talk about selling YOUR home.

For the sake of this conversation, those who overprice their homes are your friends! They will effectively help you sell your home, because YOUR house is priced at market or within a “reasonable” negotiating range. Your home is going to be more attractive to the buyers in the marketplace, not only because you have priced it right, but because your are going to also do the following:

2. Clean It Up

Would you buy a dirty, beat-up used car that looked like it lacked general maintenance and was so full of stuff that you really couldn’t get a good look at the interior? I am going to venture a guess… probably not! Your home is an investment many times the cost of a used car. Let’s market it properly and show it in its best light. Clean up the house and make it shine!

Paint it. Inside and out. Use good paint that will last! Use fun colors… this is Mexico. Give it some of your personality. You may have to live here for a stretch. Life is short, so enjoy it!

Re-grout, repair and buff your floors! You want every person who walks into your home to feel like they can eat off those floors. We want them to see their reflections in them. We want them to say, “Wow, Love Those Floors!”

Get rid of that smell! Okay. You love your pets. But the person buying your house may not. Cats, dogs, birds, monkeys (whatever) tend to be odiferous. If you have pets and you cannot smell animal in your house, ask a good friend if they can. If so, clean the cat box (better yet, move it outside), send the “kids” to the vet for a good bath, de-bugging and deodorizing. We wear deodorant (most of us); they can too. Take that doggie bed to the cleaners or burn it. Please clean the hair off that blanket, couch, chair, your bed! Nice, cute, well-behaved, clean smelling pets can be a plus. Everyone loves cute, contented pets. They are a statement about you. Do all you can to keep them from being a “negative” to your Buyers.

And down here, there’s something else to be aware of: darn mold. In the rainy season, it is just everywhere. Put de-humidifying containers in the closets. Bleach the bathrooms and all the drains. Bleach the kitchen. Heck, bleach everything! Your buyers would rather smell bleach than mold. Especially in the kitchen and bathrooms! What is that in the refrigerator? A science project? Throw it out! Eeek! What is that under the refrigerator? Don’t you ever clean down there?

3. Throw It Out

If it is not attractive, functional or the right size for the room, then get rid of it. Sell it, store it or give it away. Let your buyers see how spacious your home is! If you’re not sure what to keep or what to toss or how to organize the room, you probably have a friend that can help!

4. Fix It Up

Remember that used car you’re NOT going to buy? Yup, the one with the air conditioning that almost got cool, the window that didn’t roll up all the way and had that small crack on the front windshield? What else was about to go wrong with that thing? Obviously, it hasn’t been maintained. We do not want your buyers to think you treat your home the same way!

So, lets put new handles on the drawers, a new float in the toilet, and while were at it, lets get rid of that sarro (scale). Replace the broken sink, soap holders, mirrors, tiles (can’t find a replacement tile? Do something fun – be creative!). Replace that broken or cracked window!

Grease the hinges, WD-40 the squeaks, touch up the scratches, replace the screens. And while you’re at it, windex the windows, oil the furniture, clean the webs from the ceilings. Replace the burned out bulbs. Fix the switch to the fan. Fix the Fan. Clean and paint those rusty fan blades. Patch that hole!

Eliminate. Eliminate. Eliminate the negatives!

5. Decorate

Okay, we have to be a little careful here. If you like leisure suits, wear dark socks over your calves in sandals with shorts, have an affection for t-shirts that don’t quite cover your belly button, wear a bad toupé or if you don’t know the difference between a fir and a spruce… Call your gay friend.

Otherwise, decorate!

It doesn’t have to be expensive. Be creative. You can do a lot of neat stuff for not much money. Put up some used mirrors. Cut some fun pictures or photos out of an old book or magazines and stick an old frame on them. Hang some old interesting stuff on the walls. Blow up some of your cool photos and display them. Stencil a wall. Put up an old frame with nothing in it. Build a book shelf out of some old wood planks or something cool. Have fun. Paint one wall in the room a rich color. Change some light fixtures. Throw some throw rugs. We live in the land of neat stuff and colors. Experiment! It doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, its probably better if it isn’t. It just has to look good.

6. Tidiness Counts

Now that you’ve got it how we want it, let’s maintain it that way until everyone signs the closing documents! A clean, organized, aesthetically stimulating, warm, comfortable home that smells good invites people to stay. Give your buyers a desire to stay!

7. Lawn, Garden and Pool

We are in the Garden of Eden! The colors, textures, varieties and fragrances of the tropical garden are myriad. Keep it maintained, pruned and manageable. No one wants to take over a jungle. Everyone loves a well-lit, maintained and charming garden! And please. Please. Please. No empty pools (see “Empty Houses”).

8. No Empty Houses

Repeat this phrase three times: No empty houses. No empty houses. No empty houses.

Why? Because they are empty. Buying a home is a gut purchase. An empty gut doesn’t feel good. Empty homes don’t feel good either. They feel empty. They look empty. They are empty. Put something in them. Anything! A mirror. A painting. A plant. A table. A mat. A lamp. Make it feel like it is anything but empty.

Follow those suggestions, and you have a much better chance of selling your home, here in the Yucatan or anywhere, for that matter.

Here is wishing you happy closings!

-Mitch Keenan, CRS