Selling your luxury home means selling one of your most important investments. The task may be more difficult and daunting than selling a mid-priced home, especially since luxury home buyers have a specific taste for high-end homes that will greatly suit their lifestyle. That's why it is important to take the proper steps to ensure your luxury home is sold in a timely fashion and at its best market value.   1. Price your home right In whatever market you're in, pricing a home correctly is extremely important. However, pricing a luxury home is even more challenging. Custom features, upgrades, high-tech automation systems, amenities and even the outdoor view vary from one home to the next. Consider the dangers of overpricing, or even underpricing it. The luxury price range of homes also vary per region. Pricing your luxury home competitively from the very beginning will attract more buyers and won’t let it sit on the market for too long.   2. Hire a realtor who has extensive knowledge of the luxury home market Hiring a real estate agent who is also a local luxury home expert could be for the best if you are selling one of your most prized investments. Your chosen realtor should have a comprehensive marketing plan/system that they can use in promoting your home. Ask whether they have a team of other agents who also work in the luxury market and can help him/her promote your property to potential and qualified luxury buyers. Know whether the agent has other listings in your specific neighborhood, as proof of his/her expertise. It may also help if the realtor and his team have a custom website where they can also feature property listings.     3. Use professional photos/videos and utilize effective marketing Using amateur photos in promoting your luxury home is a big no-no, especially if you decide to promote it publicly. In the NAR Real Estate in A Digital Age Report (2016), 44% of homebuyers in this digital age looked for properties online first, so it’s a no-brainer to use quality photos and videos when presenting your home online. In taking photos of your luxury home, greatly consider the lighting, photograph your home’s best amenities and custom features, and highlight its exquisite location and the panoramic view surrounding it. Most local MLSs also have a limit on the number of photos you can showcase online, so a professionally-created video or a virtual tour could be an advantage in selling your property. A virtual tour could give potential buyers a “walkthrough” of your luxury home.   4. Present your home’s location and lifestyle correctly Luxury homes are all about lifestyle and location. Utilizing a video or virtual tour is also a great marketing tool as it can accurately portray the location and lifestyle your home provides to its future owner. Prospective buyers would want to know if the home not only suits their preferences, but also the lifestyle it portrays. It is important for them to also know who else is living in the vicinity.   5. Consider the right timing when selling your home Timing plays a large role in selling your luxury home and showcasing its feature amenities. It’s important to select the correct time of the year to sell, and to consider the current luxury housing market. For example, selling a home with a luxury waterfront and resort-style infinity pool in the middle of a cold and stormy winter may not seem to be the best idea. The same goes for listing in areas with weather events that may not complement the house’s features.   6. Clean, declutter and stage your home Staging any home before selling could definitely help, especially in million-dollar luxury homes. Some luxury homeowners enlist help in keeping their home clean, so staging could be the only thing that’s needed. The luxurious amenities in a home should be showcased to help potential buyers envision themselves in it. For an instance, a magnificent formal dining room should be staged with elegant dinnerware to help buyers visualize having their fine dining and memorable parties.

Planning to buy your first luxury home? Best be prepared by following these seven expert tips! 1. Build your dream team of experts. When buying a luxury house, it is highly recommended that you employ the help of an excellent real estate agent, a trusted financial advisor and accountant, and a lawyer who will be ready to walk you through local tax and property law. Choose a real estate agent that has a solid track record in the luxury housing market. While it is fine to call your trusted agent, your first luxury home purchase may need the expertise of someone who has already had success in dealing with this unique sector. The right real estate agent will have gleaming testimonials and reviews from satisfied luxury home buyers, preferably from the area where you are planning to purchase your luxury home. Look for a trusted financial advisor and accountant who will truly have your best interests at heart. Hiring a lawyer who is familiar with local tax and property law will also save you a lot of time and headache down the line. When you successfully put together a great team that will guide you through this luxury home-buying process, you can expect to have the keys to your dream luxury home in the quickest possible time.   2. Make sure your dream luxury home is also in a dream location. Research the entire vicinity of the home you are eyeing. If you're planning to purchase a luxury home to retire in, you may want to choose one that is located in a sparsely populated area, or one that will offer you a stunning view of the city that surrounds it. Since location has a significant impact on taxes, travel time, schooling, and other areas of your lifestyle - you may want to take your time researching which luxury home location suits your purposes best. If you're planning to add more features to your home such as a large veranda, pool, or a massive garden, you have to make sure that the house you're going to buy is not in a densely populated area. Which is to say that you can't rely on online listings alone; getting a feel of the house itself, as well as its surrounding community is the best way to gauge the quality of a home's location.   3. Familiarize yourself with the pre-approval process. The process of applying for a mortgage to buy a luxury home is entirely different from getting a conventional mortgage. Lenders may require a credit score of 680 or better - and the better your credit score is, the lower your interest rate will be. Your team of experts will know about this so do not hesitate to talk to them about your concerns. Being knowledgeable of the differences between getting standard mortgages and luxury home mortgages will better prepare you for the home buying process.   4. Keep an eye on "pocket listings" A lot of high net worth individuals do not market their listings publicly. Their listings are only shown to pre-screened, qualified buyers who can show proof of financial capacity to make a multi-million dollar purchase. As you won't find their homes listed in the MLS, it is best to make sure that your realtor is in contact with other luxury agents who can help show you pocket listings that may suit your standards.   5. Take note of the resale value of the luxury home you're planning to buy. While your decision to purchase a luxury home must align with your unique tastes, you must always consider how a particular home will appeal to future buyers should you decide to resell. If you think you'll be having resale challenges due to the unique nature of a luxury home, it is best to negotiate an excellent price to offset said challenges.   6. Have a checklist of your priority features. When looking for the perfect luxury home, it is best to know exactly what you want. Having a checklist of features you want to have in a home will keep your priorities in check, and will prevent you from making an emotional purchase (i.e., when you get lured into buying a house with a massive pool that you don't need). Is your privacy the most valuable thing to you? Make sure your potential home isn't located in an area where passersby can't easily take a peek into your home. Do you spend most of your free time cooking? You may want a house with a beautiful, Tuscan-style kitchen. Knowing what you want from the get-go will make it easier for you to narrow down your options.   7. Consider foreclosure listings. If you want to purchase a luxury home that is being sold considerably below its actual value, checking out foreclosed properties can be your best bet. Roughly 60% of foreclosed homes can be financed through your lender of choice, so you don't have to worry about buying with cash. Consult with a home mortgage consultant to determine whether it would serve you better to use financing or to buy with cash. Keep in mind though, that buying foreclosed homes means that you're buying it at its current state, and no upgrades will be made available to you before the big purchase. While you'll be able to save money by buying a foreclosed home, you have to factor in the amount you'll be spending on repairs and upgrades. Hire a trusted home inspector to check whether you're overspending by purchasing a foreclosure.