Tips and tricks for selling your home in a hurry. (And for the right price.)
In today’s hyper-competitive housing market, homes are flying off the proverbial shelves faster than ever before. Demand for homes may be reaching record highs, but there are still some cases where people just can’t seem to find buyers for their homes. A lot of factors play into how quickly you can sell your home, and many of them are out of the seller’s control. This is why it’s important to make sure the things you can control are where they need to be in order to sell your home and move on to the next phase in your life. That being said, here are seven tips that should help you find plenty of buyers for your home.
It’s important to make sure the things you can control are where they need to be in order to sell your home and move on to the next phase in your life.
1. Keep it clean
This should go without saying, but a clean home will always be more enticing to buyers than a messy one. Declutter and remove any excess furniture, family photos, odds and ends, religious items, and political posters so the prospective buyers can envision their own family in your house. You want your home to look as big and as new as possible. It may also be a good idea to hire a cleaning service for a deep cleaning. Prospective buyers are told to pay special attention to detail, so hiring a professional to clean up some spots you might have missed could work wonders in the long run.
2. The best ability is availability
Always, I repeat, ALWAYS be ready to show your home. You never know when your buyer is going to want to view your home. You or a family member has to be available whenever they want to come see your place, and it has to be in great shape. Don’t leave dishes in the sink, keep your bathrooms clean, and make sure everything is dusted and well swept. It’s a pain in the butt, but it’s been a tried and tested advantage to many sellers.
Always be ready to show your home.
3. If it’s broke, fix it
Leaky faucets, old screens, clogged drains. Anything that could deter a potential buyer from making an offer needs to be fixed before you start showing your home. Some repairs may seem minor, but these seemingly insignificant repairs can really add up in the mind of a buyer, and in some cases they may not see your home as worth the trouble of fixing all those little things. Don’t give them a reason not to make an offer. You can also leverage these repairs in the purchase price of your home! Making repairs builds equity, so you can ask for more money because of the updates you made to your home. Fix the little things and watch it make a big difference.
4. Is it hot in here?
It shouldn’t be! Make sure potential buyers are comfortable when they’re touring your home. If it’s cold outside, leave the heat on. If it’s hot, some refreshing AC will put them in a good mood as soon they walk in. You know what people do when they’re in a good mood? Make an offer.
5. Lighten up
Nobody wants to live in a dark home. Make sure you’ve got all your lights on and your blinds open to show off the natural lighting of your home. Be careful though: all that light is a good reason to make sure your home is spotless before you show it.
6. Leave the pets out of it
This may come as news to many of you, but not everybody loves pets. Crazy, right? But alas, we have to make concessions sometimes. Buyers don’t want to walk in and see or smell dog food or a litter box, or have pet hair on their clothes when they leave. It’ll give buyers the impression that your house isn’t clean, and nobody wants a dirty house. If you’re planning on having an open house, find a pet-sitter or try a pet hotel for the day.
7. The price is right
This next one may be a little difficult to grasp, but here goes nothing. Find out what your home is worth, and shave 15% to 20% off the price. I know, I know. It sounds crazy. But hear us out first! If you underprice your home, you’ll be inundated with offers from multiple buyers with multiple bids, even in the worst markets. When you start fielding all these offers, they’ll keep bidding up the price to well over what it’s worth. It takes some guts, and a lot of people are afraid to try it, but using the competitiveness of the market to your advantage is one of the best strategies for selling a home today.
Have you bought or sold a home recently? What were some tricks you used? Let us and our followers know on social media!
