Tips for Selling a House Fast
People sell their houses for a myriad of reasons. It might be time to upgrade; you might be relocating, getting a divorce, you need the money, and so on.
Despite the reasons for selling, one thing is often clear. This is the need to execute the sale, make a good return and move on to the next phase of your life.
In real life, actualizing this is not as easy as it’s often thought. It’s not uncommon to see a listing sitting on the sidelined for months on end. This slows everything down, can be disheartening, and the longer a listing remains online, the more buyers shun it.
So how do you go about this process and sell your house in record time? Here are six tips to help fast-track the process.
1. Fix What You Can To Sell A House Fast
You might wonder about the usefulness of fixing a house that you are soon leaving. Think about home shopping. Are you likelier to buy a home in good condition or a seemingly run-down one?
Well, the same principle applies when selling your home.
A home with glaring structural problems especially can quickly become a hard sell. Buyers want a home they can purchase and move into, not one that will require weeks of renovations.
If you can, fix any existing issues before commencing the sale process. Not only does this attract more buyers, but it also gets you a better price.
2. Work on Your Curb Appeal To Sell A House Fast
Aside from a structurally sound house, the aesthetic value of your home helps draw in buyers.
From the get-go, your curb should look polished by the time you are putting up a for-sale sign.
People driving past your house will notice the outside of it first. People coming for open houses will see this first as well. Its state will determine whether they will be interested in seeing the inside or make a U-turn and continue their search elsewhere.
Some of the things that can give your curb a facelift include trimming bushes and shrubs, mowing the lawns, cleaning windows and siding. Consider painting the front door and the mailbox as well.
3. Declutter and Clean To Sell A House Fast
The potential of a house is best seen when it has minimal items in it. You want to achieve clean lines and a neutral smell for showcasing.
This is a great way to go about it when short on time and finances to do significant fixer-uppers.
To declutter, go room by room and identify items to be discarded, donated, or put in storage. Focus on large items as they make the room look smaller.
Organize closets. Do not cram stuff into them, as this gives the impression that the house lacks sufficient storage. Have a few items in all storage spaces and shift the rest to external storage space.
Finally, do a deep clean in all parts of the house. You can’t control where buyers will want to look, so you’re safer ensuring all nooks and crannies are spotlessly clean.
4. Determine a Selling Strategy To Sell A House Fast
There are primary ways of going about this. The first is getting a realtor on board. With this strategy, you get the benefit of their professional experience. On the flip side, a percentage of the sale
proceeds will go to paying their realtor commission.
The second channel is selling the home yourself. You get to keep all the money, but you will be required to play the realtor role.
However, this channel is the best way to go if you are looking to sell fast without priming the house and going through numerous tedious house selling options.
The clients you get are likely to be flippers, retirees, people that just sold their homes, cash buying companies, developers, and investors.
While you will get a lower price in exchange for convenience, this is a preferred channel for people looking to sell their homes on short timelines.
A cash sale is also worth considering if your house is facing foreclosure or has extensive damage you cannot fix before the sale.
5. Get a Professional Photographer
Granted, it’s faster and cheaper to take a few shots of your hose to upload with the home advert. It’s, however, not the best way to go about it.
This is the first impression prospective buyers will get of your home. If they like the photos, they will reach out to view the house. If the photos are shoddy and do not capture its selling point, the interaction ends there.
To sell a property quickly, you need to get a lot of traction in the initial stages. This means arousing the interest of as many buyers as possible. Essentially, this increases the probability of finding the ideal buyer much faster.
Before the shoot, ensure all the rooms are neatly organized and that there is a lot of natural light. A professional photographer will get the best angles and advise on lighting.
6. Have Some Flexibility
When a quick sale is the goal, flexibility becomes all the more important.
It would be very convenient to pick three or four times a week to show your house. In theory, this sounds great. Practically, not so much. With different people having different schedules, being rigid on showings can lock out a significant percentage of would-be buyers.
Remember again that this is a game of numbers. The more eyes you can get to your property, the more offers you are likely to get.
Be open to accommodating as many showings as possible, including late-notice ones.
Consider having open houses on weekends as well. Because most people are off work and kids are off school, buyers can often get the time to stop by for an open house on weekends than on weekdays.
If you are using a realtor, they would handle most of these as you stayed behind the scenes and wait on an offer.
Nonetheless, this is a step you can shorten significantly should you opt to sell the house to a home buying company. If you go this way, the company would sell an appraiser who would evaluate the house and value it. The company would then use this information to come up with an offer. This normal takes a few working days and you could potentially close on the house days after this.
All in All
These tips should significantly increase your chances of selling your house quickly. However, be conscious of the fact that there might be some unexpected challenges along the way despite your best efforts.
When you do show up, have your wits about you and stay on course. Your house will soon be off the market!
