It can be quite unsettling for your routine to sell a house. Every time a prospective buyer wants to look at the property or the estate agent holds an open day, you have to vacate the premises. You also have to keep the home in a clean and tidy state perfect for viewing. Thus, it is in your interests to sell your home as quickly as possible. Here are five tips to help you do exactly that.
Decide on a Selling Strategy
You need to decide on a selling strategy and stick with it. This is what you use as the selling point to get the home sold as quickly as possible. If you change it, you will confuse potential buyers and make them wonder if there is a problem. You could use the catch phrase ‘for sale by owner’. This implies that you are selling at a lower price than if you had to pay agent fees. Other examples are ‘owner leaving state’ or ‘reduced to sell’. If you are working with an estate agent, that person would have decided on a strategy based on years of selling houses and seeing what works.
Get a Real Estate Agent with Lots of Experience
A seasoned estate agent will be able to manage your expectations and get you the best deal possible in a given market. There are lots of little tips and workarounds that experienced real estate agents would have picked up over the years, which will work in your favor. Don’t go for the newbie, however much you like the person. If you are serious about selling quickly, use all the tools at your disposal.
Ensure that the Property is Clean and Fresh
A home that is dirty does not attract buyers. If there are any unpleasant smells, this can be particularly off-putting, for example, the smell of a wet dog or trash that hasn’t been taken out in a while. Hire a cleaning company and get them to perform a deep clean that includes sofas and carpets too. Then keep it pristine until the deal has been signed.
Be careful of dust that collects in corners and on shelves, kitchen counters with crumbs scattered across them, dirty dishes, dirty appliances, and bathroom counters and basins that have soap residue. You should clean inside appliances and cabinets as people looking at houses for sale do tend to open closets and cabinets. Look for scuff marks on doors and walls and wipe these clean. Windows should be spotless on both sides. Also, get rid of termites. They leave little piles of rubble lying around that are sure to be noticed by the astute buyer.
The garage and basement often get overlooked. Likewise, the garden must be in good shape, recently mowed, and debris, leaves and grass picked up. You don’t want this getting dragged inside by every visitor. Weed the garden beds and trim the edges. Get a garden service to do it if you don’t have time.
Look at the property from outside the garden. What is the first impression someone gets of your home? Do what you can to make a positive impression.
Depersonalize Your Home
Remove everything personal and pack it away. A potential buyer should be picturing the house as their home, so, it should not have photos and artwork from your children or any indications of sport, religion or politics. Aim for neutrality so that they can impose their lifestyle on their views of the house. Take out any nails in the walls and fill up the holes, then paint over the repairs.
Lighting
Natural sunlight is a great way to showcase your home. Open all the blinds and curtains and keep the lights on in darker rooms. Use additional lamps to set the scene if the natural light is poor. When you leave the house, turn all the lights on and chase away any gloominess.
These tips will help you sell your home super-fast.