Most sellers want a good price for their homes and a relatively quick end to the process. Of course, there are things that you can do to speed up the process, but they aren’t always easy or cheap. You should be prepared to invest some time and effort to achieve your goals. Follow these tips to learn how to sell your home in an efficient manner.
15 Tips for Selling Your Home Fast
To sell your home fast, you can minimize its days on the market by making it look good to prospective buyers.
1. Set a reasonable listing price.
Picking the right list price is paramount. Buyers filter the search by price, so your home needs to fit into the expectations of your target audience. Be wary of choosing an amount based on what you paid or what you think you should get from the sale. Instead, stick to the fair market price. You’ll have an opportunity to negotiate once you get an offer.
2. Clean everything.
Before you can make plans to sell your home, you need to perform a detailed cleaning. Although you might think your home is tidy, there are probably a few areas that you only clear out on occasion, such as guest bedrooms, the garage and the basement. Dig into these rooms and make sure they sparkle. Then, you should have a better idea of what to do next.
3. Declutter and thin out furnishings.
Ultimately, buyers want to see a home that looks clean and spacious. A home packed with furniture looks crowded and uncomfortable, and clutter makes it appear disorganized or messy. Consider renting a storage unit. Pack small decorations and excess furniture, and remove them from the home. Select small pieces for small rooms, and keep in mind that less is more.
4. Identify updates to complete.
As you clean and declutter, you will probably notice a few minor updates that you need to make. Most buyers want a home that is move-in ready, so you may need to budget for updates and repairs that get your property in the right condition. Start with the biggest projects but remember that contractors may book out for months during the busy seasons of spring and summer.
5. Improve your home’s exterior.
Curb appeal is one of the biggest aspects of a buyer’s decision, so your home exterior ought to delight them. You may not have to replace the roof and siding, but you should inspect them at least. Replacing missing shingles, fixing cracks in the driveway, and cleaning or repainting the siding is customary. Choose landscaping that doesn’t require a ton of upkeep and will look great at the time you want to sell the home.
6. Depersonalize your décor.
Selling your home often involves making it look as though it’s not your home anymore. Showcasing your personal style may be a liability, not an asset. Instead, choose comfortable furnishings and colors that look pleasant but ordinary. The goal is to help buyers imagine themselves in the space. That way, they should start to feel at home in a way that encourages them to buy it.
7. Add a fresh coat of paint.
Unless you just painted the interior, plan to do it one last time before you start staging. Paint ages quickly, particularly if you used a trendy color. Adding a fresh coat can make the room look years younger. Be sure to use primer and the right number of coats, and don’t pick anything too bright or bold. Neutral colors are usually best.
8. Increase natural lighting.
Most people want a home that is full of natural light. Encourage that lighting as much as possible, by minimizing heavy window treatments. Hire a window cleaner to scrub the windows inside and out, and consider replacing them if they are more than 10 years old. For rooms with small windows, add lights in a mixture of bright white, soft white and yellow. Use wall or floor lamps to create a sense of coziness.
9. Style the entryway to impress.
Your entryway is one of the first things buyers see about your home, so they need to be impressed by it. Whether you want to make it look like a grand entryway or a family mudroom, you need to be consistent. Pick a style that coordinates with adjoining rooms. If you’re selling during inclement weather, include a mat and a place to hang coats.
10. Hire a reliable real estate agent.
One of the best ways to sell your home quickly is to hire a real estate agent with the right experience. It’s a good idea to interview more than one agent before you decide, so that you can get a feel for their skills and personalities. Choosing an agent who understands your home and works well with you should give you a better chance of a good result.
11. Determine a selling strategy.
With your agent’s input, you can determine an ideal selling strategy. Some homeowners have lofty goals for the sale price or type of buyer they want. However, these goals don’t tend to lead to a quick sale, so be sure to listen to your agent’s advice. For example, selling to an iBuyer might not feel the most romantic, but it often leads to a faster conclusion.
12. Stage your home professionally.
Staging your home is one of the top ways to get better offers. Even if you decide not to have your home professionally staged, you should still go through each room and organize it around the room’s main function. Thinking about it in advance can help you determine which furnishings can stay, and which ones should go. That way, the room looks cohesive.
13. Get professional photography.
Buyers look at dozens of homes online before choosing the ones to visit, so your photography in the listing needs to be spectacular. Hiring a professional photographer removes the hassle of figuring out the right angles and lighting. Err on the side of publishing more pictures, and make sure to save the best ones for the top of the list.
14. Make a 3D tour of your home available.
These days, a 3D tour is a common part of home listings, so you should consider having one made for your property. These tours are great because they can give buyers a feel for the home before they even set foot inside. Your photographer or agent might be able to set it up for you or include it as part of a larger package.
15. Make showings easy.
Showings can be stressful, particularly if you are still living in the home. You should look at it as an important part of the process toward your goal. Create a cleaning station that you can move from room to room to clean and tidy before a showing. Find ways to entertain yourself outside the home, and remember that it won’t last forever.
Selling a home in a hurry might take some advance planning, but it is well worth the effort. At Marketplace Homes, we aim to put your home in the best possible position to sell. If you want to learn more about how to sell my house fast, contact us today.
Alicia Persson is a Content Strategist SEO writer at Marketplace Homes, utilizing previous years of experience on real estate teams that specialized in investments and property management. Before she joined Marketplace Homes, she was also a freelance writer for 7 years, leading to a specialization in real estate and home living content for boutique digital marketing agencies. During her writing years, she learned the basics of SEO and gained experience writing for many different clients, making her versatile at creating diverse content.
She is a proud University of Virginia master’s graduate and enjoyed her undergraduate years at the University of Mary Washington. When Alicia is not writing, she plays keytar and sings in a local 90’s rock cover band, or she spends time with her amazing family.