Simple ways to sell your home fast
As noted previously, now more than most months of the year, is the time to put your home on the market. The weather is nice, school is nearly out, and buyers are soon to appear en masse.
How can you make your listing more desirable than the competition? Though opinions may differ, doing small things that do not require huge outlays of cash may in fact yield large gains – in the form of full or over-asking offers.
Contract with the optimal real estate agent
The old adage is clearly true is this context, “you get what you pay for.” Use caution when feeling pressured to use a family member, relative, or friend as your real estate agent. Just because you have had an existing relationship does not mean that a particular familiar individual is the best candidate for your current situation. This is especially the case if you require a particular area expert for your neighborhood and/or the type of home you own. As has been discussed previously, always request references and do the homework to make sure that the agent you would like to contract with does not have any issues that would cause you to have a difficult transaction process. Ask a potential candidate, “Is he/she especially competent when dealing with sellers?” How many transactions he/she has had in last year in your specific area? And what unique real estate and marketing experience and/or expertise he/she can bring to the table?
Move excess household items into a storage unit
Though obviously it would be far less expensive to simply fill your closets full of unnecessary household items, it is certainly in your best interest to spend the money temporarily to store any nonessential items in a nearby storage facility. After all, it comes as no surprise that potential buyers are going to be curious and certainly have a high probability of looking in your closets or under beds for hidden clutter. Perhaps you could use the professional services of a company such as PodsÔ that will enable you to place your excess items in a secured container box and move it easily to your driveway when you are ready to move the rest of your belongings.
Reasonable interior and exterior upgrades
Unless you hope to get a complete return on any investment made, it is in your best interest to only do minimal interior and exterior upgrades that will directly add to the overall marketability of your home. For example, make sure all of the drapes and rugs are clean and free of any obvious blemishes. The same is true of any floors. In the kitchen, make sure that all appliances are relatively new and match one another. The same is certainly true of any bathroom hardware. Outside, make sure that all of trees, shrubs and any other accent plants are in the best shape possible, the lawn looks well groomed, all sprinklers are operational, and all fencing is in good repair. Of course the same is true for any siding or roofing on the exterior of the home. A distinct lack of outwardly visible imperfections – be it bird droppings or cobwebs – gives buyers an initial positive impression of the listing and most often leads to the probability of receiving far better offers.
Rearranging and/or staging
If money is tight, at the very least consider rearranging or moving furniture out of the home before you place it on the market. If saving money is your highest priority, then perhaps it would be best to get an impartial opinion from a trusted neighbor or friend in assessing your home for buyer neutrality and accommodation. If at all possible, consider using the services of a professional home stager that has expertise in moving and/or rearranging furniture in a multitude of home designs and layouts that will yield optimal appearance and create increased desirability. After this process has been completed, it is then in your best interest to have high quality and/or professional photos taken of the interior and exterior of your home. Which leads to the next suggestion.
Add to the marketing mix
Do not just rely on your real estate agent to market your listing. Though they may be the subject matter experts, you can increase the odds of gaining quicker offers by telling everyone you know that you are putting your house on the market. In this day and age of technology, it is certainly advisable to use any of the mainstream social media sites to subtly let friends, family and colleagues know your home – that you have maintained in a highly desirable state – is on the market. In fact, you may go as far creating flyers that you can distribute around your neighborhood letting neighbors know you are placing your house on the market, and importantly, declaring that you will appropriately compensate anyone for a successful purchase referral.