How do I Prepare my House to Make it Sell Fast?
No seller wants to wait for months for their home to sell. Unfortunately though, it happens. If you are considering selling your home, here are the ways to make it sell fast:
Declutter your home.
If you have lived in your home for decades, you surely have accumulated items of all sorts – from sentimental ones to non-essential ones (or clutter). If you are still holding on to items that you think “might be useful in the future” or those that you have not used (or seen) in a couple of years, you might want to consider letting go of them.
A cluttered house is not an attractive one, especially to prospective home buyers. And shoving random items in closets and cabinets to give an illusion of a clutter-free space is not advisable either, as buyers will surely check the available storage spaces in your home.
Once you have decided to put your property on the market, take time to declutter. Remove unnecessary items and other knick-knacks from shelves, counter spaces, and outdoor areas. This is a good way to free up some space, give them to who might need them more, and maybe even find stuff that you thought you have lost years ago (or discover issues in your home!)
Clean the interior and exterior of your home.
Once you have cleared all the clutter, make sure your home is sparkly clean. The easiest and fastest way to ensure your home is thoroughly cleaned is to hire a professional cleaning company. Deep cleaning may include washing the windows, power cleaning the exterior walls, driveway, and walkways, removing the buildup from showers, sinks, tubs, and bathroom walls, polishing plumbing fixtures, cleaning the floors and ceiling, vacuuming the carpets and upholstery, and more. Aside from these obvious areas, be sure to have dust removed from under the furniture, in cupboards, cabinets, and closets, in moldings, and in other places where it could hide and accumulate.
However, remember that the cleaning does not stop once the last member of the cleaning team steps out of your home. Maintain this level of cleanliness by vacuuming every day, dusting the furniture, waxing the floors, keeping your fridge organized, and cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen after every use so they remain spotless. Also remember to put away any outdoor tools after use, such as brooms, garden hoses, etc.
Depersonalize your property.
You are selling your home, so the goal is to make it easy for the buyers to see it as their future home. The most obvious way to do this is to put away personal items. These items may include framed photos of family and friends, a personal collection of items (books, stuffed animals, figurines, etc.), and family heirlooms.
Additionally, consider making changes to rooms that are too personalized. For instance, if you are a fan of neon pink and have painted your interior walls and furniture the same color, consider having your walls repainted in a more neutral color and your furniture replaced with neutral ones. The reason for this is, in this example, not a lot of people like this color as much as you do, and surely, there is only a very small percentage of the population that likes an all-neon pink home so all the personalization may reduce the number of potential buyers. And besides, most buyers want a home that is practical and move-in-ready. They probably don’t want a home that they need to repaint and refurbish before moving in.
Do the necessary repairs.
To make your home sell, you not only need to ensure it looks good, it should also be livable, functional, and most importantly, free from safety hazards.
Check every nook and cranny of your home. Do you see cracked or broken tiles? Cracked tile flooring can cause more complex problems underneath the surface and can also be a safety hazard. Do you have broken windows? These could be both a security issue and a safety hazard. Is your gutter old, rusty, and broken? Rainwater that is not directed to where it should be can damage your foundation, which is a major concern. Is your toilet or faucet leaky? This is not only a waste of precious water, it can also be costly!
Additionally, do not forget to check the “minor” issues that can actually be a great inconvenience over time, such as broken light switches, busted lights, noisy doors, etc. And when planning the repairs, consider upgrading them. If your thermostat, windows, and kitchen appliances are decades old, it might be time to replace them.
Now you don’t need a full-on renovation. But when going through each space in your home, think about the buyer’s experience. You want the buyer to like your home and buy it, therefore your goal should be to make their experience as positive as possible.
Boost your curb appeal.
You probably have seen this tip thrown around a lot. There’s a reason for that. It’s actually backed by actual data! According to Consumer Reports, improving your curb appeal can bump up your home’s value by up to 3 to 5 percent. But how do you do it?
Take a look at your home’s exterior. Aside from making sure it’s clean and clutter-free, ask yourself, “will it attract people who are driving by?” Do you think a buyer will lose interest in your home just by looking at it from their car? Hopefully not. But if the answer is yes, consider making changes.
Now you do not need to make your home’s exterior look like the ones you see in magazines or TV shows. But do try your best to make it more appealing, to buyers and passers-by. This can be done by a fresh coat of paint, adding a decorative welcoming wreath on your front door, adding plants, or fixing your driveway. If the funds are available, consider hiring a professional landscaper to give you advice and create a landscape design that will make your house stand out.
Price your home right.
Putting the highest possible price on your listing almost seems logical, but it’s actually one of the major reasons why your home can stay on the market for months without an offer. Although the buyers can and will negotiate, not many buyers have the time and patience to do this. An unreasonably priced home will not attract buyers and is a sure way to turn your listing into a stale one.
But how do you make sure you are not underpricing or overpricing your property? There are online tools available to see your home’s value. Aside from this, you can gain insights from expired listings and also review comparable prices of recently sold homes in your area. According to Zillow’s seller’s guide, for a property to be considered comparable, it should be (1) within ¼ to ½ of a mile from your home, (2) have been listed within the last quarter, (3) roughly the same age as your property, and (4) should have the same square footage within 10 percent of your own property.
The truth is, selling a house fast is no easy task, especially if the house you are trying to sell needs a lot of work. Upgrades and repairs will cost you money. Cleaning needs time, effort, and also money.
But the good news is that you can sell your home fast without all these steps. If you urgently need to get rid of your home and do not have the time or funds to do the necessary repairs and cleaning, talk to one of our representatives about selling your home as is for cash. Call us at 1-800-976-SOLD today and one of our real estate experts will guide you through the process!
Photo Credits Michael Browning, Stephen Leonardi, and Greg Rivers