6 TIPS TO SELL YOUR HOME FAST
If you are thinking of selling your home, these are 6 tips you need to know:
1. PRICE YOUR HOME RIGHT
When you are ready to sell your home, picking the right list price is critically important. You want to make sure that you have researched all the information on homes that recently sold, and also factor in the current competition. It’s important to review the competition right before you go on the market; your home is a product like all the other houses and needs to be positioned properly against the competition.
It’s important is to know that overpricing can be really critically bad mistake. I know a lot of people say “I need room for negotiation” and maybe a smidge, but you don’t want to go crazy. We’ve had a great real estate market. But we’ve also seen people be overly optimistic about the amount they can get for their house. Some homes do sell with competing bids. But there are signs that we have hit the the max on that. Homes are lingering on the market longer. Overpricing is affecting homes in higher price points. You need to be realistic. You will see that the most showings you will get happen in the first two weeks. These are all those people are waiting on the sidelines waiting for something new to come on the market. It comes on the market they all come out! And then after that it’s just the onesie/twosie that are just hitting the market; they just sold their home or just decided to move. So pricing at at that time she usually important. It’s important to work with a trusted real estate advisor to come up with the right price. Be aware that buyers search in brackets of $25,000 (for example, form $375,000-$400,000). To price it at $405,000 instead of $400,000 means all the people who maxed out at $400,000 won’t see you house in their search. You are better to be at the end of the bracket.
2. ENHANCE CURB APPEAL
So now you’re looking at your home. What should you do to make it ready to sell ? Curb appeal is critically important. Some of the best money you can spend when getting your home ready to sell is to get fresh mulch, have a “clean as a whistle” entryway, replace that dingy old brass fixtures, replace doorknobs and locks if they look old and worn, add flowers (depends on the time of year) but few flowers really helps to make it pop. Maybe a new color on the front door would enhance the look. Spend a little time getting all the leaves out, have the shrubs trimmed – it is going to pay off in the long run.
3. CLEAN, DE-CLUTTER, DE-PERSONALIZE
Moving inside, it’s time to get clean (and I mean REALLY clean); this is the time to remove all of your fingerprints, all of the little nicks and black marks on the stairwell. It’s great time to paint; paint is your BEST investment. Make it neutral (please, neutral!). You want to declutter. It’s time. If you’re going to be moving, you’re going to be packing up things anyway. This is a good time to pack it up. It’s better to stack up boxes in the garage than in your closet or in the corner of your bedroom. You want to depersonalize. It is just human nature to look at photos, and it detracts from the buyers looking at your home. So you want to depersonalize. Your character, your decorating – it’s time to get rid of that. It’s not that it’s not lovely, and it’s not that you don’t want it in your next home, but you want to be neutral. Just make it a blank slate for the buyers.
4. MEND, REPAIR, FIX
It won’t surprise you to know that buyers want a home that has been well maintained. If your home looks like it hasn’t been maintained, go through your home and fix things like torn screens, light switch not working, light bulbs that don’t work (and please make them the same color – soft white preferably). Don’t mix clear bulbs with opaque bulbs or bulbs that take time to become bright. If you have locks that don’t work, fix them now. Or perhaps doors that don’t latch. Because you’re going to end up fixing them anyway so why not put your best foot forward from the start.
5. HOME STAGING
You’ve seen it one HGTV and there’s a reason why. It works: HOME STAGING. A home staging consultation involves the stager walking through your home. He/she gives you all the tips to present your home in the best possible light for Buyers. if you need room color recommendations, they will share ideas. It can be small things like adding a bowl of lemons, identifying what to get rid of on your counter, how to organize your shelves, what to do inside your closet, how to arrange furniture. They’ll go through and make your home as good as it can be for photographs and for the flow of traffic. When you get a whole bunch of people coming in your house all at the same time, that little narrow walkway between two chairs might not be the best layout. So home staging could be thought of as the opposite of decorating; it’s removing your character and enhancing it for buyers by removing your personality. So it’s a great step and very necessary.
6. PROTECT YOUR VALUABLES
So you’re all clean, you’re all mended and staged and everything is fresh and clean. The last step you need to do is protect your valuables. It’s really important hide your checkbook, get rid of anything that could be a temptation. Store valuables in a safe place or in your safe deposit box. You don’t want to lay dollar bills on your dresser! If there’s a special thing you have (a vase or lamps or a sculpture, or if you have very expensive rugs), put those away and replace them with something you don’t care about as much. It just makes sense to get rid of things that you would be devastated if they got broken. For things that are attached to the home that are special to you, like a chandelier that has been handed down through generations, you will want to take that take down before you go on the market. Replace it with something else because the Buyer will ask for it and they will want it (I’m sure it’s lovely) so don’t even tempt them; show the house without them.
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS?
So perhaps you are thinking you have a specific concern when getting your house ready for sale. Should I replace this rug? What about the counters? I was thinking of doing and improvement but I’m not sure I’ll get my money out of it. Every case is different, every home is different, every seller is different. I’m happy to help. I’m Ann Byer with Keller Williams in Exton. Give me a shout 484-678-6445. I would be happy to give you some advice even if you don’t plan to sell anytime soon.
