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When you decide to sell your home, you are entering a competitive marketplace where there are probably numerous other houses that offer similar features and in some cases better features. It is imperative if you want to stand out that you put in the time and effort to make your home appealing. A good real estate agent can do a lot for you in this regard, but ultimately it will be up to you to make the house as welcoming and inviting as possible to all the people that are going to come through the door looking to buy. Since you are probably not the only person selling a home in your area, chances are you will need to make a few adjustments to your home and they way you use it to stand out. If you want to sell your house quickly and for more money you will need adequate knowledge on how to market your house so as to attract buyers.
Here are a few easy ways to make your home sell and market your home to buyers:
Get a Good Agent
A good agent will be your most important asset when it comes time to sell your home. A competent agent will be able to bring in buyers and provide you with sound advice during the negotiating process. The agents you decide to choose should be well experienced and familiar with your neighborhood.
Price to Sell
To sell your home quickly, you will need to make sure it is priced to sell. Find out what the average buyer pays in your neighborhood, get a professional home appraisal, and talk to your real estate agent to come up with a price that will attract buyers and still give you the profits you’re looking for.
Have Your Home Inspected
To eliminate the chances of unexpected surprises during the sale and unpleasant lawsuits after the sale, you may want to consider having your home inspected. This is a very good investment to make when planning to sell your house.
Fix the Little Things
The longer you live in a place, the easier it is to overlook all the little things that need work. Fixing these little bugaboos is one of the smartest things you can do to make your home more appealing to buyers without breaking the bank. The broken doorknob in the bathroom, the cracked tile in the kitchen and the dead spots in the lawn in your home, you may have been meaning to get to all of them, but you just haven’t. Well, now is the time. The more polish you can put on your home through little repairs, the more appealing it will be. One of the best things you can do is walk around each room in your home looking at all the imperfections. Try to be a home buyer for a moment and think through their eyes. The more things you can scratch off the list the better. One of the things real estate agents talk about all the time is prepping for the home inspection. Once your home goes under contract the biggest hurdle is clearing the buyers’ home inspection. This is a place where either numerous sales fall apart or are renegotiated. By taking the time to take care of the little things you could potentially avoid either a sale gone bad or more money coming out of your pocket!
Clean and Keep It That Way
Some people are more adamant about maintaining a clean home. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, when you are trying to sell you need to get serious about cleaning and staying tidy. Dirty homes are not appealing to buyers, and at least some of the other homes you are competing with are certainly going to be clean. Depending on how bad things are, it may be worth the money to hire some professionals for a deep clean. Once the worst is taken care of, make sure you tidy up before you show anyone your house. The article referenced above has an exceptional info-graphic on what to do to get your home ready for the market! When you don’t have a lot of money to spend, deep cleaning is one of the best things you can do to make a home more appealing to buyers. Nobody wants a dirty home.
De-Clutter Your Home
Homes have a tendency to fill up over time, especially if you are any kind of collector. But clutter is not a good selling point for a home. Excessive clutter makes a home look dirty and small, neither of which are selling points. If you have a significant amount of things with nowhere to put them, consider getting a storage unit for your stuff until the sale is complete and you have moved into your new home. And the garage, basement and attic are not appropriate places to store clutter. Buyers want space in all areas of the home. Making your home feel more spacious can do wonders for putting more money in your pocket. Clearing the clutter out of your home can do just that! Here is an excellent guide on how to choose a storage unit. Putting unnecessary possessions in a storage facility can really make your home feel so much different to a buyer who is looking for an open and spacious plan.
Go For Neutral Paint
Painting the walls of a home can really personalize a space, but being over personalized is not what you want when you are trying to sell. You want to appeal to as many buyers as possible, so you need to offer something fairly neutral. If you have brightly colored walls, consider painting them over with a more buyer-friendly color. You can always go wild in the next house you buy. Being neutral doesn’t mean you have to make your home look like a hospital. In fact that is not something you should do! There are various types of nice beige and light earth tones that can make a home look really appealing to buyers.
Look to Your Lighting and Fixtures
Lighting and fixtures can really change the feel of a home, especially one that is dated with 70s fixtures and dim interior lighting. Buyers today want lots of light, natural and otherwise. They also want the home to look like something they would want to own, not something out of their grandmother’s place. Consider buying updated light fixtures that make rooms more vibrant and more contemporary. And do your best to bring in as much natural light as possible. Sunshine is always appealing to home buyers, and it makes your home look bigger as well.
Avoid Personalizing Too Much
Your home is your castle, but when you are trying to sell it, you want it to look like it could be someone else’s castle too. Being too personalized in your home can push potential buyers away, because they find it more difficult to imagine living in the home. Walls full of family photos, murals painted on the walls and your porcelain doll collection are all great when you are only living in a home. But when you are selling, you want to minimize these things to give the buyer a chance to envision living there.
Handling Pet Issues
Pets are amazing companions, but they are not very good salesmen. Buyers may love dogs and cats, or they may want nothing to do with them. As long as they are making a good offer, you want either kind of buyer. So you will need to address pet-related issues before you attempt to sell. Pet stains and odours must be eliminated, the backyard must be picked up and re-sodden if the grass has been killed and you should be prepared to remove pets during showings. You are trying to appeal to as many buyers as you can, and pets can really get in the way of this goal if you are not careful.
Up Your Curb Appeal
Buyers will see the exterior of your home first. You want the first impression to be a good one, which is why you will need to do your best to increase your curb appeal. Removing clutter from the home’s exterior, touching up paint, adding plants and improving the landscape all of these things should be a priority. These are all great improvements to increase a home’s value. You want the exterior to look great. Keep in mind that you don’t need to go overboard with the landscaping. Pulling weeds, adding some nice flowers and greenery and laying down a coat of mulch should not be too expensive, as long as you do the work yourself. The exterior of your home should be just as appealing to a buyer as the interior!
Listen to Your Realtor
If you take the time to find a real estate agent with a good track record in your area, he or she should have some targeted advice about preparing your home for sale. General tips like these are useful, but the most important thing you can do is tackle the problems that your Realtor considers most vital. Want even more ways to make the home sale process go super smoothly? Take a look at my best tips for selling a home. By follow each of this advice along with what you have just read, the chances of having a smooth and successful sale will increase dramatically!
Put Yourself in the Buyer’s Shoes
A buyer will not look at your home the same way you do. Instead, they will walk through and look for potential problems. Don’t give them a chance to find fault with your home. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes and examine every inch of your house before you put it on the market. Special things to concentrate on include repairs, cluttered spaces, and anything that appears less than clean.
Stage Your Home for a Showing
Before a showing, your home needs to look its best. This may mean moving furniture, organizing closets, and cleaning like mad. If this sounds too difficult or if you simply don’t have the time, you might want to consider hiring a professional stager to handle the job for you.
Make Yourself Scarce
Unless you are selling the home without the help of an agent, you have no reason to be present at showings. Buyers want to look at the place and think of it as their home, not your home. By being ever present at the showing, you run the risk of making buyer uncomfortable and may eventually lead to you losing the sale.
Market Your Property
Buyers need to know that your house is for sale. You can accomplish this by asking your real estate agent to market the property through advertisements and open houses. The more people you reach the better your chances are of making a fast and profitable sale.
Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate
The housing market is very competitive in most areas. This means that buyers will be less willing to pay you the full asking price. Don’t be afraid to negotiate with potential buyers. If you both give in just a little, you might be able to sell your home quickly and for a decent price.
Offer a Home Warranty
When consumers make big purchases, they like to receive a warranty. A home purchase is no exception. If you can offer a home warranty to the buyer, they may be more likely to give you the price you are asking or choose your home over another. In most cases, home warranties can be purchased by a seller for $1,000 or less, and can be paid for at closing.
Offer Other Incentives
Home warranties aren’t the only incentives you can offer to buyers. You can also make your home more attractive by offering to pay association fees for the first year or by agreeing to make the buyer’s first two mortgage payments. These kinds of incentives can be used to bring buyers in or as part of the negotiation process.
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