When thinking about selling your home, the feeling of needing to sell fast so you can move on might seem overwhelming. Whether in the peak home buying season or not, below are a few steps you can take to ensure a speedy sale.
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Price it Right!
We love our home and the memories we’ve made. Obtain a true market value on area comparisons to eliminate any emotional pricing you may put on the house. You don’t want to leave money on the table, but setting the price too high only to reduce it during the negotiation process is harder to pull-off in today’s world. Buyers and their agents have access to more information now more than ever and are more savvy of the Real Estate market and the trends.
Before hiring an experienced Real Estate agent to guide you through the process, you can easily search for homes online that are for sale in your area. Doing this before hiring an agent will better prepare you to price your home correctly. Take note of homes that aren’t selling, and discuss your findings with your real estate agent. -
Thin-out Closets
We get it. When you bought your home you could fit a VW bus in the closets. Now, you struggle to find space for a new pair of shoes. You want to make sure that you focus any potential buyer’s attention on the size and potential of a closet vs. highlighting your new summer wardrobe.
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Lighten it up
There’s nothing better than a well-lit home. See to it that all of your light fixtures have proper working bulbs and when your home is being shown to a potential buyer, open your blinds and curtains to maximize the natural light. You can always purchase a few small lamps to fill in even the darkest of corners. If the weather is appropriate, open the windows and let in a little fresh air.
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Professional Photos & Plenty Of Them
Everything starts out on the internet. Make sure yours stands out from the crowd. Having your home professionally photographed has many benefits.
– Showcases your home accurately
– Tells potential buyers that you have cared for your home and you’re proud to share it with the world
– Having professional photos boosts your home in search results due to the higher resolution and better image quality
-Studies have shown that professional photos have the potential to increase the sales price and bring in more serious buyers. -
Hire The Right Agent
Making sure you have the best Real Estate agent on your side is crucial. Having an agent to help guide you through the process can help speed up any real estate transaction. Your agent should be an expert in the Crystal Coast real estate market and should understand how to market your home accordingly.
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Conceal Pets
You love your furry friends. But more often than not, a potential buyer may not. Be sure to have your pet cared for by a family member, friend or you can even board them at the local kennel. Make sure to remove signs of your pet, including litter pans, bedding and of course, sweeping up the never-ending tumbleweeds that fido can leave behind.
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Don’t over upgrade
Making minor updates can make a huge impact. They can show potential buyers that you have cared for your home. However, tackling huge upgrades or major additions typically doesn’t pay off. Items such as updating cabinet hardware, door handles and new paint are all ways to improve the saleability of your home. Let the new homeowner make the major upgrades or additions to their liking.
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Make it feel like home, but not your home.
It’s your home now, but you want them to feel like it’s theirs. Removing family photos from walls and replacing them with beautiful area photos is a great way to de-personalize a home. Not everyone can see beyond the family photos or kids names hung on the walls. The Crystal Coast has no shortage of amazing landscapes. Having a beautiful canvas print hanging on the walls of our most favorite beach will leave everyone wanting to call it home.
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Always be prepared to show
It can be difficult, especially with children or pets, but you have to make your home “show-ready” at all times. Buyers may want to see your home at a moments notice and your home needs to be ready to show. This means keeping the sink dish free, keeping bathrooms clean and trash free and a little extra sweeping. While asking for advanced notice typically isn’t a deal breaker, if you want your home to get the best visibiltiy, ensuring that it’s available at any time is more attractive to prospective buyers and puts you one step ahead of the competition.
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Be Neutral – Repaint
It’s truly amazing what a new coat of paint can accomplish. It removes normal were and tear marks and makes the home feel fresh and clean. Let the new homeowner have the opportunity to paint their bedroom plum purple or teal blue. Create a neutral palette with tans, taupe or grey and leave the bright colors for accents.
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Spruce Up The Front
Pretty much every show on HGTV discusses the importance of curb appeal. Update the front door paint, fix the loose porch railings and keep those flower beds full of new mulch. If you have vinyl siding, be sure to spray off that unsightly green mildew.
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Timing
Timing the listing of your home is essential to a quick sale. While there are perks to listing during off-season times, the best time to list your home is during the spring & summer seasons. Especially along the coast, the tourist season provides greater exposure to potential out-of-town buyers who may be looking at purchasing along the Crystal Coast. But keep in mind that those are the popular listing seasons, so there will be more competition.
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Clean. Everything.
Yep. That means even under the kitchen sink and under the couch. If you don’t have time and have a little extra money, you can even hire a company to keep your home clean. Remove clutter, minimize wall and shelving decor, clean the garage, attic and basements, scrub the baseboards and de-cobweb the ceilings. Make sure the there is no trash in the trash cans, and wash the windows. You want the home to make someone feel at ease, not leave them wondering what’s growing under the sofa.
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Declutter
Removing unnecessary items will give buyers confidence that the home has been well-maintained and will allow the home to shine. Decor should be minimal, clean counter spaces and make sure any decor is minimal in appearance. Give the buyers every opportunity to envision themselves in the home.
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Spread The Word!
We’ve all heard of “nosey neighbors”. Well, they’re your best advocates when selling your home. They are typically the best sales people as they already love the neighborhood and may already know of someone who’s looking to move in. Inform your neighbors that your home is for sale and make sure they’re invited to any open houses. Your Realtor® should be marketing your home on social media – be sure you are doing the same. If you have a neighborhood bulletin board or community Facebook page, be sure to post a flyer if allowed.
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Get a Pre-Inspection
If you’re unsure of the condition of your home, move forward with hiring a professional home inspector before listing your home. Knowing of any problems ahead of time allows you to make any necessary repairs. A pre-inspection shows the buyer that you are ahead of the game and have taken necessary steps to keep your home in it’s best condition.
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Staging
Be sure to stage for the season. If it’s springtime, set out a pretty bouquet of flowers on the counter. If it’s Winter, lay some tastefully decorated throws on the furniture to give the sense of warmth. Whether you stage your home yourself or you hire a professional stager, the goal is to declutter and create a welcoming feeling to potential buyers.
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Healthy lawn
It’s the first impression. Everyone loves a nice cut lawn and green grass. A few bucks for a bag of grass feed goes a long way. Add a bit of color with seasonal flowers, keep the yard cut and trim the shrubs. Clean up or remove any unhealthy plants and weeds, and edge around flower beds and driveways. If you know ahead of time, you can even leave the buyer with that fresh cut grass smell, which no-one can resist.
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Prioritize the kitchen
The kitchen is one of the biggest focal points of any home. Be sure to make it welcoming by having the counters cleaned and decluttered. If you’re not completely remodeling the kitchen, clean up the cabinets or repaint them with a neutral color, update hardware and the kitchen appliances.
Taking care of these items will greatly increase your chances of selling your home quickly. Keep in mind that you have one chance for a first impression, so make it a great one.