You’ve been eyeing that house closer to your workplace for a while now, but the timing hasn’t been right. Then, one day, you’re driving by and see another house in the same neighborhood that’s sold. This puts you in panic mode and makes you realize that next time you drive by it could be your dream house that’s gone. Suddenly, selling your current house goes from a fantasy to a serious issue, but what do you need to do?
Consider the market trends
When you’re ready to sell your home, it’s important to consider the market trends. The value of your home is determined by the market value of similar homes in the same area. If all houses within a mile radius are selling for $200K and yours is $250K, buyers will pass on it because there is no reason to pay more than what another house would cost them. A key statistic to look at when comparing homes is the price per square foot. In comparing two homes of different sizes, this is the great equalizer.
Also, consider how the market is looking overall. In a seller’s market, you may not have an issue selling your home quickly and for a good price. If the market shifts, prepare to wait longer, or be ready to drastically drop the price if you are desperate to move quickly.
If you absolutely need to move, there are ways to sell a home quickly through an instant home-buying company such as Light Street. These companies will make you a cash offer, often in less than 24 hours.
Find a real estate agent
Yes, it can be tempting to sell your home by yourself. Theoretically if you do, you get to keep all the profits and put the money down toward your dream house. However, unless the market is just crazy (similar to what we saw in 2021), selling your home without the help of a real estate agent is very difficult.
Real estate agents know the market and have connections to help sell your home quickly. They also refer clients to other real estate agents if they know about another house, in hopes that the other real estate agent will refer future clients back to them.
A real estate agent reacts to the market, while a seller changes their price after reacting to the market. It’s essential to stay on top of trends and changes in a competitive field like home selling.
Deep clean the house
A clean home is a must if you want to sell your house quickly and for top dollar. Here are some tips for getting your house in order:
- Clean all the rooms. This includes vacuuming, dusting, mopping, sweeping, and scrubbing floors. If you have kids or pets who love to play with toys on the floor, it can be helpful to invest in an inexpensive dust sweeper so you can keep up with their messes without having to do much heavy lifting.
- Clean the kitchen and bathroom thoroughly with disinfectants before showing the home – it’ll look better than ever! This is a small step, but people want to see a perfectly clean kitchen and bathroom. In fact, it’s been shown that people pay the most attention to the kitchen, master bedroom, and bathroom when viewing a home.
- Clean up any messes outside such as leaves or other debris from around entrances and side yards. People enjoy looking out windows and if they see messes outside, it will make them wonder how the rest of the home is being treated.
- Make sure that the lawn is mowed, and the entrance looks nice. A first impression goes a long way. You don’t want to lose a potential buyer’s interest before they open the front door.
If you complete all of these tasks, you can be confident that home buyers will be impressed, and more willing to consider purchasing your home.
Repair and replace broken items
Repair broken items. If something is broken, fix it! This is one the easiest ways to make your home more appealing to potential buyers. If something needs to be replaced because it’s old or worn out, replace it with something similar but nicer. You’ll get a better return on investment when selling your house if everything looks nice and new instead of outdated and worn out – plus, buyers will also appreciate that you’ve taken care of some maintenance issues before listing your home for sale. It will give them the impression that there aren’t any hidden issues.
Always be ready to show the house
Kids make it impossible to keep a house 100 percent perfect for a house showing. Honestly, even living alone and keeping a house clean is difficult.
Have a rule that the house should be clean every night before going to bed. This is a manageable goal that will save time and lead to better results.
Real estate agents usually give home sellers a few hours’ notice before showings take place. During this time, a seller will have a few hours to get some cleaning done. If the kids are at school and the house is a mess, you might spend a couple hours picking up toys, wiping down crayon stains, or cleaning up food messes. However, if the house is cleaned every night, these messes will be very manageable, allowing you to focus on deep cleaning and making the house look perfect.
Conclusion
If you plan to sell your home, you should do your research and be prepared. By doing so, you can add thousands of dollars to the value of your home and make sure it sells quickly so you can move into that dream house you’ve always wanted.
If you have any other questions on how to sell your house, or how to sell quickly, click here for more information!