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Are you looking to sell your home? If so, your goals are likely a smooth transaction and a top-notch price.
Your home can be one of your most valuable and treasured assets. It’s important that when you sell, you know what to expect. But, if you’re never sold a home before, it can seem daunting. You might not know where to start.
Don’t worry, I’ve got your covered. Read on to learn 10 tips on how to sell your home stress-free.
1. Declutter & De-personalize
One of the best tips (and easiest to do) is to declutter your home. You want buyers to see the most amount of space your home has to offer. The more clutter you have, the less space is on show.
Today, buyers expect to walk into a showhome. They don’t want to see how you live in this space, they want to see how they could live in it.
Give them that blank canvas they crave, so they can put their imagination to work.
2. Be a Clean Freak
Cleaning your home before viewings is a given. But don’t underestimate how clean your home actually needs to be. This isn’t a simple end-of-the-week tidy up.
You’re going to have to do a full spring clean, and then some.
You need to remember your home will be on show, and buyers will be looking. Even the littlest details will stand out.
I’d highly recommend that you pay for a professional to clean house every one to two weeks while it’s on the market.
3. Fresh Paintwork
There are two dangers with painting in your home. The first is that colors that are too dark or muted will make your space look small. The second is that stained, old paint will make your home look uncared for and messy.
Stick to neutral colors and a clean, clutter-free finish. This isn’t about the decor preferences you have, it’s about appealing to buyers.
Generally speaking, light grey tones are in right now. You can use a small number of accent colors to complement them.
According the Pantone, “Ultimate Gray” is one of their 2021 Colors of the Year.
4. Classy Furniture
Once you have spruced up your interior decor and decluttered, think about furniture. Your furniture should be inviting to a buyer, and make the most of the space in each room.
Do buyers feel like they want to stay, or move right in? Can they move from room to room with ease? Buyers should not have to weave in and out to navigate your home.
Generally speaking, you’ll want to use a minimal amount of high-end furniture to stage your house.
Remember, high quality furniture conveys that you’re selling a high quality house. If you don’t own furniture that fits this bill, then consider borrowing or renting some. Your return on this effort and/or investment will be well worth the effort.
If you have an abundance of furniture throughout the house, then you’ll want to lease a storage unit so that you can move out all but your very best ones.
5. Don’t Forget Curb Appeal
When you’re preparing your home’s interior, don’t forget its exterior. Curb appeal is vital, because it’s when your buyers make their first impressions of your home.
If the exterior of your home looks rundown, messy, and dirty, buyers will expect the inside to be too. It could have a huge negative impact on how they view your home—if they continue to view it at all.
You should aim to “wow” prospective buyers from when the moment they first place eyes on your home.
You can do this with a fresh cut lawn, trimmed bushes and shrubbery, and a weed-free yard. You’ll also want to touch-up your exterior paint or stain, if applicable.
If you’re feeling ambitious, you could consider a new front door, fresh shutters, or the use of hanging flowers/plants to add that extra “premium” touch.
6. Cut the Emotions
Selling your home is going to be emotional, especially if it’s your first, or you raised your family there. A lot of time, effort, money, blood, sweat, and tears went into building your life there. Saying goodbye to those memories isn’t easy.
But when it’s time to sell, you need your business head screwed on. Forget you’re the owner and view it as a financial transaction. This will help you stay rational and push those emotions aside that cloud judgment.
Remember, to get more for your property than other comparable houses in the neighborhood, you’ll need to offer something that sets it apart.
This could be selling it at the best time of year (usually the spring or summer), enhancing the landscaping, adding an exterior shed or storage space, or installing an in-ground pool. It could also mean that the property comes with a recently replaced roof or HVAC system that could save the future buyer money.
Emphasize these benefits in your real estate listing and reiterate them to prospective buyers.
7. Procure Phenomenal Photos
The photos for your listing are often what makes or breaks your success. These are the first things a buyer will see when deciding on a real-life viewing.
It’s what will drive the number of buyers who end up interested in your home.
A large number of prospective buyers can lead to multiple offers, better terms, and best of all, price escalation.
Hiring a professional to stage and photograph your home is well worth the money. They should come with professional grade equipment and adjustable lighting to make your place look well lit and inviting.
If you’re not sure about a photographer’s credentials, ask to see photos for other homes they’ve photographed.
It’s absolutely critical to get a large number of potential buyers through your front door, ideally right when your listing goes live.
8. Price It Right
This goes hand in hand with not being emotional. Due to how much you love your home, and how good it’s been to you, it’s got a high value. This doesn’t always translate into real monetary value though.
By pricing with emotion, you run the risk of overpricing your home. In that case, it’ll sit on the market and become ‘stale’. The longer it’s on there, the more buyers will think something is wrong.
Your price should be in line with similar homes that have sold in your area. An experienced agent can help you with pricing your home to be competitive but still get you an excellent price.
9. Be Ready to Show at All Times
This is where things might get inconvenient, but it’s vital. You need to be able to show your home at all times.
There’s no easy way to predict when your real estate agent will call saying a prospective buyer wants to view it.
It’s the buyers are most excited about your home—the folks who have already fallen in love with it—who will want to come view it right away.
If you want to sell your home fast, you can’t afford delays. Having even a short delay can cause your best buyers to take their search in a different direction.
10. Skip the Stress with a Cash Buyer
The process of selling your home can be time-consuming and stressful, even with a real estate agent on board. You can skip this stress and get a quick sale by choosing a cash buyer.
When making a cash offer on a house, cash buyers will usually buy “as is”. This means, if time and money are tight, you don’t need to worry if paint needs touching up, or the exterior is a bit dirty.
The process is quick, easy, and starts often with a simple online form. You can get a quote with a few details on your home and the click of a button. Depending on the legalities needed, you could close the sale in days.
The downside of a cash buyer is you usually won’t get top price. However, if your priority is a quick and expedient transaction, then this could be a viable choice.
Tips on How to Sell Your Home
There you have it. Now you know 10 powerful tips on how to sell your home, smoothly and for top dollar.
Make sure your home looks its best, inside and out. Declutter and depersonalize, because buyers want to visualize themselves living there (not you). Keep it clean, well-maintained and readily accessible to view.
And unless you’re a real estate pro, get help from an experienced realtor who’s an expert it your local market. It will help make the whole transaction smooth and pain free.
Interested to learn more? Join a half million other readers or connect with Cade on Instagram.