9 Professional Tips on How to Sell Your Home Fast
The home selling process can be a hassle, but it becomes incredibly frustrating when your home sits on the market for days … and weeks … and months … without any prospective buyers. Like most homeowners, we’re sure you want to sell quickly (and for more money!) so you can move past the home-buying process and enjoy your new home!
Fortunately, you can usually sell your house fast and attract buyers quickly (even cash buyers!) We’ll provide you with invaluable insights and tips on how to sell your home fast, ensuring a smoother journey in the real estate market.
1. Declutter & Depersonalize
Want to sell your house quickly? The first step in your selling strategy should be removing personal items from your home and putting them in a storage unit (or at your new house). This can include family photos, children’s artwork, figurines and trinkets, sports memorabilia, and toys for your dogs or kids. Your home should be a neutral space that allows potential buyers to envision their personal items and style inside the house — not yours.
Removing personal items should remove a lot of the “clutter” from your space, but if there is any leftover clutter or excess furniture, be sure to remove it. Too many pieces of furniture or too much clutter can make your space appear smaller, which may decrease buyer interest.
2. Clean Everything
After removing all the personal items, clutter, and extra furniture, it’s time to complete a deep clean of your house. And we’re not just talking about a quick vacuum and mop — you really need to scrub every surface until it is sparkling clean. Think about the surfaces that might otherwise go unnoticed, like countertops, baseboards, showers, bathtubs, windows, grout, ceiling fans, blinds, shutters, and more.
If you’re not confident in your cleaning abilities (or don’t have the time), it might be worthwhile to hire a professional housecleaner to do the job for you.
3. Let Natural Light Inside
Letting as much natural light into your home as possible is essential to sell your house quickly. Natural light makes a home feel more welcoming and inviting, and it’s something buyers focus on when searching for properties on the housing market.
Let as much light in as possible through the windows — so keep your shades and shutters open during a showing or open house — and add lamps or light fixtures in any rooms or spaces that lack natural light. Additionally, you should keep all your lights on during a showing.
4. Repaint in Neutral Colors
Your daughter may love the magenta wall in her bedroom, and your husband might be sad to part with the sports mural he painted in the man cave — but trust us, other buyers probably won’t be a huge fan of these bright colors and loud patterns!
A fresh coat of paint will do wonders for your home’s interior and exterior, but this is also a great time to consider the colors you choose. Selecting fresh paint in neutral colors, like white, gray, greige, or beige, will help sell your house fast and attract cash home buyers.
5. Invest in Home Staging
We know there are already a lot of costs involved with selling a home, and you might be tempted to cut costs where you can to save money. However, if you really want to sell your house fast, we can’t recommend professional home staging enough!
A professional home stager will replace your current furniture with a curated selection of furniture, decor, and accessories to accentuate your home’s layout. Basically, they will make your house look like a model home, helping it stand out from comparable homes on the market. On average, staged homes sell 88% faster and for 17% more than non-staged homes, so if you want to sell fast and for more money — this is the way to go!
6. Hire a Professional Photographer
According to the National Association for Realtors, 97% of recent buyers in 2020 used online tools in their home search. This means that your home’s online presence is often the “first impression” buyers have of your home — so if your property stays on the market longer than you would like, it might be time to invest in some professional photos to elevate your listing.
You might also consider investing in a video tour and virtual photography. Details like this will help your home stand out above the competition (and sell faster, of course!).
7. Find an Experienced Real Estate Agent
It should go without saying that finding an experienced real estate agent with a deep understanding of the local market is of the utmost importance. A top real estate agent knows the “ins” and “outs” of selling homes and can help you make a quick sale with the right asking price.
An experienced agent will be able to help you set the right listing price — something that is high enough to secure a good profit but low enough to warrant multiple offers — and may even have other tips, like offering to pay a percentage of the buyer’s closing costs if the market is slow.
8. Spruce Up the Exterior
If you want to receive top dollar for your home sale, it’s crucial to pay attention to more than just the interior of your home — the curb appeal is important, too!
As we mentioned earlier, a fresh coat of paint on the siding, trim, and front door will do wonders for your home’s exterior. However, think of other creative ways you can “boost” the appearance of your exterior — perhaps you can clean the porch, trim trees and bushes, clean the gutters, and plant some new flowers or plants in your front yard. These are all low-cost ways to prepare your house for a quick sale!
9. Make Necessary Updates
Nothing will hold up the entire process of selling a home more than hiccups during the closing process and home inspection — like plumbing problems, electrical issues, or damaged roofing. If you know (or suspect) your home has these problems, it’s wise to address them before listing it on the market to ensure a quick sale.
Additionally, your real estate agent can guide you on some minor (and inexpensive) updates that will boost your home’s value in prospective buyers’ eyes. Think of things like shampooing the carpet, polishing hardwood floors, and adding a few diffusers throughout your house to make it smell nice before buyers walk through.
Choose Professional Home Staging in Texas & Florida with THE STAGING COMPANY
Coordinating a quick home sale might be challenging, but it’s not impossible. In fact, the trick to selling fast is having the right people by your side, like an experienced real estate agent, photographer, and professional staging company who know what it takes to sell homes quickly!
If you’re a homeowner in Texas or Florida looking for a home staging company that can help sell your house more quickly for more money — reach out to our team at THE STAGING COMPANY!