If you’re in a rush to sell your home, there’s great news – there are nine things you can do between now and the day you list it for sale that will help you sell it quickly (and at the right price). Here’s what you need to know.
9 Simple Things That Can Help You Sell Your Home Quickly
First things first: You should be working with a REALTOR® you trust to market your home aggressively. The right real estate agent will bring in a reasonable number of interested buyers, provided you’ve priced your home right and it’s in saleable condition. Other than that, here are the nine things you can do to help you sell your home quickly:
- Price it right
- Take half your belongings out of your closets
- Improve your home’s lighting
- Keep your pets away
- Make quick fixes and repairs
- Depersonalize your space
- Stage the kitchen
- Be flexible with showings
- Make a great first impression with knockout curb appeal
Here’s a closer look at each.
#1. Price it right
Pricing your home properly right out of the gate is essential. If you go too high, you’ll miss out on buyers who could otherwise afford your home; if you go too low, you’re leaving money on the table. However, there’s another danger to pricing too high, as well: Buyers in that price range who see your home will be comparing it to other homes in the same price range, and yours will come up lacking.
#2. Take half your belongings out of your closets
We’ve never met a buyer who didn’t want storage space, and even if you don’t have a lot of it, the best thing you can do is to take half your clothes out of your closet. That way, buyers can envision their own stuff in there – and the logic is that if yours fits, there will be ample space for theirs. Keep everything neat and tidy, too; buyers can and typically do look inside closets.
#3. Improve your home’s lighting
Buyers love to see bright, open spaces, and you can help them do that by maximizing the amount of natural light that comes into your home. Take down or pull back heavy drapes, pull the blinds all the way to the top, and clean all your windows. You can supplement natural light with artificial light, too; swap out opaque light fixtures with clear ones and invest in lamps that can brighten corners that don’t get much sun.
#4. Keep your pets away
Never leave your pets home when there’s a showing. In fact, you should remove all evidence of your pets before prospective buyers come to see your house. Take out pet beds, food dishes and toys, and make sure your backyard is clean, too. The last thing you want buyers to smell is a kitty litter box!
#5. Make quick fixes and repairs
If you have a leaky faucet, a damaged window screen or a creaky front door, handle them before you list your home. While something may seem small – or even almost unnoticeable – to you, buyers are on a mission. They’re looking for the good and the bad in every home they see, and they notice everything. Even if a problem is extremely minor, it can be a strike against your house, and that strike can prevent you from making a sale.
#6. Depersonalize your space
Buyers want to envision their belongings in your space, but that’s tough to do when everything is all about you. Take down personalized decor, family photos and other things that reminds buyers that someone’s currently living in the home. While you’re at it, take down any decor that could be considered controversial or put someone off.
#7. Stage the kitchen
When people explore a home they may be interested in buying, where do you think they gather? Often, they head to the kitchen – it’s the natural place to stand and chat with their real estate agent and each other. Your kitchen can be the make-or-break room in the house, so make sure it’s staged; each time buyers go into it, make sure they’re seeing a clean, beautifully staged space that they’d love to spend more time in.
#8. Be flexible with showings
While it’s not easy being flexible with showings – nobody wants to leave the house with an hour’s notice – it’s a necessity if you want to sell your home quickly. You don’t have to bend over backward to take every showing that comes your way, but you do have to be flexible. What if the one you turn down is the one who would’ve bought at list price?
#9. Make a great first impression with knockout curb appeal
Buyers start forming an impression of your home long before they even set foot inside. They pull up to the curb and get a “gut feeling” about your house – and whether that’s good or bad is up to you. Do what you can to create spectacular curb appeal so buyers carry a favorable impression into your home. (Your REALTOR can give you plenty of pointers.)
