Updated: Aug 11
Your house has been there for sale for a long time now. Don’t stress out, you are at the right place. We are sharing our best house selling tips for selling your home fast.
We have all been there, trying to sell our house but not being able to reach our potential buyers. Or maybe you are finding buyers but are not able to close the deal. As sellers, you want a quick deal and as buyers, they are looking for a good space at the best price.
There was a 6.7% jump in the existing home sales of the USA in January 2022 as compared to December 2021. A lot of you are probably trying to sell your house and you want to sell fast. As the number of sellers increases, the competition in the seller’s market will also increase. In this competitive market, you as a seller have to do some smart work to induce a quick sale.
Understand one thing, you are “selling” your house. It is simple marketing. All you need is a good presentation, a good offer, the right network, and a competitive selling price. We have listed down the best tips for selling your house quickly.
Best home selling tips
Selling a house should not seem like a task. Listed below are a few tips that will help you sell your house quickly when followed correctly.
Hunt a good agent
Real estate agents are real estate professionals who assist clients in the purchase and sale of properties. They manage both commercial and residential properties. Another term that you might have come across is “realtor”.
Now, who is a realtor? Real estate agents who are registered with the NAR (National Association of Realtors) are called realtors. Both are professionals who do their job abiding by the rules, the only difference is the NAR member registration.
What’s important is not what they are called but how good they are. The easiest way to find a good real estate agent is to find the one with more listings. The more listings they have, the more experienced they are.
You can try asking your friends and family member. Trust is an important factor, you as a seller should be able to trust the agent. If someone from your family has liked a particular realtor, the possibility of that realtor being a decent realtor is higher.
Do some research, ask your previous realtor, and make a choice. But whoever you decide on, make sure they have their license.
Also know that real estate agents don’t help you for free. They will have a share of the deal. It varies from agent to agent. Some agents will ask for 7-8 percent of the deal while other real estate agents may ask for 5 percent.
Isn’t it an extra expense? Why should I waste a few hundred dollars for an agent? No. Real estate agents bring a lot of advantages. We will talk more about this in the sections below.
Set the correct price
It is important that you set the price right. There are five major factors that decide the price of your house.
- The location of your house
- Size and design of the house
- Availability of Amenities
- How good is the connectivity around your house
- Recent deals in the same area
Pricing too low can give you a bad deal and pricing too high comes with the risk of having no inquiries. You, as a seller, have to find a middle ground.
Put a competitive price. Your pricing strategy should be the one that gives you more money and helps you close the deals faster.
Do a little comparative market analysis. Finding the price at which the nearby house was sold is a great way to have an idea of how much your asking price can be. Like we said earlier, a real estate owner knows this well, he/she can quote a better listing price. But if you are doing it on your own, do some research and then set the price.
You should also know when to lower the price. If your house has been on sale for too long but it is not getting a lot of inquiries, then there is a possibility that buyers think the price is too high.
Price is not the only reason, so find where you are going wrong before you bring the price down.
Correct timing
Believe it or not, there are months where the house sale lags, and then there are months where they rise.
The best time to sell your house is in the months of March, April, and May. In these months you can not only sell faster but at a higher price as well.
The months of November and December have the lowest price and the least possibility of closing a deal. This is probably because of festivals. The other way of looking at this is that there is also less competition.
So, you might try selling your house in the winter if your house sale is usually suppressed by the high competition.
Upload professional photos
In marketing, there is a very famous phrase- show, don’t tell. Well, there are some aspects that you will have to directly tell, but then there are certain things like the interiors, exteriors, kitchen, lighting, the view, etc. You should be “showing” your buyer these aspects using good-quality photos.
People will buy what they see and like. Poor photos are one of the main reasons many buyers will ignore your offer.
If you upload low-quality listing photos, your potential might ignore them completely.
Hire a professional photographer who is experienced in interior and architecture photography. They know how to get good photos that will sell. Lighting is also an important factor. Your photos must be well lit and should be taken from multiple angles.
Lately, due to Covid 19, 3D tours or video tours using drones have become popular. A video tour gives a better idea of the house hence a lot of them prefer it these days. This is completely optional to do, but in case you are doing it, do it nicely.
Sell your house, make it look attractive.
Present your house attractively
This is a no-brainer. We are marketing this product called “your home”, it should look like a product worth the price. So make your house ready for the market.
When you go to a supermarket, what catches your attention first? A good-looking and clean product, right? It’s the same with selling houses. In a supermarket of properties, make your house presentable to attract buyers. When the buyers come to your property, they should feel nice and not gross.
Stage your house. There is nothing wrong with it. Do it yourself or hire home staging professionals to do it for you. They will set up your home properly and do all the necessary things.
Clean your house in every nook and corner. See if you have any old furniture, get rid of them. Sell all the junk in the house. Most buyers will feel like there is less space in your house if it is too cluttered.
A very important part is the kitchen. Your kitchen is the hero. Make sure it looks clean and well-organized. Organize it in a way that makes the kitchen look very spacious. If your budget permits, take the help of professional cleaners. Do any fixes if necessary.
Remove all the elements in your house that make it your home. Why is this important? Because the buyer should feel like they are in their future house and not in someone else’s. Remove any family photos and replace them with decorative items or paintings if necessary.
You might even consider applying a fresh coat of paint to your house. Use nice trendy pastels and neutral colors. Keep the house well-lit when the buyers visit. Make it look spacious, remove extra stuff on the floor. We can go on and on with how you can present your house well, but these were some things worth mentioning.
Here is a quick checklist of all the essential things you need to do to make your house presentable:
- Deep clean your house
- Put on good lights
- Clean the windows
- Do necessary fixes
- Depersonalize the house (hide family photos, etc)
- Organize the kitchen
- Get rid of excess furniture
- Remove any junk in the house
- Repaint if necessary
Curb appeal
The first impression is the last impression. Your exteriors are what the buyer will see before they enter the house. Make sure the exterior of your house looks as good as your interior. Enhance your curb appeal.
You can do basic things like cleaning your lawn and fixing your fence if you have any. You can even paint your main door and add a few plants to decorate.
You should definitely fix the tiles on the floor and add good lights. The point is the buyer should be half convinced as soon as the property is in their sight.
Quick checklist for exteriors:
- Clean the lawn
- Paint the front door and the gate if any
- Fix the fence if you have any
- Pot some plants (optional)
- Fix the tiles on the floor
- Add good lights
- Change your mailbox if it is broken
Alternative method
If renovating your house is a bit too much for you, a better idea is that you can sell your house to home flippers. These are investors who will buy your house, renovate it and then sell it at a higher price.
Be patient and welcoming when buyers start coming
Once the buyers start coming, you will have very busy days. Be patient during that time and welcome all credible buyers to your house. Having a lot of buyers coming to see your house is way better than no one being interested in your house sale.
Making a schedule is a great idea. Every buyer will take around 30 minutes to see the entire house and have a few words with you. So make a schedule accordingly and welcome all the buyers with a smile on your face.
If you have hired a real estate agent, you don’t have to be present. Rather it is suggested that you leave the home visits to your real estate agent.
If you want to go a little extra, give the buyers a nice experience of visiting your house. Keep some cookies and drinks on the counter and put up a sign like “please have” or anything that you prefer. These little things can leave a larger impact.
People love to remember good experiences, so give them something to remember.
Entertain only qualified buyers
By welcoming all the buyers, we meant only qualified buyers. When an inquiry happens, make sure you have small talk and then ask some important questions that will help you understand if they really want to buy or are just looking for some fun.
But you don’t want to be very straightforward and end up hurting the buyer. A real estate agent is well versed in asking questions in a way that’s not very direct but also gives you the required information.
Why is it important to distinguish? Well, it can save you a lot of time. Considering every buyer that inquires about your property to sell your house fast is a big no-no.
Get as much feedback as you can
With every buyer who has visited your house, get some feedback if they don’t end up buying your property. With this feedback, you will know what a buyer is looking for when they come to see a property.
Take feedback from the buyer’s agent as well. Since they are experienced and know what sells and what doesn’t, knowing a thing or two from them can help you.
If you have hired a real estate agent then make sure they contact the buyer’s agent and get the feedback.
Make your offer stand out
With multiple offers being thrown around in front of your potential buyer, bringing it to your offer can be difficult. So add some sweet sprinkles on top of your home sale offer.
For example, have a transferable warranty on your home. A home warranty helps owners cover the expense of repairing or replacing broken or failing equipment. Owners can access subsidized repair and replacement services for eligible goods that break during the warranty term by purchasing a home warranty.
Another thing that you can do is cut the closing cost. Closing costs include all the extra expenses other than the price of the property. Find comparable homes and see what they are offering. Try to make a different and better offer. Both the buyer and you as a seller want the best deal for yourself, so make sure the buyer feels like he is getting the best deal.
These were all the tips that you can follow to make sure you are able to sell your home fast and get top dollar deals.
In a section above, we touched upon the fact that hiring a real estate agent has its perk. Let’s get into a little more detail.
Advantages Of Hiring A Real Estate Agent For Selling A House
There are plenty of advantages of taking professional help when selling your home and a few of them are mentioned below.
They are familiar with the selling process
Trying to sell a house on your own is a tedious process, especially if you are doing it for the first time. There are so many nitty-gritty and legal requirements that can confuse us.
Agents are familiar with all these official requirements, they know how to get the work done, and also how to find a good buyer. They have been in the market longer than anyone else and thus, can help you speed up the process of selling your house.
Find a listing agent with a lot of experience and expertise to ensure you are on the right track.
They know the right price of your house
As normal individuals, we may not be very familiar with the pricing of our house. We might price it low or so high that no buyer is ready to buy from you.
But a real estate agent knows the local market like the back of their hand and how to price a house based on its features, location, etc.
They have a ready-made network
Telling your friends and family that your house is on sale is not enough. You have to reach more people to find prospective buyers.
Realtors have been helping buyers and sellers both, hence they have a good amount of already established networks. They can easily bring the right buyer to the right seller.
Saves time
House selling is a time-consuming process. You have to meet all the potential buyers, show them the property and have multiple meetings and calls.
After doing all this, it is possible that you couldn’t close the deal. Hiring a real estate agent can save you this time. They do the meetings, show the property, and all the legwork needed to market and sell your house.
Hiring an agent will make the home selling process run smoothly. So set back and have a cup of coffee as your agent takes care of the house sale.
Better negotiation
Your potential buyers want to save as much money as possible, hence they will negotiate.
Negotiation is an art. Real estate agents who deal with this every day know how to do it and get the best deal possible. They will help you get the most money for your house.
Some Common Mistakes To Avoid While Selling Your House
Selling a house is, indeed, challenging but it is crucial for you to remain careful, diligent, and true to your buyers. Here are a few mistakes that we commonly come across that you must avoid.
Do not hide the truth
We are doing a deal, not robbing the people. Go by ethics and tell the truth. If there are any problems that are worth mentioning before the deal happens, please do mention them.
How you talk about these problems is the key to how you can still sell it. Don’t talk about it as a difficulty that would threaten the buyer from considering your offer. Tell them the truth, but also give them the solution to it while you do that.
Moreover, you can use this to your advantage by saying that due to these problems we are even ready to reduce the price.
If you can resolve these issues before selling your house please do.
Presuming the asking price
Negotiations are a usual scene while buying a house. The buyer wants to reduce the cost as much as possible. You might have set the right asking price to attract more buyers, but it is most unlikely that you will sell the house for the same price.
Hiring a real estate agent will solve this problem as they can tell how much you can expect from your house sale.
Have proper insurance
It is important that you have proper homeowners insurance.
When your house is listed, buyers will visit your home and might end up in an accident there. They can sue you for this.
If you have proper insurance, you can get out of this by saying your house was perfectly well, with no damages that might cause this accident. Selling your home itself is quite tedious, you don’t want another dispute going on along with it.
With Agent or without the agent?
That is completely up to you. Both have their pros and cons.
What you have to do is see if you can handle everything on your own. If not, hire an agent. Look for an agent that will not cost you more if you are not willing to pay the excess amount.
Don’t get too emotional
It is quite understandable that you and your family members have a lot of emotions attached to your home. Most home sellers get emotional and end up making wrong decisions.
Home selling is a business and when you are doing a business you have to set your emotions aside. Be pragmatic and make good decisions.
Conclusion
Selling your home isn’t an easy job. The housing market is very competitive. But we have listed down the best home selling tips so that you can sell quickly and make more money.
Start with hiring a real estate agent. This will mean your half job is done. Look for real estate agents with a lot of experience and expertise.
Do a study of average home prices and set your asking price. Set a price that most home buyers would be excited to buy at. Set a fair price for your home sale.
Make your house ready for a home visit. Most home sellers avoid doing this, but they don’t understand the more attractive your house looks the more buyers it will attract. You don’t have to do a lot, just declutter it, depersonalize it, and maybe a fresh paint would do.
Enhance your curb appeal. Hiring a professional photographer can make a huge difference in how well your offer is received.
Selling your house at the right time is also necessary. Study the seller’s and the buyer’s market well. Lastly, avoid mistakes like not having proper insurance and hiding the truth from your seller.
We hope these home selling tips will help you sell your home quickly and without much hassle.
