How to Sell a House Fast: 7 Essential Tips
Selling a home can sometimes be a long and difficult process that requires a lot of patience. But there are certain steps you can take that will boost your chances of selling your home fast.
Read on to learn about some ways you can sell a house fast.
1. It’s All About First Impressions
When a prospective buyer walks into a home, the first impression of what they see is usually a lasting one. First impressions matter when showing a home, because they’ll tell a buyer a lot of what they need to know.
When fixing up a home for sale, it is important to do some thorough cleaning of all visible areas. Spend some time cleaning the floors, kitchen cabinets, and dusting off surfaces.
Remove any dead plants from the garden or weeds from the driveway that might make it seem like this house has been vacant or on the market for long.
Deep clean the bathrooms and have plenty of soap and toilet paper readily available in case your guests excuse themselves during a viewing.
Most importantly, make sure the home smells clean upon entering. Even if your home is in order, a strange smell can be really offputting to potential buyers.
2. Declutter the Mess
People who are in the market for buying a home want to walk in and feel like they can picture themselves living there. If your house has a lot of extra clutter lying around, that may be the first place to start.
Remove all excess clutter and personal decorations that make your home feel lived in. Store away trophies, family photographs, magazine racks, and any other items that make the space feel less neutral.
Visit the kitchen area and remove excess appliances from the countertops. Remember, you want to make your home feel big and spacious. By removing clutter, you’re also allowing potential buyers to imagine how they’d decorate a space.
You may even want to organize your garage in a way that looks appealing. Some homebuyers might look to do a lot of shop work there and a cluttered garage can scare them away.
3. Rearrange the Furniture
After decluttering your home, you may also want to take a step back and look at your furniture layout. Try to determine if your bed and sofa placements look the most appealing.
If your sectional couch seems like it is taking up the whole living room space, you may want to rearrange it in a way that feels more inviting. If you have too much furniture, consider putting some away in storage until you sell your home.
4. Consider Replacing the Floors
Your home’s floors are the most heavily trafficked area. If you’ve lived there for years, chances are your floors have suffered a bit of wear and tear. Homebuyers want to feel like they can easily clean their floors, so it may be worth renovating.
Carpeted floors can easily scare away a potential homebuyer unless they are steamed clean. Invest in a cleaning service before you open up the home for viewings.
Make sure to look under the carpet in dark or damp areas to look for any signs of mold. A sharp homebuyer will want to look inside closets, bathrooms, and even your attic, so make sure you’ve checked every area of your home.
5. Give it a “Brand New” Feel
Once your home is decluttered and deep cleaned, look around at your light fixtures and appliances. If you have a flickering bulb or malfunctioning fixture, you may want to budget in a few hundred dollars to replace these small items.
It may sound silly, but a broken bulb in a key area of the home can either make or break your home. Your home’s current state says a lot about it’s previous owners, and people want to feel like they’re buying from responsible parties.
If they feel the home was well taken care of, they’ll likely be more tempted to buy it. You may even have cash home buyers tour the property, and impressing them is key to selling your home fast.
Check that all the light switches are working and that all the toilets are flushing properly.
6. Don’t Forget to Tidy Up the Backyard
If your property has a backyard or patio, don’t neglect this area when showing your home. Make sure to cut the grass and trim any excess branches that might make it difficult to walk around.
If you don’t already have a set, try adding some patio furniture to make the area feel more inviting. If you don’t already have some plants, consider getting a few to make the space feel greener.
If you have a bug problem, make sure to have an exterminator come in. The last thing you want is to have potential homebuyers see pests as a potential issue.
If you live in a tropical area, make sure you take some measures against mosquitos. People who do a walkthrough will likely come in and out of the patio door and you don’t want mosquitos to find their way inside.
7. Let the Sunshine In
Once your home is almost ready to be seen, open up your windows and show it during the best hours of the day. Natural light is one of the most important things home buyers seek.
Show off your home’s best features by letting in some sunlight during your viewings.
How to Sell a House Fast
Though selling your home can be a stressful process, there are some quick steps you can take to expedite the process.
For more real estate and home tips, check out our podcast page.