How to Sell Your House Fast

Work with an Experienced Agent

The first step in selling your home fast is to find a real estate agent who is knowledgeable about your neighborhood and type of home. Find out how many homes they have sold recently and how long those homes were on the market before going under contract. Don’t be afraid to interview potential agents to find one with the answers you like. Ask them for tips on what you can do to make your home sell faster. Rule out any agents who don’t have at least one or two suggestions because they aren’t thinking proactively.

What You Can Do before Listing to Sell Your Home Fast

Some of the most important decisions you make will be before you list the house. Make the right choices and you can help your home sell quickly. Make the wrong ones and your home can end up sitting on the market for weeks or months with little buyer interest. Some of these steps can be completed even before you hire a real estate agent. Just make sure you’re using your money wisely to get the best price in the shortest amount of time.

The following power point presentation walks you through some of the steps you can take before you put the For Sale sign in the yard. Choose one or all of them to help you sell your home faster.

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What You Should Know about Pricing Your Home

The first step in pricing your home is to know what others have paid for similar houses. Your agent will provide you with a list of sold homes and their details. Study this list to learn as much as you can to price your own home. Notice if a home was on the market for several months before it sold and how much the seller came down from the original list price. Pay attention to any time spent off the market before being relisted and sold. This often indicates that the seller made some updates to the property to appeal to buyers.

Know your buyers. If you were a first-time buyer when you moved into your home, you will be more likely to sell it to another first-time buyer. If you’re downsizing because your kids are all grown, your potential buyer will probably be a family or a couple planning to start a family. While this information doesn’t directly impact the selling price, it will tell you some important facts that influence your pricing strategy. For example, first-time buyers may need help with closing costs, which you could offer to assist with for a higher price on the home.

Know your own needs. You want the sales price to cover your mortgage and a down payment on your next home. Price your home higher than your bottom line, but be willing to negotiate if you want a quick sale.

How to Market Your Home for a Fast Sale

If you want to sell your home quickly, you’re going to need to get buyers’ attention. Your real estate agent will do various types of marketing to promote your home, but you can help out by doing your own share.

Create a Website for Your Home
Create a website dedicated to your home. You can find website builders for free on the internet that offer templates and tools to make this task easier. Include a lot more photos of your home than what is found on the listing. Add as much information as you can, highlighting features that make it special.

Use Social Media
Promote your website on social media, sharing a link with your friends, family and followers. You can even create a separate page or account on your social networks just for your home. Post regularly about this property by adding new photos or tidbits about the place to increase buyer awareness.

Make a Video
Create a video of your home with you providing the tour. Make it personal and fun by telling funny stories or showing a unique perspective. Avoid sounding like an official tour guide because you want people to see the character of the home and not just the facts.

Hold a Contest
Businesses host contests to get more buyers to come to their stores, so why not do the same thing for your home? You can offer a prize drawing for people who share your social media posts about your home. You can give a prize to the person who gets someone to make an offer that you accept. You want to avoid bringing in traffic from people who aren’t truly interested in buying a home, so plan your contest based on the results you want.

Get a Buyer to Say Yes with Incentives
Incentives can make a buyer take the next step and put in an offer. In fact, it may be the incentives that entices them to choose your home over another. But how do you know what will encourage a buyer to make an offer?

Money Talks
Begin with the money because it speaks loudest. Consider offering assistance with closing costs if you feel that will be an issue with buyers. Another option is to include allowances for needed updates if you didn’t have the budget of the time to do the work. Many listings include a paint or carpet allowance for buyers.

Consider Giving More for the Price
If you don’t want to reduce the price or pay for closing costs, you can make the buyer feel they are getting more for their money. While kitchen appliances are included with most sales, you can offer to add in other items, such as the washer and dryer or living room furniture. Just be aware that buyers may try to negotiate those items out of the contract for a lower price.

Offer Flexibility
Sometimes a flexible closing date can have as much power with a buyer as any financial consideration. If the buyer must move out quickly, allow a short closing date. If they have to finish out their current lease, let them extend the closing so they don’t have to pay for two places. By being flexible, you may win over a buyer who has limited options and help your home sell faster.

Making the Right Updates to Sell Your Home Quickly
Even if you know your home is outdated, you may not be sure where to begin to make changes. Whether you have the budget to take on major renovations or can only afford minor remodels, you want to make the right decisions that will help your home sell faster and for more money.

Compare Your Home to the Competition
The best place to begin is by sizing up the competition. Attend some open houses in your area and find out what these homes look like. Sure, you know your kitchen needs updated, but does it need granite countertops and stainless steel appliances to sell?

If you don’t do enough, your buyers will go elsewhere to find a home that is completely done. If you overdo your remodel, they will feel the price is too high for their budget and go to your competition that is more affordable.

Compare Your Home to the Price You Want
Once you know what price you want to list your home, you’ll have an idea of what work needs to be done to have the value to command that price. A badly outdated home isn’t going to bring a high price, but one that only needs a few cosmetic changes will still bring top dollar, especially in a seller’s market.

Keep Updates Buyer-Friendly
Keep your personal preferences out of your updates. Choose neutral shades and popular materials even if they aren’t suited to your tastes. Remember that you are remodeling for the next person who will live in this home instead of for yourself. Work with your agent or an interior designer to find out what today’s buyers want in a home.

Updating your home can help it sell quickly, but only if those renovations appeal to the right buyers. Work with an experienced real estate agent to make the right decisions that will appeal to buyers and get you an offer.