What can I do to sell my home faster? This is a question that most sellers should be asking their agents and themselves. Besides pricing it competitively, there are several things that the seller can do to increase their chances of a fast sale. You have to remember - you market your home differently than you live in your home.
With so many homes for buyers to choose from right now, you have to make your home stand out from the rest. There are many ways to do this.
1- You can hire someone to come in and “Stage” your home. This entails rearranging your furniture to make the home look more spacious, de-cluttering, putting away personal items, changing lighting, art and paint as needed. The Staging concept has been very effective in most cases. This service could run anywhere from $500 on up depending on what is needed.
2- If you can’t afford someone to Stage your home, then there are several low cost things you can do to help. The most important is de-cluttering. You are planning on moving, so go ahead and start packing up what you don’t need right now. They say you should pack up about half of your belongings and store them in the garage. If you have a lot of stuff in the closets and on shelves, etc. it gives the appearance that there is not enough storage in the home.
3- Another thing you should do is put away most/all of your family pictures and personal items on your desk, dresser, counters and bathroom sink. When buyers walk in they start looking at all your stuff (its human nature) and don’t really visualize themselves living in the house.
4- Paint is a wonderful thing… it’s not too expensive and is easy to do. It really makes a difference in the appearance of a “well kept house”.
5- Cleaning is one of the most overlooked things that should be done. Clean your mini blinds, ceiling fan blades, light switch covers, baseboards, etc. A good spring cleaning any time of the year is a must. The only thing it costs is some “elbow grease” and you will really notice the difference.
These are only a few things you can do. If you have some larger items you don’t want, try posting them on Craigslist – it is free. Everyone is using the internet these days, so take advantage of it and put a few bucks in your pocket too. The smaller items can be sold on eBay. I have sold many things on eBay, so the possibilities are endless on what you can get rid of. If you need help with eBay, let me know I can get you set up – it is pretty easy once you know how.
So, if you want to list your house for sale, give me a call and I can help get you get started on preparing your home for sale and getting top dollar. Remember, you have to do something different then the rest to grab these buyers attention. Make your house feel like a home and have an advantage over these distressed properties that are vacant and cold. There are a lot of buyers that want to just move right in and your home could be the one for them!
Cheryl 541-951-1960
