8 Ways To Make Sure Your House Sells

When you decide that it is time to sell your property, it won’t have been a spur of the moment decision. You will have spent a long time discussing the pros and cons and deciding whether the time is right to sell.

Since you have taken the time to make that decision, you will want the property to sell easily and quickly once you put it on the market; you won’t want all of your time and effort wasted because the house just sits with no viewings or no offers.

Therefore, it’s just as important to think about how you are going to sell your property as well as when. Here are some useful tips.

Choose The Right Realtor

Assuming you are going to want to go with a realtor to sell your property and not attempt to do it yourself, you will need to find one that is right for you.

There are many different realtors out there, all with their own way of doing things – there will be one that suits you and your property, and it is important to find them. Start to research the local realtors in your area and narrow down a shortlist to those that offer great testimonials, and perhaps have a track record of selling quickly where you live.

The next step is to invite them to value your home. Having at least three different realtors to give you a valuation is important. Not only will this give you a good average price for your home, but you will also be able to talk through what they are offering and how much they are charging.

You can then compare costs and service. You should also ask them how they are planning to market your property. Do they use digital signage, for example? You can learn more about that and how successful it is in selling property here.

Do they subscribe to all the major online property portals? Do they have a list of people they can call who might be interested in your home? These are all important details to find out.

Stick With Your Pricing

Something that can put people off from taking an offer on a property, or keeping it on the market for too long, is the house price news.

Reading or hearing about the highs and lows can be difficult, and ideally, when you are selling your home, you should ignore it altogether. You have agreed to the price that the realtor set, and if you’re happy to go along with that, then keep at it.

Changing the price every few weeks or even days will put potential buyers off, so it’s best to stick with the initial price for a little while before deciding to reduce it or not (and never increase it – that will stop people from wanting to view it straight away).

When you receive an offer on your property, you will know whether you want – or can afford – to take it or not, so think carefully about any offers you do receive and make a sensible decision that will help you move on to a new property.

Curb Appeal

The ‘curb appeal‘ of a property is how it looks from the outside as you pull up to it. Making this look appealing and attractive can make a big difference not only in how many people come to view it (or even make an offer), but how much they are willing to pay for it.

If you have a front yard, this will need to neat and tidy – the grass should be cut during the summer, and it is a good idea to plant flowers to brighten things up. In the winter, there is less that can be done, but ensuring that nothing is overgrown is important.

The yard is one thing, but the front of the house is another. Stand out on the street and really look at the property you are selling. How does it look?

Is it cheerful and inviting, or is it dingy and dirty looking? If the latter is the case, then it is time to spruce it up. Make sure your front door is well painted and that the hardware on it is not old and dented or rusted.

Check your mailbox is standing up straight, and look at the paintwork on the house – does it need another coat? Although these things may seem like they are going to cost time and money, the effort that you put in to make the house look appealing will be paid back when you sell the house more quickly than you otherwise might have done.

De-Clutter

Although when you are viewing houses, it is always important to try to imagine your own belongings in there and not the current owner’s, not everyone is able to do that successfully, and this can be a problem.

To ensure that the task is made easier, remove as much clutter as you can from your home before you start to show people around (or have your realtor show them around). This means making sure the place is neat and tidy – clothes must be picked up off the floor, for example, and toys put away – and it also means that any additional clutter is packed away and put out of sight.

De-cluttering will show your property in its best light, and it will make it seem much lighter and airier; it may even look bigger.

This will help during the viewing stages, but remember, you are going to need to pack these items such as ornaments, books, and pictures, away at some point anyway since you intend to move home. De-cluttering now and either storing the items, selling them at a garage sale or online, giving them to charity, or throwing them out entirely, will make your final packing task much quicker and easier.

A Lick Of Paint

Giving your home’s interior a lick of paint before putting it on the market to sell can also help hugely. Choose something neutral such as off-white so that you can appeal to the widest number of people, and it won’t cost too much to do either.

You don’t need to completely renovate your house in most cases (the buyer will want to put their own mark on it anyway), but making sure that it looks its best is important. A good coat of paint will cover up any scuffs and marks on the walls and will keep door frames looking spruced up.

Think Of The Little Things

Whilst you are dealing with the bigger things, don’t forget the little things either – it is these that might go unnoticed by you, but that a potential buyer could easily spot.

A buyer is going to be picky; they are spending a lot of money when it comes to buying a house, and if there have a few to choose from, it is the small things that are going to be what makes the difference between them making an offer or not.

What small things need doing around the home that you keep putting off and have even got used to? Fixing a cupboard or a squeaking stair might seem like an irritation, but it is worth it when you are trying to sell your home.

Define Your Rooms

If a buyer doesn’t know what they would use a room for, they might not think the property is right for them. Therefore, when you are getting the house ready to sell, you should make sure that each room is completely defined – you need to show potential buyers exactly what they could do with your old house, and how their lifestyle could become better.

If your dining room is being used as an office, take this opportunity to make it look like an eating space again. If your spare bedroom is a junk room, de-clutter and turn that room into a study, a nursery, or a playroom. You are dressing the house and turning it into something that other people won’t fail to love.

Don’t Forget The Yard

The front yard should be under control – you want it to persuade people to come through the door. What about the backyard though? This is just as important. If a family is looking to move into your home, then they will want to know that the yard is big enough for the kids to play in, and secure too, for example.

If someone who loves entertaining outdoors wants to view, they will need to see that your yard is suitable for them.

Although you can’t predict who will walk through your door and what they will want from your property, you can ensure that the yard is tidy, the lawn is cut, the debris is cleared away, and the weeds are taken care of. You might also want to set the grill up or clean up the children’s playthings to show just how versatile that outdoor space really is.

Remember, if your yard looks neglected, buyers might worry about what they will uncover inside as well.