Streamlining the Process of Selling Your Home

Real estate is a tough market even for experienced professionals with many years of activity in it and having to sell a home of any value is always a stressful experience. This is especially true for those who’re doing it for the first time and have never had to come across the various obstacles that can crop up along the way.

The good news is, as long as you know what’s coming up and you’re properly prepared, you can relieve yourself of a good portion of that stress and ensure that the sale will go through smoothly.

Disclose Everything Properly

This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people think it’s a good idea to just leave out “a few small details” when describing the property and presenting it to a potential buyer.

Make no mistake, someone will eventually spot these things and call you out on them, and you’ll be forced to lower the price much more than you would have if you were upfront about every issue. Plus, it’s the ethical thing to do, as you probably wouldn’t want to buy a home that comes with a myriad of issues attached yourself.

That’s putting aside all the potential legal issues you’d be stirring up for yourself by trying to act sneaky. It’s just not worth it on any front, and it will quickly make things more complicated for you if you have any plans to stay involved in the real estate market in the future.

Big community or not, a negative reputation tends to spread around quite fast and you’re going to have a difficult time selling anything else in the future.

You Can Never Go Overboard with Photos

Document everything! The sooner you start, the better. It’s never a bad idea to splurge a little on a professional photographer who knows how to really bring out the best aspects of the property in the photos they take. You should also consider using a service to store and display those photos for convenience; not just your own, but that of your potential buyers too.

Having to go through annoying pop-ups and other bad design elements can quickly turn someone off from trying to view your property’s photos.

Online proofing services like format.com can make this process very simple and straightforward, allowing you to cherry-pick the photos you like best before submitting them to the public gallery.

Just make sure you set aside enough time for that, as you don’t want to rush through the online proofing process. After all, this is the first thing most potential buyers will see about your home.

DIY Repairs and Staging

While it’s a good idea to hire a professional crew to go through your home and fix any major issues, there are often lots of things you can do yourself without spending that much. Various kinds of minor repairs are completely feasible as long as you follow a good guide, and there’s no shortage of those on YouTube and similar sites. Plus, you can shop around for supplies and materials, further reducing your total and allowing you to profit more from the sale of the property.

Staging is something that many people like to leave in the hands of professionals, but the reality is that you don’t need any serious experience to arrange a home in a way that looks interesting to potential buyers.

Instead of throwing out old furniture you don’t need, you can leave it around the house to make it more presentable and give it a welcoming appearance. It may not be a bad idea to spend some money on some second-hand furniture for that purpose either, if you think you can improve the overall appeal of the house that way.

Just try not to put too much effort into this, as the buyers will most likely end up throwing everything out and furnishing the place from scratch anyway.

Do You Need an Agent?

Whether you should hire an agent depends on a number of factors, but the important thing to remember is that it shouldn’t be your default decision.

There are plenty of cases where you should be able to handle the sale yourself, without having to count on external help. This is particularly true when you’re already well aware of the value of your house and have studied the market well, and that’s not as complicated as it seems with the help of the Internet.

On the other hand, a good agent can make a huge difference in some specific types of sales, and you should not underestimate the importance of working with someone knowledgeable in those cases.

Needless to say, you should also invest plenty of time into your research before hiring someone, as they can make a huge difference in the outcome of the deal for you.

Don’t Skip the Attorney

Don’t underestimate the amount of legal documentation involved in even a low-value sale. One small mistake can easily cost you a lot, especially if you happen to land upon some less honest buyers.

Don’t let anyone take advantage of you and spend the extra money on an attorney to prepare everything for you.

This is definitely not one of the things you should follow free online guides for, despite their huge availability nowadays. If you mess something up while following one of those guides, you’re the only one who’ll be liable for the consequences, which can in some cases be severe.

A good attorney can also coordinate their work with other people assisting you in the sale of your home, acting like an intermediary for all of them and allowing you to just focus on finding the right buyer.

The benefits of having someone like that helping you during the sale can be significant, so don’t underestimate the value of a good attorney.

Be Patient

Last but not least, unless you’re short on cash and have an urgent situation, you should remain patient and expect the process to take a while. A home is the biggest purchase in the life of the average modern human, and nobody is going to just jump into the deal without considering it carefully.

You’ll also need to remain actively involved and easily reachable during that period, which can start to take its toll after some time.

But as long as you stick to your guns and understand the value of your home, you should be able to get what you deserve for it in the end. And when you know that you can safely put your signature on the dotted line without having to constantly worry about a thousand tiny details that can make or break the deal, this can make the process significantly more pleasant and relaxed for both you and the buyer you’ve ended up choosing.

It’s not impossible to get a good deal on your home if you’re handling a large number of the details yourself, but it does require a lot of care and attention, and you can’t simply rush the deal and expect it to go smoothly.

Knowing which parts require professional assistance and how to find the right kind of assistance in those cases is going to make all the difference in what you get in the end.