When you are selling your home, there are many reasons why you might want to speed up the process. Perhaps you are starting a new job, or you have made an offer on another house, but whatever the reason, there are things you can do to sell a home quickly.
We will look at how to sell a home fast, even in a slower market.
Choosing the right REALTOR®
Hiring the right real estate agent should help your home find a buyer more quickly. You need to look for someone who is very familiar with the local market and has a good track record. An experienced real estate agent will ensure your property is marketed and shown to find the right buyer.
Working with the right REALTOR® can make a significant difference.
As a seller, you will be responsible for your REALTOR®’s commission and the one the buyer will use. This could mean paying 5%-6% of the selling price in commission.
Set the right price
If you ask your real estate agent, “how can I sell my house fast?” their first suggestion might be to set the right price. Pricing the home to sell means you should attract significant interest in the first couple of weeks.
Your real estate agent will use comparative market analysis to assess how the home should be priced. But if you need to sell your home quickly, you will want to set the price under this figure.
Also, lowering your price to a more attractive price point, like $499,000 or $549,000, will attract more potential buyers than if you set it a few thousand dollars more.
Keep your home clean and tidy
Whatever market you sell your home in, you need to ensure the property is clean and decluttered. But this is even more important when selling houses fast.
Do a deep clean and remove clutter. You also need to depersonalize the home so that it is easier for the potential buyer to imagine living in the property. This means putting away family photos, kid’s drawings, and even sports memorabilia.
Remove large and unnecessary pieces of furniture, so the home looks more spacious. Even if the room is large, it will look much smaller if packed with furniture and other clutter. If you need to, hire a junk removal company before listing for sale.
Staging the home can help it sell more quickly. Hiring a professional stager will enhance your home and highlight its best features. Using a professional stager does add costs, but it should sell your home considerably faster and for more than if you hadn’t used them
First impressions matter for house viewings
To ensure you sell a home fast, you must ensure the buyer gets a great first impression of the home. Your home showings need to impress buyers. The curb appeal needs to create the correct initial impression so that the showing starts in the right way.
Significant renovations will probably take too long when you want to sell the home quickly, but more negligible maintenance and repair jobs should be completed.
Touching up some tired paintwork, washing windows, and dealing with minor repairs should be top of your list. Even if you just repaint the front door, it can significantly improve the overall appearance.
Also, clean the path, trim back bushes, and remove weeds to improve curb appeal.
Easy repairs should be completed
There are likely to be many minor issues that should be repaired in your home. Minor repair jobs are easy to overlook, but potential buyers will notice them. Try to look at your home as a potential buyer would and deal with these minor problems.
Things like loose hinges, leaky faucets, and carpet stains are issues you might have gotten used to, but they will be new and evident to a potential buyer.
Make the deal more attractive
If you need to sell quickly, offering a financial incentive can speed up the process. For example, offering to cover closing costs will encourage buyers to make an offer on your home. Other options you could consider include:
- Offering to agree to the buyer’s move-in schedule
- Dealing with any repairs the buyer is concerned with
- Agreeing to reasonable home inspection requests or concessions
- Providing a home warranty
Final thoughts
If you need to sell your home quickly, you could add more stress to an already stressful situation. But if you do what’s necessary to make the home as appealing as possible and are willing to make concessions, you should find a buyer quickly.
Bill Gassett is a nationally recognized real estate leader who has been helping people buy and sell MetroWest Massachusetts real estate for the past 35 years. Bill is the owner and founder of Maximum Real Estate Exposure. For the past decade, he has been one of the top RE/MAX REALTORS® in New England.
