So you’ve decided to sell your house, and you can’t wait to buy a new place. However, there’s just one thing standing in the way: You’ve got to close the deal on your current home first. You hope it doesn’t take months to get an offer, since you want to sell your home fast and for as much money as you can. If this describes you to an extent, I want to provide you with five no-cost tricks to sell your home faster in today’s market.
A study by the Real Estate Staging Association found that homes that were staged before listing received an offer in just 23 days on average. That’s 90% faster than those who waited months after listing to bother with staging. With that in mind, here are your top five tips:
“An experienced agent can lend a fresh eye and help you reimagine your home.”
1. Channel your inner neat-freak. You always knew your tidying tendencies would come in handy one day, right? Well, it’s time to clutter-bust your way through to the buyers’ hearts. Pay particular attention to junk vortexes like kitchen and bathroom counters, fireplace mantels, laundry rooms, pantry shelves, tabletops, bookshelves, magazine racks, and so on.
2. Rearrange your furniture. Once all the clutter is out of the way, take a step back and look at the big picture: Does your home invite buyers to sit and stay awhile? Can buyers move freely through your home without bumping into this? If not, you have some work to do. Start by putting bulky pieces of furniture into storage and moving furniture away from the ways. Many times, rooms are put together for the kids’ sake, allowing them to play in the middle of a room or so that the TV can be seen from every chair. Buyers want to walk in and see an open, yet intimate, space that inspires conversations. If you have a fireplace, go ahead and make that the centerpiece to which your furniture points. An experienced agent can lend a fresh eye and help you reimagine your home.
3. When you clean, think like a buyer. Many people underestimate just how clean your home needs to be when preparing to put it on the market. This isn’t your average weekend tidy-up; think of it as spring cleaning on steroids. You need to think about what buyers look for and then get down to the nitty-gritty. That means addressing even the smallest details and making them shine, like your ceiling fans, floorboards, window blinds and sills, tile grout, tubs, sinks, and so on.
4. Set the table if people are coming over. Staging paints a picture for potential buyers, allowing them to imagine living in your home. If they can see that a family lives here and can have company over, then they’ll see that for their own family, too. Nothing represents family and company life quite like a nicely prepared dinner table, so break out the nice flatware and add some seasonal flair with a dash of bold colors. Set two to four places at the table and arrange a decorative centerpiece on top of a neutral table runner. Check out websites like Pinterest for more ideas.
5. Bring the outside in. Make your house feel like a home by taking advantage of what’s in full bloom right outside your door. Fresh flowers are very inviting; they warm up a room and send a message that yours is a really nice space to be in. If plucking decorations from your yard isn’t an option, stop by your local flower shop or grocery store. If you do have a few bucks to spare, you may want to consider spending it on paint and mulching in the front yard. Buyers give you about three seconds to make the sale. Mulch and fresh paint will go a very long way.
Of course, every home is different, so before you spend one red cent freshening up your casa, ask a real estate agent you trust for advice. You see, a true pro knows what buyers in your area want and can help you maximize your home’s appeal without breaking the bank.
As always, feel free to give us a call if you have any questions or have a topic you’d like us to discuss. I’d love to help you out.
