You’ve taken a leap and decided to sell your house. If this is your first time and you’ve never sold a property before, you might be thinking that this is going to be an overwhelming process. It doesn’t have to be.Â
For whichever reason, you’re selling your home — whether you’re eyeing a new place or moving because of a new job, upsizing to fit your family or downsizing an empty nest, we’ve got your back.
When you plan ahead of time and prepare your property for sale, it will be snapped by the right buyers.Â
This blog outlines key steps that can help you to sell your home quickly and smoothly without any surprises.
Hiring an experienced real estate agent can be the best thing you can do to get the property off your hands quickly. Having the right people by your side can make the process easy and less stressful.Â
An experienced real estate agent can guide you from start to finish and handhold you during all the stages of selling a property. They will make suggestions to ensure your property looks prime, give ideas and make suggestions for renovations and repairs, help you hire the right photographers to click great pictures of your property.
A good real estate agent will help you negotiate and get the best selling price of your property. They will also write a real estate listing that draws attention, top it up with a great marketing effort that piques interest and sells.
You can seek referrals from your friends and family or find and compare top real estate agents in your area. Hire a real estate agent who understands the local market well. Make sure they have a reputable sales record and they know everything about selling from start to end.Â
Interview a few real estate agents to choose the best that understands and fits your bill. They should be equally interested and enthusiastic about selling your home. They must be able to give you sound advice and great suggestions to improve instead of just doing the bare minimum and scheduling open houses.Â
When you talk to real estate agents, you’ll be able to identify their potential based on how passionate and enthusiastic they are about their work.Â
If you need more information, we have written a full article on how to choose the best real estate agent.
It’s easy to expect a high price for selling your home and expect the market to love as much as you do. For most potential buyers, the most important factor in decision making is pricing. One of the best ways to sell your property fast is to price it competitively.Â
In a highly competitive market, your property may get lost if the price you set isn’t fair and realistic. It can scare away potential buyers from the get-go and there’s always the risk of people deterring from inspecting the house. Thus, your home might have to spend more time on the market.Â
To attract prospective buyers, make sure that your listed price is fair and realistic. Be objective and compare your property to other similar properties recently sold or currently on sale in the market.Â
You can also have your home professionally valued to get an accurate price point, to begin with. An experienced real estate agent can help you with this. Listing your home at a reasonable and competitive price will garner interest and help you sell your property faster.Â
People think that the only way to market their property is through online platforms but that’s not true. A full-scale marketing strategy considering both online and offline methods can make your property sell faster than you think.Â
Buyers come from different places so it’s important to cover all the bases to create a marketing strategy. Since you get only one chance to make the first impression, make sure you do it right.Â
While you feature your property on all the leading portals and share it on feeds of various social media platforms, consider using traditional marketing channels as well. Newspaper ads, flyers and newsletters work well in that case.
Buyers always check out the area before purchasing the property so putting up signage in your front lawn can drum up interest in your property.Â
Consider thinking outside the box to ensure your home is being advertised at its best. It can be something as simple as asking your friends and family to share and repost your listing on various platforms of interest. You can also find out specific social media groups in the area/city that focus on property reselling.
Adding signage in your front yard to attract potential buyers is a great marketing strategy but first, it’s important to ensure that your front yard and curb aren’t turning off the appeal.Â
Good impressions matter when it comes to property as well. The first thing a potential buyer notices is the exterior and how it fits in the surrounding neighbourhood. Whether they look at a photo of the property or drive by the house, if they don’t find the outside appealing they might not bother to check the interiors of the house
If there’s a yard, mow the lawn, rake dead leaves, trim the trees and shrubs, sweep pathways, weed garden beds
If there’s a fence, clean it and make sure that the gates open easily
Remove the garden waste and clear out the gardening equipment
Rearrange your outdoor furniture to enhance aesthetic
Paint the gates and front door if needed
Wash the windows overlooking the front yard
Fix broken lights, fixtures and mailbox
Add and arrange flower planters to beautify the exterior
Remember, your house must look inviting from the outside. Buyers will only step inside if they like what they see outside. A tidy exterior gives the impression of a tidy and well-managed home.Â
Jump into Marie Kondo mode to declutter your home. Remove all the junk that you don’t need. Think ahead and start packing personal items (things that you don’t use regularly) for the moving day.Â
The potential buyers need to picture themselves in the home. If the space is neat clean without anything that belongs to you coming in the way of their vision, the transition will happen easier than you think. Less clutter makes the home look spacious and clean spaces tend to hit the subconscious differently.Â
Before prospective buyers visit, make sure your home is sparkling clean. Ensure no spec of dust mars your prospects. Clean the windows, scrub the floors, deep clean the bathroom, wipe the glasses and mirror, make sure the faucets are untarnished, rearrange the closets and cabinets to convey that the house has been taken good care of.
While you’re at it, get rid of all those things that you won’t need in the future — this will make moving easy for you. Stash the magazines, newspapers, and other small-ticket items. Clearing all the horizontal surfaces can change the look of a room.
Rearrange the furniture to make your home look more inviting so buyers can move through your home without bumping into anything. If necessary, put bulky items in storage.Â
You can also hire a professional property stager who can rearrange your home to showcase its best features and maximise the space for higher appeal and flow. It can involve anything from cleaning, decluttering and adding a few cosmetic changes to adding more furniture and accessories.Â
While property staging is known to improve sales, it can be expensive so you can choose the service you want depending on your budget. Your real estate agent can guide you to choose and work with home stagers or property stylists.Â
Since you’re short on time and in a rush to sell your property, you will not have the time to undertake any major renovations. Renovations can also be out of your budget then you can focus on quick repairs that wouldn’t deter the potential buyersÂ
Take a survey of the property and figure out places that need fixtures and repairs. It can include things like:Â
Tightening leaky faucets
Fixing loose tiles
Paint retouching
Replacing doorknobs and handles
Fixing the shower
Removing carpet stains etc
You can determine which updates you want to make based on the time and budget. Take care of small issues that can really make a difference. Be proactive and solve these minor issues to save yourself from missing out on the right buyer.Â
Present your property in a way that buyers feel all they need to do is pack up and move in. If the buyers notice small things they might think there's a lot of work that needs to be done before they move in which might cost them time and money.
As you’ve lived in the property for a long time, you are accustomed to how it looks and feels.
This familiarity often makes it harder to see detractors such as potential problems with the house.
Invite a trusted friend or a family member to visit your home and share their feedback. They might be able to look at things from a different light and gives suggestions for changes like trimming the tree in the front yard or cleaning the carpets.Â
If you’ve hired a real estate agent, you can seek their perspective as well. They are doing this for a long time so they understand what works and what doesn’t. They can lend a hand to provide feedback.Â
You may not like what they say but the most important part is to acknowledge their feedback and take some concrete action if it's worth it.Â
You can also consider the perspective of buyers who have inspected your property but didn’t choose to buy it for some reason or other. These buyers may not want to compromise on something so they can provide accurate feedback for what it is without any emotional connection to your home.Â
Ask your real estate agent to check with the buyer’s agents to get their opinion on the property. Utilize that feedback to make changes as necessary.
Often, people like the property but lowball you on it to try their luck on getting a better offer. Instead of rejecting it, you can counter it with a better offer and then let them decide. The right real estate agent can help you hold on or negotiate your way to get the best outcome.Â
Not everyone is going to love their property so be realistic and don’t get discouraged when you get feedback on your property. The best you can do is to take them in stride, make the necessary changes and reposition your property for a successful sale.Â
If you wish to sell the property quickly, you must be prepared for unforeseen circumstances. There are chances that you might receive a request from potential buyers like a quick move out if you’re prepared you can make the best from the deal.
It’s in best interests to accommodate the needs of a prospective buyer especially those who want to make a last-minute viewing. Rearrange your schedule around what’s ideal for the buyer so they do not pass on the opportunity of viewing your property. Remember, it only takes one to make the sale!
The real estate agents at Agent Select have helped thousands of Australians to sell their property at the best price. Call Agent Select on 1300 040 463 to choose the right real estate agent that helps you sell your property quickly.
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