Dec 22, 2009
Tips to Help your Home Sell Faster
If you take a look around online to try to find tips that will help your home sell faster, you should not have to look very hard. The question is how to separate the facts from the opinions. Well, the simple answer is to take the advice of the professionals that have the experience and talent when it comes to home sales. The longer answer is to try think about what you read in terms of common sense. home sales can be a complicated thing when you get down to all the paperwork, title searches and negotiations but at the root, selling a home is simply about marketing a product. True this is a fairly BIG product but it is sales all the same and consumers want the best value for their dollar and they want to be happy with what they have purchased. Buyer’s remorse is much different when you are talking about $200,000 or more.
The first thing that needs to be mentioned has pretty much been beaten to death in articles but I list it here because it is completely true. A home needs to be clean to sell. Not just everyday clean, show home clean. Think about it this way, you would not buy a dirty shirt or a dirty car. Why? Because it implies that the previous owner does not take care of it and that it is in bad condition. Home buyers think like this. If the home is dirty then what other things have been left unfixed or in poor condition? Maybe nothing, but is that a risk you afford to take?
Pricing is another big issue for some buyers and sellers alike. Sellers have the tendency to want the highest dollar for their homes and rightfully so, but in that one must remember that your home’s value and the value YOU place on the home are different. Proper pricing is dependent on the local market, and what homes in your area are currently selling for. Home values do not depend on fond memories or the emotional worth that you have for the property. Buyers will typically not care that your children grew up there or that your father built the home himself. They care about what the home can offer them if they choose to buy it. Buyers will look at the value of your home in respect to what else is on the market in your area and if the home is overpriced, you better believe that their realtor will tell them that.
The final word on home sales would have to be curb appeal. This is another term that is always mentioned in the same breath as home sales and has a huge effect on the presentation of a property. Curb appeal is simply how good your home and property look from the street. First impressions are huge in this industry and it can be very difficult to market a home that does not impress at first sight. The last thing that any seller wants is to see prospective buyers drive up and then after looking at the home, drive away. Just like any other product that is for sale, the packaging must catch a buyer’s attention and catch it for the right reasons.
Watch the video related to home selling
You’ll sell your house faster — and for more money — if you avoid these common pitfalls.
Help answer the question about home selling
Is there anyone in here who has hired a home stager when selling their home?
I was looking into this as a career and wanted to see if it’s a good thing to get into. A home stager is someone who helps you to declutter and make the home your selling more show home like, it helps people see themselves in that home.
About Author
Jake Marsh is an experienced, professional real estate agent with a degree in marketing, who specializes in Denver, Colorado real estate For access to Denver MLS listings, contact Jake today
Market price dictates EVERYTHING. The equation is VERY simple. Price your home just below comparative homes, it will sale. Be realitic. Detatch any personal value you place on your home. Look at homes, just like yours, then under-price them. Write this down!!!!!!!!!!!! "if you price your home to sell, it will sell! Period, in any market.
Now you may not like the price you get, but reality, is reality. If you price it right, it's gone
Clean it, no clutter, have it staged, get rid of anything personal, a family photo wall is a turn off, no one wants to see what yours kids/family looks like, they care about having to fill all those holes in the wall. Neutral Paint (pink girls rooms and blue boys rooms are cute until you have cover it with 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint. Also, flat paint is what builders use it doesn't show wall flaws, but a pain to wipe off, eggshell is a better bet, wasy to wipe off and still covers flaws), if trim is natural wood, clean and polish it, if it's white, wipe it down (no one wants to see hair or dirt) and repaint (personally I like white oil based paint, it covers well and looks clean). Make sure all windows and doors open and close correctly, if you have to paint the window and door trim, for Heaven's sake, TAPE IT OFF, don't paint over the window. Trim landscaping, re-mulch (most people won't even waste their time looking if the house doesn't have curb appeal). Make sure faucets don't drip, replace or make sure the air filter is clean (if it's dirty buyer's think you don't have the time or money to replace them so what else can be wrong with the HVAC unit). Clean any appliances that will stay. Caulk around trim and molding as needed. Wipe cabinets and drawers. With all the competition out there, you want yours to stand out, doesn't take a lot of money, just time and elbow grease.
Sorry to be so long-winded but it works.
Price it at about 70% of the the other houses for sale and be willing to work with a selling agent (give them 3%).
Find the moeny to sod the yard. You will get it back and then some.
Paint the entire house one NEUTRAL color.
The house is very small – get as much out of it as possible. Make it look spacious.
Hold lots of open houses and agen open houses. Price it on the low end of the range for recent sales in the neighborhood.
Good luck.
Make sure everything is beyond spotlessly clean. No broken tiles or loose caulk in the bathroom, paint the walls in modern neutral colors if you can. Get rid of all clutter. (Only one soap, shampoo, set of towels, etc. Even clean under the sink.) In the kitchen, get rid of all the saved yogurt containers, etc., pack up the Christmas cookie cutters and the Thanksgiving glass turkeys etc, one set of pots and pans, expired food. You are going to clean out the cupboards when you move anyway.
Buyers know they will have to eventually update the Kitchen and Bath, but if they think they have to do it right away they'll move on.
The best thing you can do is declutter and CLEAN your home spotless…..If time and money allow, paint what ever needs painting, you can do a lot with paint and its pretty inexpensive….The front of the house is so important…You must have your yard cut and trimmed, free of weeds and eye sores….Did you know painting your front door red, will sell your home faster? If you do this, make sure that red will coordinate with the rest of the outside colors of your home, but luckily red does go with a lot of exteriors! I buy and sell homes for a living and I am also an interior designer…If you have any detailed questions, please feel free to email me! Best of luck
From what I understand, going through a short sale (where the bank settles on recouping less than what's owed in order to avoid foreclosure) will adversely affect your credit score, but not as much as a foreclosure.
You may also have tax liablity for the difference the bank "eats" or loses on the deal.
Ideally, you'll get out and break even, or make some money.
Yes it can be done. You would advertise your property as FSBO (for sale by owner). Call one of your local Title Co.'s and they'll help you out alot. They have to handle the stuff in the end anyways. There's lot's of free advertising online, and you may be surprised but you can get some really great leads, sometimes from someone that will be moving to your area. Just be sure to write really good ads to grab attention to the special features of your home. Good luck