Starter homes can be beautiful pieces of memories that encapsulate our first marriage, first child, and the first time we could really feel great about owning something. It’s no wonder that selling your home might seem difficult, or even impossible with all these great memories and feelings attached. But, selling your home doesn’t have to be either difficult or impossible! If you’ve outgrown your starter home, are looking to move to a new location due to work or school, or simply just want a change, not to worry. The internet is full of top tips to sell your home, and with some research and commitment, you’ll be able to sell your home in no time.
Is Selling a Home Easy?
Depending on your market, where you live,the season, and the various attributes of your home, selling it can take as little as 60 days, or drag on for years and years. However, certain home improvements can be done in order to improve the likelihood of selling your home. In addition, certain features of a home can make its value increase as well, earning you extra money. For instance, future home buyers have been known to spend up to an extra 2,000 dollars on a home if it is furnished with hardwood flooring! This is just the start of many top tips to sell your home, and is certainly not the last tip! Here are 15 top tips to sell your home, and with additional research, you can be sure to find even more!
1. Conduct Market Research
As mentioned earlier, homes are places full of memories that you’ve experienced while living there, and this can unfortunately cloud your judgment. Homes are valued not just by how you feel about them, but by using the current housing market. Even if you had great memories in your home and don’t want to part with it for a certain price, a comparative market analysis might prove otherwise. A comparative market analysis looks at homes around yours and how much they sold for, taking into consideration size, year built, and location as well. It’s important to look at this comparative market analysis to price your home without any bias, and fairly enough for it to be able to sell.
2. Get a Real Estate Agent
One of the most important top tips to sell your home is getting the help of a great real estate agent. An agent that has connections with future home buyers, a house buying company or real estate investors, knows how to really sell a home, and has a good track record of selling homes is just the beginning! Real estate agents can help put your house up online, understand the market and how to utilize your home’s strengths, and be able to sell your house in less time and for more money than FSBO would. In addition, the closing process for homes is different in every state, and an agent is an essential part of this process. Real estate agents work with lenders and title agency during closing, so finding an agent that can maneuver through this process for you can save you the headache later on.
3. Clear Out All Unwanted Furniture
Once you’ve decided to sell your home, found a great realtor that’s willing to help you, and are ready to move out, it’s time to clear out all furniture and belongings. A dumpster rental can help you get most of your clutter out of your home and can help you get more organized when it comes time to detail your home. Hiring the help of movers, and planning your move in advance is key to save you on time and stress. You might be wondering, why would I want to move my beloved furniture from my home? Won’t the home buyers love it? The answer is a simple maybe, but when selling your home, you don’t want unusual or old furniture to distract from the home. You will want buyers to focus on the architectural aspects of a home, the lighting, colors, and the home itself. Clearing out all unwanted furniture well help home buyers fall in love with the home, and not the furniture.
4. Hire a Home Inspector
Home inspectors can cost several hundred dollars when hired but are so important when selling your home. Inspectors can help you address any underlying issues with your home, and give you advice on what to fix and document these issues for future home buyers to see. Future home buyers will want to lower the price of a home based on issues that need to be fixed, so addressing these maintenance problems will help you save money and keep your selling-price steady. Though getting a home inspector is one of the top tips to sell your home, so is shopping around for various inspectors and getting quotes from various ones before committing to a trusted inspector.
5. Fix Plumbing Issues
If a septic inspection or plumbing inspection reveals bad issues by a home inspector, these must be addressed first and foremost before selling your home. Plumbing and septic issues are not only an inconvenience to future home buyers but also a major red flag and selling point when selling your home.
Top tips to sell your home include fixing not just roofing and HVAC issues, but most importantly plumbing issues as well. Hiring a plumber can be a great start, and showing your home buyers that your home has well-functioning sinks, drains, toilets, and even takes into consideration green initiatives can help sell your home even faster.
6. Fix HVAC Issues
On top of plumbing, HVAC issues are one of the most important issues that should be fixed when selling your home. No one wants to live in a home that doesn’t have a proper heating and air conditioning unit. Top tips for selling your home include taking into consideration the seasons and weather, and fixing your HVAC system is a huge part of that.
During the cold winter months, if you live in an area that snows, you’ll want to ensure your heating system is working properly and as energy efficient as possible. During hot summer months, it’s important to have a functioning air-conditioning unit, especially if future home buyers have pets and small children! Help your future home buyers save money spent on energy companies, and help keep them comfortable while they enjoy your old home.
7. Conduct Roofing Maintenance
Roofing issues are a big turn-off for future home buyers, and so it’s important to hire a roofing company to take care of any issues. Cracked shingles, leaks, and even broken roofing can all be hazardous and cost home buyers thousands of dollars in repairs. Conducting proper maintenance on your roof throughout your time there can help prevent these future issues, such as getting your roof ready with spf roof coatings. But, it’s never too late to address tree damage, bad gutters, lifted shingles and all other roofing concerns before selling your home.
8. Get the Help for Pests
Some of the top tips for selling your home include making it presentable to the public. The last thing you need is for a roach, insect, or even a rodent to pop up during a walk-through or open house! Yikes! Luckily, hiring the help of pest control can help you keep rodents and insects at bay, and provide your home buyers with the peace of mind that pests have been taken care of.
9. Hire an Interior Decorator
Though you don’t want unusual or distracting furniture to take up your home, having simple, yet aesthetically appealing furniture in your home can help it sell faster. People want to see what the space of a home can be utilized for, and envision themselves living in the home. Fresh coats of paint, furniture that works with lighting, and creative uses for spaces are all important to showcase to home buyers to get them buying your home more quickly.
10. Consider Re-doing the Outside
One of the top tips to sell your home is re-doing the outside! Whether that’s painting or getting new siding, hiring asphalt paving contractors to fix up your walkway, or simply installing a little garden, the outside of your home is a big part of getting home buyers’ attention. Check with HOA guidelines to ensure all your outside renovations and additions are appropriate.
11. Deep Clean the Inside of your Home
Deep cleaning the inside of your home can do wonders in helping you sell your home. Making your counters shine, dusting your ceiling fans and vents vigorously, and ensuring your windows and doors are all letting in as much light as possible can all help home buyers fall in love with the home. Top tips to sell your home include getting the details right, and deep cleaning your home is certainly a key element!
12. Show Multiple Open-Houses
It’s tough to show multiple open houses, listings, and make appointments with all future home buyers, but it must be done! Showing as many open-houses as possible, even when a client calls you or your agent out of the blue can be very helpful when selling a home. Remember, selling your home isn’t just about the home itself, but about the customer service that went along with the home-buying process. Both you and your real estate agent should be friendly with home buyers, and accommodate their needs accordingly.
13. Advertise Competitively
Marketing and advertising aren’t just in the top tips to sell your home, but also in the top tips of selling anything period. Advertising your home heavily online, through multiple platforms such as Zillow, Trulia, and reaching out to family and friends can all help. Ensure you hire the best photographer to get the gorgeous elements of your home, and use it to help your home gain the attention of home buyers.
14. Prepare for Closing Delays
Finally, you’ve gotten an offer on your home, congratulations! It’s important to sit down with your real estate agent, even an attorney, home inspector, title insurance agent, an escrow officer, and a mortgage professional to hand over all closing documents to both you and the buying party. Negotiating the final costs is just part of the battle. Unfortunately, delays can and will happen when closing out your home-selling process, and the closing process can take as much as 41 days to complete.
Problems with financing, such as bad credit loans, appraisal issues, and even home inspection issues can all cause a delay. Being prepared and sitting down with an attorney and your real estate agent can help you navigate through this delay, but don’t worry, your contract will be signed and finished in no time!
15. Be Prepared for Home-Selling Costs
Selling a home is a good feeling, but it’s also important to remember that with selling a home, comes home-selling costs. These include paying your real estate agent, usually a fee of 6% of your home’s final selling price, fees that are included in your contract, and of course maintenance fees. Consider the price, also, of hiring a photographer and interior designer to advertise and stage your home. Being prepared ahead of time and having adequate funds (and time) to sell your home is also one of the top tips to sell your home.
Be Persistent
It would be great if all homes could sell within a week and the process was easy. However, selling a home takes time, energy, money, and commitment in order to get the best selling price. Still, the memories you made in your home, from playing hide and seek in storm shelters, to decorating your nursery, and every memory in between can be those of a new home buyer, and you can help get them there.
