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Selling your home is an involved process that affects your family and your future. Before you begin this process, you'll want to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information. When should you sell? How do you get the best price? Should you make renovations prior to the sale?
Where to you begin?
First Impression
Remember what first attracted you to your house when you initially bought it? What excited you about its most appealing features? Now that you're selling your home, you'll need to look at it as if you were buying it all over again.
A spruced up house makes a great first impression on potential buyers. An attractive property grabs their attention and makes them excited about finding a house that looks and feels well cared for. So prepare your home correctly, you’ll save both time and money selling it when it’s on the market.
A good first impression makes an impact on a number of levels. It’s not just the way your house looks to potential buyers, but how it feels and smells to them, how their friends and family will react, and how they imagine it will be like to live in. With simple improvements, you can grab the attention of potential buyers and help them see why your house is right for them.
Plan Ahead
Create a plan to enhance your property. Keep a notebook for your selling project, and as you stroll through your house, make a list of what needs to be done. Consider what your property looks like to people driving by or walking through your door. What will they like or dislike? What needs to be fixed, painted, and cleaned? What can you improve? Whether you paint your house or fix up the yard, your efforts don’t need to be costly; even inexpensive improvements and minor repairs go far toward attracting serious buyers. But remember, those seemingly insignificant problems you’ve learned to live with can actually discourage potential buyers. Here are ideas for increasing your home’s appeal in order to sell it quickly and at the best price.
Cut the Clutter
Rooms that look and feel cluttered turn off people. Remember, potential buyers are buying your house, not your furniture, so help them picture themselves and their possessions in your home by making your rooms feel large, light, and airy. As you clean, pack away your personal items, such as pictures, valuables, and collectibles, and store or get rid of surplus books, magazines, videotapes, extra furniture, rugs, blankets, etc. Consider renting a storage unit to eliminate clutter in your garage and attic.
Closets
They are an important consideration to many buyers. By storing clothing you won’t use soon, you’ll make closets look spacious.
Paint
A new coat of paint cleans up your living space and makes it look bright and new. To make rooms look larger, choose light, neutral colors that appeal to the most people, such as beige or white.
Carpet
Check its condition. If it’s worn, consider replacing it. It’s an easy and affordable way to help sell your home faster. Again, light, neutral colors, such as beige, are best. If you don’t replace it, you can suggest to potential buyers that they select new carpet for a reduction in price; buyers like to hear they’re getting a deal. At the very least, have your carpet cleaned.
Repairs and Renovations
It is best to avoid making major renovations just to sell the house since you’re unlikely to recoup those costs from your selling price. Make minor repairs to items such as leaky faucets, slow drains, torn screens, gutters, loose doorknobs, and broken windows. Make sure repairs are well done; buyers won’t take you seriously if your home-improvement efforts look messy, shoddy, or amateurish.
The Selling Price
When you’re selling your home, the price you set is a critical factor in the return you’ll receive. That’s why you need a professional evaluation from an experienced realtor. Westward Properties can provide you with an honest assessment of your home, based on several factors including:
- Market conditions;
- The condition of your home; and
- Required repairs or improvement.
If the price of your home is too high, several things could happen:
- Limited Buyers. Potential buyers may not view your home, because it would be out of their buying range.
- Limited showings. Other salespeople may be less reluctant to view your home.
- Used as leverage. Other realtors may use this home to sell against homes that are better priced.
- Extended stay on the market. When a home is on the market too long, it may be perceived as defective. Buyers may wonder, “what’s wrong,” or “why hasn’t this sold?”
- Lower Price. An overpriced home, still on the market beyond the average selling time, could lead a lower selling price. To sell it, you will have to reduce the price, sometimes, several times. In the end, you’ll probably get less than if it had been properly priced at the start.
It is a well known fact – Well-kept homes, properly priced in the beginning always get you the fast sale for the best price! Contact a professional at Westward Properties to assist you in the selling of your home. |
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