42 Proven Ways On How To Sell Your House Fast

It’s not a small decision to sell your house, and there are a lot of different steps involved in doing it that you need to be aware of. With careful planning you can make it a success.

That is why we have made an extensive guide on how to sell your house fast, and do so successfully. For whatever reason you may be needing to sell your home fast and this is the guide that you need. There are a lot of small things you can do such as minor renovations, repairs and painting your home which will all help in making it attractive and appealing for a possible buyer to put an offer for.

Something as simple as cleaning your home will help in making sure that a possible buyer gets the right impression of the home. While these things we will be going through will help you with selling your home fast, but it will also help increase your home’s value too.

There are expenses you will be incurring from not selling your home as fast as you were hoping to and it could mean that you’re currently paying for two mortgages at the same time.

When the home sits on the market for a long time, you’re often not increasing the amount of money you will end up getting for it. In fact, having it simply sit on the market can mean you will end up receiving up to 12% less than you could otherwise have gotten if it wasn’t the case as a lot of people will simply believe it isn’t selling because there are problems with it.

We made an infographic that summarizes all the different tips that we included in this article. To access the entire infographic, press the image below, otherwise just continue reading the article.

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Tips

The tips beneath will help you on your quest to selling your home extremely fast!

Don’t Neglect Curb Appeal

  • Curb appeal is incredibly important

Improving the curb appeal of your property is extremely important, and we have written a guide specifically on that. The curb appeal is everything that can be seen from the curb, meaning the outside of your home.

Imagine that you’re a buyer and think about the first impression you’re getting from standing on the street, and think about the different things you can do to improve what you’re seeing. You can always also go ahead and actually ask a friend to give you their honest opinion.

There are different things you can do including improving the landscape with the help of professional landscapers to making sure your lawn is properly mowed. Make it a point to tell them to give their honest opinion since that is how you will figure out the things that you ought to consider changing.

Does wood siding need repair, for instance?

Get the First Impression Right

  • The first impression is the most important impression. It’s very hard to recover from a bad first impression.

We’ve already told you the importance of the first impression and it should extend beyond simply the outside, as it’s also important to make sure the first impression is also good once you enter the house. Make sure that you also consider the first impression when people enter the house. Your home is not the only one for sale on the market, and you need to make sure that buyers want to buy yours over comparative properties.

You need to make sure that your house stands out, even when compared to other houses that a possible buyer might want to look at instead. Make your house truly unforgettable. The more you can restore it to its original condition and hide those imperfections, the better off you’ll be.

All these are factors that could affect the possibility of your house getting a buyer as soon as you want to. Hence, keep in mind that if a potential buyer gets interested to view your house, make the first impression unforgettable.

Price it Right

  • Pricing it right is important and will often make sure that it doesn’t just sit on the market for extended periods of time. If you price it slightly below comparable homes, you will soon be getting a lot of interest and you could even end up getting competing offers too.

Your house is not the only one in the market and pricing it too high is a sure way to get it to sit there for months before you inevitably end up having to lower the price anyway.

De-cluttering and Using Storage

a look inside a storage room

  • Get rid of the clutter. Put 1/3 of your belongings out of the way in storage.

[bctt tweet=”House Selling Tip: Get rid of the clutter. Put 1/3 of your belongings out of the way in storage.” username=”ContractorHelp”]

The whole point of an open house or home showing is that you want to impress the people coming into your home. You want to convince them that buying your house is a good investment and seeing clutter there is one of the things that can possibly make them less excited about the home.

Going into a disorganized home is never nice, and a potential buyer may start thinking that other aspects of the house were also neglected if they see that it’s very disorganized.

An organized home will help make it easier for a buyer to see themselves living there, and that is exactly what you want to have them do. When you make sure that the home is constantly clean, it’s also easier to schedule sudden showings. If you have a lot of objects, a good idea is to put some of these items in storage. You should only be displaying things that help in selling your home and everything else needs to be stored somewhere else.

Aside from obvious reasons that a messy place is not pleasing to the eyes, your potential buyer may have a hard time to figure out how the place will look like if he or she decides to live in your house. Because of this, it is important to ensure that the entire house is cleaned before allowing potential buyers to drop by and view your house.

Consider the Lighting

  • Keep the home well-lit and use lighting strategically.

You not only want to make sure that your home is clean, you should also ensure that it is well-lit and that means you might want to also consider outdoor lighting which can help show off some of the outside features that you are the most proud of like your home’s siding and hardscapes.

You should also make sure that all the different lights are in fact working before you have anyone over. If you’re doing an FSBO then make sure that you check all the lights 10 minutes before you expect them to come and see the house.

The potential buyer is there to see the whole house, and that is simply easier to do when there’s enough light to do it. You can also help shape the atmosphere by having the right type of light installed.

Be Sure to Ask Questions

Our recommendation is that you actually sell the house using a licensed real estate agent as they’re there to help any and all questions you might have. They’re there to minimize the friction and make sure that the process goes smoothly. They have a lot of different contacts that they can help set you up with, and if you need any sort of professional they can also give you recommendations on who to choose.

Hide the Fact that you Have Pets

woman sitting with her cat

  • It shouldn’t be possible to see that you have pets.

Some buyers may like pets, if they’re pet lovers but it’s definitely not all buyers that do, and even if they like pets it may distract from the main objective – getting your house sold. Some people are allergic to pets, and others simply won’t like your dog, or finding hairs all over the house.

When you are selling your house, you should make sure to remove any sign that you have pets, which means all the hair needs to be vacuumed and you need to make it so that a buyer won’t know about your pets, at least if you’re trying to sell the house as fast as possible.

You will also want to make sure that you remove anything that might currently be smelling of pets too.

Reconsider Big Makeovers

  • While you may want to remodel, right before selling might not be the best time to do it.

You should obviously do the necessary maintenance and make sure things don’t get worn out, but it can also work to your advantage to make sure that you don’t do too much remodeling as they may not all provide a positive ROI. This means you may not necessarily be able to recoup all the money you invested into the project.

If you suddenly start making strategic investments in remodeling, a buyer could also end up being afraid that it’s done in order to hide any issues there may be with water leaks, drywall or other things. When you have fairly big home improvements done right around the time when you’re selling, you will want to be honest with a seller about why you did it.

More importantly, if you choose to do upgrades that don’t even increase the home value by more than the cost of the project, you will be throwing money out the window, and it will also take a lot of time to have the upgrades made. The repairs you do should be made to fix the issues, and then aesthetics is second. If you have a problem with mold in the house and you have it painted, the problem will be discovered during the home inspection and appraisal anyway.

Concealing flaws without fixing them will result in a shock when the inspection comes around, and the possible offer will simply reflect those newly discovered flaws.

De-personalize Your Home

  • De-personalizing your home is important.

There will be things that have a lot of emotional meaning to you as well as personal touches that buyers may not appreciate quite as much as you and it’s best to simply have those removed to make sure that the house has a broader appeal. Things such as family photos, diplomas, medals, religious object and more should be removed.

While you may have a certain religious belief, it’s not sure that the buyer will share that, and you need your house to appeal to many people instead of fewer. While there are occasional times when it makes sense to have a more specific focus, it generally is not a good idea. Your whole point is to help the potential buyer imagine themselves living in the home.

You can leave things such as art, when it has a neutral appeal.

Focus on the Kitchen

kitchen

  • The kitchen seriously helps sell your home. Make sure it’s showing off its best side.

For a lot of home buyers, the kitchen is one of the things that will really help convince them to buy a property. Because of it, you should take a serious look at its condition and figure out what things can be easily and cheaply repaired so that the buyer won’t have a bad experience going through the space. There are easy things for you to fix before putting your home on the market, which includes making sure that all the different things in the kitchen open and close properly, and you can give the kitchen cabinets a fresh coat of paint which will help give the kitchen a fresh breath of air.

Be sure that there are no problems with the plumbing, no clogs and that the drainage is working with no problems either. Problems with the plumbing can also end up leaving a bad smell coming from your pipes which is something you want to make sure is not the case when a buyer comes to see your house.

Cockroaches are normally drawn to the kitchen and if you have problems with any sort of pest, you will need to have an exterminator come and help fix the problem before a buyer goes there. You don’t want there to be any sign of pests when a potential buyer sees it.

Put Real Effort into Staging

basement

By staging your home you are making sure it becomes more marketable. There are a lot of different steps involved in the process and we have made an article that specifically deals with that topic that we encourage you to read while you’re at it.

Staging your home helps in giving home buyers a sense of purpose with the different rooms, which they may otherwise have a hard time imagining. There are many different steps including cleaning, de-cluttering and more.

There are people that professionally stage homes, and if you have a slightly higher end home it very quickly makes sense to work with one of these because it will also help increase the price that your home sells for.

Being Flexible

  • Be flexible and allow your buyers the chance to see your home when it is convenient for them.

Remember that you are trying to sell your home to another human, or several, that also has their own calendar that they need to work with, and that means that if you are desperate to sell your home as fast as possible, you also need to be able to work with the schedule that works for the people you’re hoping will buy your house.

Increasing the flexibility around your home sale is one of the reasons most sellers choose to work with real estate agents too. You probably have work and other commitments that you can’t simply neglect and the job of the agent, and the reason they get paid, is that they can show your home when you’re unavailable.

There are a lot of other reasons to sell your home using a real estate agent, but that is just one of them.

Listing Your Home

  • Listing your home is important and includes everything from Facebook to MLS.

Your agent will help advertise your home, but the more it’s advertised across different platforms where a buyer might find it, the more showings you will have and the more likely it is to being sold. This means you should also help in telling people about it on your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You might just have some people in your network looking for a house just like yours.

Listings should also be good quality so that all the marketing efforts are of high quality all steps of the way. Having high quality photos of your home will go a long way in getting people curious.

Get Good Photos Taken

camera taking photos

  • High quality photos will help in focusing on the areas of interest and downplay if there are any problematic areas that you don’t want people to see from the photos.

Taking good listing photos is an art and it means you will need to use the right lighting to highlight the features that you want to have highlighted. While you shouldn’t cover up problematic areas with aesthetic fixes, you don’t want the pictures to unnecessarily be showing off those things that won’t help sell the property. If there are any of those, they will be seen during the showing anyway.

A professional photographer is a great person to help make sure that it’s all the right features that are shown in the photos. It might seem like an unnecessary cost, but the photos will come out so much better. You want to make sure that a potential buyer actually sees the home, and they might then be able to actually see the potential flaws.

Know the Neighborhood

  • A buyer is also looking at the neighborhood when they’re considering buying a property. Because Sell the whole neighborhood and not just your home. Highlight nearby points of interest.

[bctt tweet=”Home Selling Tips: Sell the whole neighborhood and not just your home. Highlight nearby points of interest.” username=”ContractorHelp”]

A buyer will also want to know what points of interest are in the area around them, meaning if they have kids and  you are in an area with good schools, it’s worth mentioning. If there’s a swimming pool nearby, good sports facilities or other things, these are also things that you or your real estate agent should make sure to point out.

It’s obviously important to listen to the prospective buyer to figure out exactly what it is they’re looking for and finding out how to best match their needs with good answers. You can also include a lot of the information when you’re making the listing to focus on those general things that any family might appreciate knowing about, like schools and a public pool.

Be Accommodating to Non-Locals

person doing a video walkthrough

  • If you have a non-local interested in your home, you should still be accommodating. You can show the home through video walkthroughs.

By making it easier for non-locals to see your home, you will also be able to access a larger pool of potential buyers, and it’s just a good marketing strategy to be able to show your home using video. That way, they won’t have to fly in and you will be able to get the house sold quicker too. They may be moving to your area and need to have a house ready as soon as they get there.

The same way you want to be able to show off the best features of the home to a local, you will also want to set it up so that it can be done well, even when done over video.

Using Youtube

  • Use YouTube to sell your home fast by putting a video walkthrough online.

Uploading a video walkthrough to Youtube is a great way to make sure that as many people see your property as possible. You can link to the video on your listing, which will help give them the possibility to see your house even if their calendar is currently very busy.

It can be extremely powerful and very helpful to buyers that simply want to get a quick glance before they actually schedule a visit.

Get inspiration for the walkthrough with this video.

Get a Home Inspection

  • Although a buyer will also get a home inspection, it’s a good idea if you do too.

It will reveal any problematic areas that you can then address before you start showing off the property. A buyer will also appreciate that you’re being proactive and having actual issues addressed.

It can help reveal structural problems that could otherwise make you liable if the house sells and it is discovered later on. When you get the inspection report, you can then think about the different things that you actually want to fix, but at least you will have a more accurate understanding of the condition of the home.

Consider Which Things to Repair

  • You can’t have everything repaired, so you should consider which things are worth your while.

[bctt tweet=”House Selling Tip: Repair things on the home inspection list.” username=”ContractorHelp”]

Some things will simply be too expensive to repair for it to make sense to do. Anything that costs $100 or less to fix should be fixed without even considering it because it will otherwise just end up leaving the potential buyer with a bad impression, and an offer will reflect it.

Address Issues at the House

handyman making small repairs

  • Ensure that structural issues are dealt with and that anything that is likely a deal-breaker gets fixed.

While remodeling a bathroom may not add enough value to your home unless it’s really needed, fixing structural issues like issues with the foundation or construction framing will be needed, since a buyer won’t want to move into a home where that is the first things that they need to get done.

When your home is in a bad condition, it will be competing against similar homes, like foreclosures, which is not what you want to do. You can be sure that if you do get an offer despite the buyer knowing there are foundational issues, their offer will more than account for that.

Staging the Outside

  • Stage all the outside spaces too, including your , and more.

House staging is not just a thing that should be done inside but also outside. The buyer should also have the possibility to imagine themselves using the outside, and it means that you should have a comfortable seating arrangement created outside too. A lot of the charm of a house is also created outside.

Listen to Your Agent

family to talking to real estate agent

  • The agent is there to help provide you with advice, so it’s a good idea to listen.

You hire an agent to help you with a lot of different things, and one of them is to help you get the right advice and make the best decisions regarding your home sale. They have sold hundreds of homes before, many probably very like yours and they know what a potential buyer may be looking for, and by best matching what a buyer wants with how your home can provide that is how you sell your home fast.

You shouldn’t be afraid to take advantage of the fact that they can help provide you with recommendations.

Do Your Own Promoting

  • All the promotion will end up paying off, and the more the better.

Your agent’s job is to help you with promoting the house, but you can still do a lot of different things yourself including social media, and you can talk to your agent about the possibility to use ads in your local paper to get your home sold.

Covering Closing Costs

  • If you are allowed to, you can help by covering the closing costs.’

It is often the home buyer that pays for closing costs that are often in the range of 2-5% of the sale, but if you are allowed, you can offer to foot that bill, assuming you’re allowed. This will make it more appealing to a potential buyer.

You will want to check with an agent to make sure this is in fact possible with the sale you’re trying to make happen, as laws may prohibit you from doing this.

Including a Warranty

warranty illustration

  • Buy a warranty and include it in the offer.

Buyers want to feel as safe as possible with the transaction and a warranty will only help in calming their nerves. A warranty is a great way to address any concerns that a buyer may have, and you can include it in the offer to make it even more attractive. If other similar properties have this, it will be required for you to have comparable features, and if they don’t, it’s an extremely good way to effectively stand out. You may also be able to get a better offer from a buyer since they will feel more safe about their purchase.

Offer a Quick Close

  • Be prepared for, and offer, a quick close.

It’s easy to say, but when you get to that point, you should offer and be ready for a quick close. There may be some buyers that are on a tight deadline, and you will want to make sure that your agent has all the necessary documentation ready to carry on. It includes the warrant, if you choose to get one, any previous records, the contract for the sale and all other needed documents.

Some buyers will want to move fast and that might mean that you should already have your things moved out. Being organized and ready for the different steps will help communicate your willingness to transact when the time comes.

Landscaping

beautiful landscape

  • Landscape your home to ensure it looks great.

Making everything look great is crucial in getting a quick sale, and that includes taking active steps to make sure your backyard looks great too. Set up different spots in your backyard and help a potential buyer imagine themselves living there and using the space.

If your budget will permit it, hire the services of a professional landscape artist or gardener to improve the appearance of your house from the outside. It’s all about leaving them with a great impression.

Don’t Be Desperate

  • Don’t seem desperate to sell the house. Nothing good comes out of being desperate.

[bctt tweet=”Tip for Selling Your House Fast: Don’t Seem Desperate!” username=”ContractorHelp”]

You may have things on your end that require you to get the house sold as soon as possible but if you seem desperate, you can be sure that it will come back to bite you, and a buyer who senses your urgency in selling may decide to slow down the process either to get leverage during a negotiation or because they think that the urgency may be needed because something is wrong with the house, and they want to be especially careful during the due diligence process as a consequence.

Ask Friends For Honest Advice

friends sitting together

  • Ask friends and family for their honest opinion on your property, and take action to change the things they have issues with.

Since you have been living in your house for a long time, you may not be able to see the problems that they will be able to see and by getting their input, you can get a better understanding of any and all potential problems that a buyer may have. It’s not just your agent that you can use for the process, but friends and relatives can be valuable opinion providers too.

Clean, clean, clean

  • Ensure that your house is in its cleanest state and have it in that condition the whole time, even if you currently live there.

All different aspects of your house needs to be cleaned, and it is a good time to get a professional roof cleaning company to come out and make your roof shine again. The roof is not the only thing that you want to clean. You want to clean everything. Again, getting objective advice is always a good idea.

The swimming pool should also be kept clean, and you will want to make sure there are no loose tiles that need to be repaired. Make sure to get leaves removed too.

Smell Your House as You Go Through it

  • An important part of cleaning your home is to smell it and make sure there are no nasty smells that need to be addressed.

Clogged sinks, cigarettes and pets are some of the smells that you will need to address, but if there are other smells of any kind, these should also be addressed. The garbage disposal is also a thing that you will want to look at. You never know when a potential buyer is going to come by and you want to be ready in that case.

Encourage Competing Offers

two hands competing

  • Getting competing offers will not only put you in a better negotiation position, but will also help close the deal faster.

When you can ensure that your home is in a good condition at a decent price, you’re also likely to be getting attention as a consequence, and then you can get a buyer to commit fast too.

Look at Things Objectively

  • It can be hard for you to look at things objectively with the situation you’re in, but you will still need to try to do it.

Emotions is another reason why some sales never end up going through. You may end up making decisions that won’t show your property in its best condition, and it’s in fact a reason to use an agent since they won’t let feelings get in the way of closing the sale.

Avoid Deadlines

deadline illustration

  • Creating deadlines can turn buyers off, so you will want to avoid it.

Some buyers may feel too pressured by deadlines, others may see it as a sign of you being desperate and it is just generally not good to create deadlines that buyers need to stick to. You are not in control of when an offer will come in, and all you can do to speed up the process is already listed in this article.

Some buyers will need to have more time to make an offer than others will, but if you set a deadline, you’re probably just turning off more buyers than you’re getting from this increased urgency.

Your property is not the only one for sale and that’s important to keep in mind.

Think About the Best Time to Sell

  • Ask your real estate agent for the best time to sell your house.

If you have the possibility to time it, it’s a good idea to ask an agent what the best time is to sell your home, because there may be certain market conditions that just mean some markets are a lot hotter at certain times than others.

Avoid Certain Words in Your Listings

  • Describing your listing as being unique may not necessarily help your listing.

When you write that your property is unique, it may not be something that gets potential buyers excited because they’ve previously read about all the other “unique” properties. It’s a good idea to listen to your agent, and that includes the time of writing the listing. You can check out this article on writing good real estate listings.

Write an Extensive Ad Description

checklist

  • Focus on the meat and not the adjectives.

A good description will help accentuate the advantages your property has over other properties, but when you use a lot of buzzwords, it will likely just end up seeming fake, so you should try and keep the listing honest. Think about it – what type of listing would appeal to you?

You can go online and check out what comparable listings include and write down what features you like about them and which you dislike. It’s often recommended that a listing should be around 250 words or so.

Be Prepared to Lower the Price

  • A correction of the price may help get potential buyers interested again, and you should be honest about when you will lower the price.

If your property has been on the market for a few months and you’re not really getting the activity that you’re looking for, then you will likely need to lower the price. Reality may sting, but the market value of your home simply may not be what you were hoping it would be. When you have already set a deadline for when to lower the price, you won’t end up in a situation where it sits indefinitely with no activity.

Paint Your Home

woman painting a home

  • Painting your home is a very affordable option and should be done before you list the home if it’s been a long time.

You shouldn’t just be painting your home to hide issues, you should have them fixed, but when that’s been said you can get your home looking nice in the process too. You can always get quotes from competing house painters and they’ll be able to paint your house affordably and earn you a better price when selling.

Expect Negotiations

two people negotiating

  • Negotiations are often inevitable and you should be ready for them and expect them.

Read our guide on negotiating the price of your home, and you’ll be setting yourself up for success. A buyer will want to get your home at the lowest price while you will want to sell it for as high a price as possible. This is just to be expected.

There are many different homes in the market, and by implementing these different tips, you will help put yourself ahead of the competition. If you know anyone currently looking to sell their home, feel free to pass on this guide to them.

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