When people are house hunting, the factors they consider are not just practical and rational ones.
In addition to trying to make a logical decision, people are also at some level making an emotional decision.
This can work against you if you have an house. Luckily, there are things you can do to make sure you sell your home anyway!
Let’s take a look at how to sell your home, and sell it fast.
Highlight the Best Features of Your Home
Be honest: it’s not all bad! Even if your home has some elements to it, it likely has some great selling points too. You’ll want to highlight these and bring them to the forefront in your photos and listing description.
A gorgeous backyard, cozy stone fireplace, or beautiful hardwood floors can be put front in center to help grab a buyer’s attention. Remember: first impressions when it comes to house shopping are incredibly important.
Repair What You Can
There are likely a lot of little renovations that you can do that wouldn’t cost too much money or take too much time. If you’ve got burnt out lightbulbs and broken cabinet hardware, take the time to fix these things up.
Stage Your House
The way a buyer views a house isn’t just about the actual structure. It’s about the feel of the rooms, the way they can envision putting their own belongings in it. Staging a house can be a great way to make even a small, home look more spacious and appealing.
Whether you hire a professional stager or stage the house yourself, you’ll want to put some serious time into staging your home. First, make sure to get rid of any and all clutter. You’ll want to consider renting a storage unit.
Be sure to remove any items that are too personal. This can put off potential buyers as they have a harder time imagining the home as their own. Remember, when it comes to staging, less is more.
Don’t forget to give you house a thorough, deep-cleaning as well. When you have house guests they might not be peering in all corners and closets, but prospective buyers definitely will be.
Price It Competitively
When you’re trying to sell an house, this isn’t the time to set your listing price high and hope. You need to be realistic and competitive about your price if your home is lacking in the looks department. Otherwise, it could sit on the market endlessly, and the longer it’s on the market the more skeptical future buyers might be about it.
Depending on the flaws of your home, whoever’s buying it might plan on investing quite a bit of money into fixing it up. This means that they’ll be taking this into account when they consider whether or not they should make an offer. If you’ve priced it too high for what it is, you might have disappointingly little interest in the property.
Be Upfront About the Flaws
Just because you’re highlighting the good things about your home doesn’t mean you should try and downplay its flaws. It’s important to be direct and upfront about negative features so that there aren’t major delays in the selling process once the buyers find out.
When you sell a house, you’ll fill out a seller disclosure form. It’s important to fill this out honestly. It will make the process run more smoothly, will make it so neither your time nor the buyer’s time is wasted, and it’s the ethical thing to do.
Appeal to Investors
When it comes to homes, there’s cosmetically and then there’s almost-falling-down . If your house is a real fixer-up, it’s possible that banks won’t have any interest in lending to potential buyers. This means you’ll have to search for buyers who have cash.
There are certain keywords you can include in order to signal that you’re looking for an investor buyer. Mentioning that a home “needs TLC,” is a “fixer-upper,” or writing directly to investors can attract the right kind of buyer.
This is a particularly good idea if you have no interest in putting the time, effort, or money into little repairs or cosmetic improvements. Investors are going to come in and do tons of work on the place anyway, and they’re not going to look at your house the same way a regular home-buying couple would.
Beautify Your Home
Depending on how much time and money you want to put into your home before you sell it, you could put in the work to fix its cosmetic or practical flaws. You’ll have to run the numbers to determine this is worth the time, money, and energy.
Boost Your Curb Appeal
Even if a house is a bit of a fixer-upper, making sure it looks as good as possible from the outside is key. Improving the landscaping and backyard could totally be the thing that pushes an unsure buyer over the edge. If your house is in a beautiful spot, this is absolutely something to highlight!
Make sure your lawn is manicured and your front porch is free of cobwebs and mildew. It can be well worth it to pressure wash your house and maybe even touch up the paint here and there. Consider putting out some flowers and definitely clean up any and all yard clutter.
All Hope Is Not Lost For Your Ugly House
If you’re fretting that you won’t be able to sell your seen-better-days home, never fear! We buy houses in Memphis and beyond. Contact us today to get started!