How was I able to sell my house quickly and for a great price? We were able to sell our family home for almost $100,000 above it’s valuation in just a matter of weeks. Here is some of what I learned from the experience that I hope you can apply to your own property.
Many homeowners find it hard to get their homes out of the market. It may be because there is too much competition in your area, the property is too old, or maybe buyers are finding a hard time to secure an affordable mortgage.
Whatever the reason is, these tips can help you sell your property fast! I’m sharing these tips to you, so you don’t have to wait 90 days, or even a year to sell your house.
The Secret Tips to Selling Your House Quickly
1. Get property valuations from different appraisers.
Many sellers decide on a selling price, without knowing what their home is actually worth in the current market. This can seriously affect the chances of the property being sold (or it could be sold for less than what it is worth).
Be aware that different appraisers could have varying opinions on the supposed selling price of a property. Some real estate agents even ‘high ball’ it. Giving you an unreasonable figure to secure your property, then talking you down to the realistic price.
The best thing to do then is to get multiple valuations from different appraisers. They will determine the price of your home based on various factors like market conditions, state of the home, and value of other properties in the area. The more valuations you get, the more accurate and reasonable the price you can place on your home.
Of course, it follows that if the selling price is reasonable, and you have a valuation to prove it, investors and buyers would be more likely to do business with you.
2. Advertise in major property listing websites.
These days, everyone turns to the Internet to get what they are looking for. If you want to sell your house fast, then you need to advertise online. If you aren’t online you are missing out on a huge pool of serious buyers.
This is a quick and affordable way to get your property out there. A couple of sites drive the majority of traffic. So instead of posting an ad everywhere you should think of, go for the sites that people actually visit to buy houses.
I am not a fan of advertising in the print distributions or the paper as these ads are rarely seen and the people who are seriously looking will also be looking for your property online.
3. Put a sign on your house.
Studies have shown that, after the internet, a sign out the front of your property is one of the best ways to drive buyers.
This is a traditional way of advertising, but it definitely works! Everyone who will pass by your home will know the property is available. Ask your real estate agent to make your sign for you, as most of them are happy to provide this at a cost. The sign from your agent’s company will have their logo and your agent’s number, so potential buyers can easily ask questions related to your property.
4. Make people feel how amazing it would be to live in your home.
You know how people envy the homes they see on TV because of its big kitchen, spacious living room, or charming garden? That’s how you should make people feel when they enter your house.
Regardless of your house’s size or interior design, it can have this wow effect with the help of home staging. Things like remodelling the kitchen, changing the furniture arrangement, or the interior paint can make a huge difference.
In this post about adding value to a unit I talked about making your property feel like a home, not a box. This is so important and so many people miss this. You want an emotional buyer (emotional buyers pay more) so get them to see themselves in your home. Don’t get them thinking logically.
5. Get an experienced real estate agent.
I hired an excellent real estate agent who has a lot of experience with selling homes, and he did wonders to sell my house quickly. I suggest that you do the same, because agents have access to marketing materials and resources that will make it easier to sell your property. They also have a list of potential buyers, or previous clients who can purchase your house.
My mother recently bought a property of a real estate agent before it was advertised. She was one of the people in his pool of potential buyers and it just happened to be the right property at the right time. That is why real estate agents can be so valuable.
6. Make sure your house is inviting and comfortable.
Home staging deals with how your house looks like, but the trick doesn’t end there. You also need to make sure that your house feels like a home people would actually come home to. Real estate agents use a hint of vanilla scent to make buyers feel welcome. Most of the time, the buyers don’t even know why they feel drawn to the house, they just are.
You want to get them imaging living in the house. Sitting in the lounge room, cooking in the kitchen. Make the house as inviting as possible.
7. Make your house stand out from every other house.
If I wanted to sell my house right away, I know that I had to make it stand out in comparison to all the other houses up for sale in my neighbourhood. Make sure that there is something special about your house that will make it memorable for potential buyers.
If your property offers something that others don’t, like a pool, a home office, or a nice view, then that will be a plus for
you. Make sure you advertise this different and make sure potential buyers know that your house has a certain feature that other houses are missing.
8. Create a bidding war.
Instead of listing a selling price equal to similar properties in your vicinity, try listing your house for a lower price. This will give you many offers from potential buyers. Once you have a couple of offers, choose the highest offer then tell the other buyers about it and give them a chance to make a counter-offer.
Or you can put your property up for auction and try to create a bidding war. Gauge the market before doing this, there is nothing worse than having just one (or no) bids at an auction.
9. Improve your property’s kerb or exterior.
The exterior of your property is also important. To attract potential buyers, your home must look good, even from the outside. Many people will see your home first by driving by, so if it’s an eyesore from afar, they won’t bother take a closer look- much less come inside.
10. Create a video tour of your house and capture professional-grade pictures of your home.
One of my real estate friends from Tasmania does this excellently. He has had many enquiries and purchases because of a video and attracts many site unseen buyers because of doing this.
Videos will give you an avenue to interact with thousands of potential buyers in the Internet. You can post the link of the video on the ads you posted in property sites, too. This video will help you show buyers what’s special about your house, so get a good recorder or camera to capture this and get it professionally done.
Most people are quick to make impressions based on what they see, so you need to make sure that the videos and photos of your house look good.
These tips are not the be all and end all. We didn’t actually use a video when we sold our how. But I know many investors have had success selling their property using these tips. So pull out the items that are relevant to you and ignore the rest.
Hopefully now you don’t have to wait forever to sell your house, or take the low-ball offer you were given. Just follow these tips, and be patient. You should find a buyer soon enough.