As we all know by now, selling a house can be a stressful experience. This is especially true if you’re trying to do it on your own and without a broker. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Whether you know it or not, there are several things that you can do now that will help you get your house sold faster and at a higher price. So if you’re wondering, “How can I sell my home fast?” then rest assured that you’re at the right place.
Here are just a few of the many things that you can do to help get your home sold faster, and without paying a hefty broker commission.
Showcase Your Home The Right Way
If you want to attract buyers from the internet, you have to make sure that you’re presenting your home in the best possible light. And the way to do that is with high-quality photos. You’re going to want to make sure that your home’s presentation stands out above the crowd of other FSBO sellers in your local market. If you consider yourself a decent photographer, shooting the photos yourself should be no problem. However, if your photo skills are amateur at best, consider hiring a pro.
Understand that the goal is to focus on your home’s spaces and make them inviting and livable. It can be a challenge to do this in smaller and medium-sized homes. Using the right lens and lighting, however, can go a long way. This is when tapping into the skills of a professional photographer can really pay off. Remember, that in almost all cases, your home’s pictures will create that critical first impression.
Add Accents and Decor Upgrades Where Needed
Your home should have a certain level flair that will grab a prospective home buyer’s attention. Consider putting a tasteful painting or print on those bare walls to add an air of class to the room. It may seem counter-intuitive to spend money while trying to profit from your home sale, but the relative pennies spent on things like this will almost always pay off in the end.
Also, consider upgrading any old furniture or accessories. Replacing (or reupholstering) a tattered old sofa can do wonders to the overall look of a living room, as just one example. Whether or not you leave that sofa behind after selling, it will have done its job in the sales effort.
While updating the décor is always a good thing, don’t forget about “de-cluttering” as I discussed in an earlier post. The more personal items you can remove from the view of the home, the better.
Fix What Needs To Be Fixed
Rest assured that anything a buyer sees in a home in need of repair or replacement will be added to the “debit” column when coming up with an offering price. This can be an issue if you’re already trying to sell your home at a lower price than the market comps dictate to try to get a quick sale.
Whether it’s old peeling paint, cracked floor tile, or missing roof shingles, taking care of the obvious issues now will go a long way come offer time. This is just one of many reasons that I recommend having a home inspection done first on another post. Rest assured that even if a prospective buyer misses something initially, it won’t be missed during their own home inspection before closing. And yes, there’s nothing worse than a buyer backing out of a deal because of an avoidable issue that’s found during inspection.
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Check Out Your Local Market Before Pricing
This is one of the first things you should be doing before proceeding with trying to sell your home. You’ll want a clear picture of what your home is worth in the current market. There are several ways that you can compare prices in your market without having to talk to a broker. Check out sites like Zillow to see what’s selling in your local area that’s comparable to your home.
Understand that you’re going to want to find the “sweet spot” in your market. That’s where your price isn’t too high that it will scare off buyers, while not being too low that you’re leaving profit or equity on the table unnecessarily.
One of the biggest challenges that FSBO home sellers have is when it comes to pricing. Oftentimes, they will set their prices at levels that are not competitive with other homes in the area, especially homes that are listed by brokers. Pricing a home too high is one of the most common problems that FSBO sellers face. That usually happens because they didn’t research their local market well enough.
Exploit The Power Social Media
Understand that you can market your FSBO home all over the internet, and in many places for FREE. Leveraging social media can definitely help get the word out. Sure, your friends or family may not necessarily be looking for a new home in your area, but they may know someone who is. It’s this power of networking that can help draw in prospective buyers.
Have A Winning Strategy In Place Before Trying To Sell
Another huge mistake that many FSBO sellers make is that they go into selling mode willy-nilly and by shooting in the dark. They have no plan in place, no strategy, no organization and it ends up costing them dearly in time and money. Before deciding to put your home on the selling block, make sure that you have a complete game plan ready to go.
You’re going to want to know how you’re going to advertise and promote your home (and set a budget for that), what key steps you’ll need to take and in what order, and even set goals that will lead right up to closing. As I always say, “Preparation is Everything”.
Hopefully these tips will set you off in the right direction. Keep in mind that you’ll to expend more time and effort when selling your home on your own as opposed to using a broker’s services. After all, that’s why you’d be paying them a commission, so they will do the heavy lifting. While it’s a challenge to do a FSBO sale, it doesn’t need to be difficult. And yes, it’s quite feasible to do. All that’s needed is taking the right steps, and getting the right kind of help when you need it.
