To sell, or not to sell? Do I list with a Realtor, sell it myself or go with an investor? Which plan will work best for my situation? The answers to these questions can only be answered on a case-by-case basis. Even though selling a house can sometimes seem quite easy to do, it really could be rather complicated if the house is not well prepared for the market. The reason is simply because most buyers love to give value to their money and will therefore never settle for a property in bad condition. Thus, for a seller to easily find the typical buyer, he or she should ensure that the home or property is first in excellent selling condition. Below, I list a few tips for selling a house fast if you are taking the traditional route of placing your home on the market with a Realtor or if you are trying to sell it yourself and have time to wait for your qualifying buyer. If you need to sell your house quickly and are open to all cash offers, then you can bypass these steps, which we’ll talk about at the end, and go straight to a Real Estate Investor, sell the property as is and walk away from the responsibility in, many times, under 2-3 weeks:
1) Ensure that the house is thoroughly cleaned
One of the smartest things to do to your house before selling it is to clean it thoroughly before you open it up to potential buyers. The reason is that the typical buyer is not interested in buying a dirty or shabby looking house. Thus, sellers should ensure that their properties for sale are void of cobwebs, dust, dirty dishes, kitchens, bathrooms, unmade beds, and cluttered closets. As a matter of fact, the house should be vacuumed, swept, mopped, and built-in equipment, like refrigerators and stoves, should be properly cleaned and the house should smell good as well.
2) Ensure repairs are made where necessary
Obviously, houses depreciate as the years go by, especially as people live their normal day-to-day lives in them. Thus, it is imperative for sellers to examine depreciated parts of the house and make repairs where necessary before exposing it to potential buyers. For instance, sellers should repair any roof leaks, holes in the walls, damaged floors, light fixtures, plumbing, electrical issues, etc. You may need to paint or replace items such as kitchen equipment or water heaters. Remember, after spending thousands of dollars for a house, most people are reluctant to spend additional money on renovations.
3) Remove all personalized items from the house
I encourage you to remove or move personalized items such a family portraits and photos of loved ones from the house. Reason being, removing personalized items is an indication that the seller is willing to let go of the property. Most potential buyers are only interested in the beautiful life they could make for themselves in their potential new home. So removing personalized items could potentially attract buyers faster.
4) Advertise the house
The importance of advertising and marketing your property cannot be overemphasized. Thus, after cleaning, repairing and removing personalized items from the house, the next step would be to advertise or list your house for sale. If you are going the traditional route, this is where you would bring a Licensed Realtor into the picture, sign your contract with him or her and have your Realtor find potential buyers for you. If you are selling the property yourself, you can advertise through social media, real estate magazines, popular real estate blogs, and websites. This will help expose the property to potential buyers and hopefully, get you appointments to showcase your house.
5) Selling your property to All Cash Buyers (
Investors)
Selling your property for an all cash sale can typically happen in less than 3 weeks, so you can move on with your life. Selling your house through traditional methods can take months or even years, if it sells at all. It also takes a lot of effort and finances to make the necessary repairs to list the house, not to mention the time and headache frequently involved in closing the deal. Real Estate investors, such as Big and Small Properties, LLC, buy houses as is, pays all cash and closes quickly. So, although you’re selling your property at a discount, because you’re being paid the total amount in all cash, you save money on repairs, brokerage fees, and time.
So, what will work best for your situation?
