Real Estate

5 Essential Tips on How to Sell a House Fast

By Tom Burchnell

Not all home sales are created equal. Some homeowners want to find just the right buyer, so they take their time. Some want the highest price possible and are reluctant to negotiate. Others, however, need to figure out how to sell a house fast. If you fall into this category, your priorities and strategies will be different.

How to Sell a House Fast

If your goal is to sell a house as fast as possible, you need to catch the attention of buyers and entice them to make offers without a lot of deliberation. Here are some ideas for getting that to happen.

1. Stage Like a Professional

Sellers usually know that it’s important to deep-clean, update features, and slap on a fresh coat of paint if they want to attract high-paying buyers. But if your priority is learning how to sell a house fast, you’ll want to go the next step into home staging

If cleaning and repairing are like taking a shower and shaving before a big night out, staging is the makeup and some tasteful jewelry. Your house was nice before, but after staging, it’s an absolute must-have.

How the Pros Do It

Real estate agents tend to encourage sellers to hire professional stagers if possible, since they know all the tricks of the trade that can help your home stand out. They can cost between $500 and $5,000, but if that’s outside of your budget, here are a few things you can do by yourself:

  • Put out bowls of colorful fruit in the kitchen
  • Minimize furnishings and arrange them for visual appeal 
  • Create spa baskets in bathrooms for a luxurious effect
  • Add potted flowers and plants to outdoor decks, porches, and patios   

These techniques give the property that extra touch and, hopefully, encourage buyers to act before someone else snatches it up. This expense will hopefully work in your favor to help you sell a house fast.

Concealing the Evidence

Staging isn’t just about adding things. You also need to get rid of or store any old and ratty furnishings as well as any personal items like family photos. Buyers want to see themselves and their families in a home, and evidence of your household’s daily life can get in the way.

Photograph the Result

Once the staging is done, take plenty of photos. High-quality images are often the most influential factor in attracting buyers online, which is where most of today’s buyers start to look for new properties.  

You can do the photography yourself, as long as you have a camera that is at least a five-megapixel model and can make the lighting look bright and appealing. If you’re not much of a photographer, consider hiring a professional. Having the right photographs can be a great way to help you sell a house fast.

2. Price It Competitively

A home that is overpriced or underpriced can be a deal-breaker no matter how good the property looks, but a well-priced property can entice buyers even if it isn’t perfect. If you’re figuring out how to sell your home quickly, listing price should be one of the first things you consider.

The best way to figure out the right price is to work with a good real estate agent. He or she will help you to consider such factors as:

  • The house’s age 
  • The value of updates or additions 
  • Total square footage 
  • The recent selling price of comparable homes nearby

Today’s buyers do their research. No matter how much you need the money, don’t price your home above average, or they’ll know it. It tends to be a better idea to price on the low end if you want to sell a house fast because then you could get several buyers willing to outbid each other.

3. Offer Incentives

Buyers usually have plenty of listings to choose from, so make yours stand out. Start by thinking about financial incentives, such as:

  • Paying the buyer’s property taxes for two years
  • Covering all closing costs
  • Gifting the buyer with cleaning services for a year
  • Pre-paying insurance for a year

Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. A free weekend at a family or friend’s beach house, complimentary packing help, or a guided tour of local attractions can all catch the attention of a buyer at minimal to no additional cost for you as the seller. These perks can help you sell a house fast.

4. Get the Media Involved

Does your home have an interesting history? Are there unique architectural features? Is your interior design particularly on-trend or unique? 

Real estate stories have an audience, and there are probably writers out there looking for a story like yours. Make sure your home looks its best, take some professional high-resolution photos, and then go shopping for takers. A house is likely to sell fast if it has an interesting history.    

Choose the Right Audience

When making queries, you’ll want to choose publications that are a good match. Contact local newspapers and newsletter publishers as well as larger real estate, home improvement, or home décor magazines.

5. Sell Your Home, Without Moving

Any of these techniques can help you to fast-track a traditional sale, but sometimes even that isn’t fast enough. Or it might be too quick if, after you figure out how to sell your property fast, you have to figure out where to live and how to move there.

A sale-leaseback solves both problems – it buys your property, thus allowing you to convert your equity, while you stay in place as a renter.   

Key Takeaways

When you’re looking for ways to sell a house fast, there are several tactics you can take. Talk to a realtor today to learn more about these options and to decide if a sale-leaseback program might be a good solution for you.

Topics:
Sell
Selling
Written by Tom Burchnell
Director of Product Marketing
Disclaimer

This article is published for educational and informational purposes only. This article is not offered as advice and should not be relied on as such. This content is based on research and/or other relevant articles and contains trusted sources, but does not express the concerns of EasyKnock. Our goal at EasyKnock is to provide readers with up-to-date and objective resources on real estate and mortgage-related topics. Our content is written by experienced contributors in the finance and real-estate space and all articles undergo an in-depth review process. EasyKnock is not a debt collector, a collection agency, nor a credit counseling service company.