Real Estate

Here’s How To Sell Your Home Quickly: 6 Do’s & Don’ts

By Amanda Hoey

In this article, we discuss how to sell your home quickly and mention some house selling do’s and don’ts that will ease the process.

Aside from the emotional challenge, selling your home comes with several complications, especially if it’s your first time selling real estate. It may feel like an invasion of privacy, inviting strangers into your home to poke around.

However, it’s really just part of selling your home, and the sooner your property sells, the better. Properties that have been on the market for 45 days or more are often referred to as “stale.” A stale listing makes the home less desirable to potential buyers as it’s often an indication that there’s something wrong with the property.

It’s important to familiarize yourself with the do’s and don’ts to sell your home quickly and make sure you make the sale before the listing turns stale.

Do’s of Selling Your Home

Here are some good do’s to keep in mind when you want to sell your home quickly.

Do Stage for Buyers

In the 2017 Staging Stats report from the National Association of Realtors, 49% of agents polled said that staging impacts how buyers view a property. 77% of them said buyers find it easier to visualize the home as their own if it is staged. Meanwhile, 21% of the seller’s agents said that staging a home can increase its value by 6% to 10%.

More importantly, 39% of the agents said staging a home reduces the amount of time it stays on the market. Simply put, a staged home will sell more quickly. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

  • Stage Important Rooms: Not all rooms have to be staged. Make an effort to stage important rooms in the house, such as the kitchen, master bedroom, and living room. Although you can go the extra mile, you do not necessarily have to stage the kids’ bedrooms, bathrooms, or guest bedrooms. 
  • Declutter: Before staging, make sure your place is free of clutter. Remove any unseasonal decorations or irrelevant items that will distract visitors from the attractive features of your home. 
  • Be Minimal: Minimalism goes a long way when staging your home. It gives potential buyers a chance to envision the space as their own. 

Do Use a Professional Photographer

Hire a professional photographer to take pictures of your home for the listing. You may be the designated phone photographer for house parties and gatherings, but leave your home pictures to a professional with high-end equipment. A pro will know which areas to showcase and how to frame them in a flattering light to set your home up to sell quickly.

Do Hire a Competent Agent

An experienced real estate agent can ensure your home can sell quickly. They will pull market data and help you devise the correct pricing for your home. They will also handle the paperwork and documentation, giving you time to focus on staging and cleaning the house. 

Most importantly, a competent real estate professional will market your house on the internet, including sites that only allow postings by realtors.

Don’ts of Selling Your Home

Here are a few things you should avoid if you want to sell your home quickly: 

Don’t Personalize the Space

When a potential buyer visits your house, they want to envision themselves living there. If your vacation photos are still sitting on the mantle and your kid’s trophy is resting on the TV console, visitors will have difficulty envisioning the space as their own. 

Here are a few things you should remove before a viewing if you want to sell the home quickly: 

  • Quirky or unusual furniture that only appeals to people with a set taste 
  • Family photos 
  • Personal collections 
  • Busy wallpaper 
  • Loud accent walls 
  • Toys 
  • Personal items that may be politically or socially controversial
  • Figurines, posters, antique plates, or anything lining the shelves that might divert attention from your home’s features 

While you are depersonalizing the space, do not forget your lawn or yard. When someone comes to your home, this is the first thing they lay their eyes on. Make sure you remove ceramic deer, lawn gnomes, toys, or any hobby-related gear from your lawn. 

Want to Sell a Home Quickly? Don’t Overprice 

One of the major mistakes homeowners make when they want to sell a home quickly is overpricing their homes as compared to other homes of the same type in the same locality. In Zillow Talk, the founder of Zillow explains that the housing market is rewarding for homeowners who do not overprice their properties.

When sellers price their house fairly, they not only sell their homes faster but also get 2% more value than what the home is actually worth.

Don’t Ignore Simple Repairs

Is there a patch on the wall that needs covering? Does the outlet need to be replaced? These little details can make a big difference to potential buyers.

You may be tempted to invest in more significant renovations, such as installing a new kitchen floor, but it may not be necessary. Instead, focus on more straightforward repairs and updates that can improve the quality of life of people who choose to live in the space. 

Sometimes, something may look minor to you because you have lived in your home for so long, but it’s best to get input from people who don’t live in the home. Ask a friend or family member to point out things in your home that ought to be upgraded or repaired. This could seriously help you to sell your home more quickly.

Speaking of upgrades, if you do not yet have the funds to purchase a new home or need to pay off your existing debt, a sale-leaseback program may help. With a sale-leaseback, you sell the home, eliminating your mortgage obligation, and continue to live there as a renter while moving closer to your goals, without having to worry about moving out immediately or getting loans.

Wrapping Up

The trick is to work with reliable professionals, study the market, and stage your home correctly. Now that you know how to sell your home quickly, you can move through this period of transition with confidence.

Key Takeaways

It is important to familiarize yourself with the do’s and don’ts of selling your home to make sure you make the sale before the listing turns stale.

Topics:
Real Estate
Selling
Written by Amanda Hoey
Content Marketing Manager for EasyKnock, financial and real estate writer.
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.