Remote working started a stampede of workers seeking to escape high urban home prices. In the New Normal, the demand for homes is changing in unexpected ways.
Some homeowners are looking for a fast house sale. They want or need to sell their home quickly to take advantage of new opportunities.
The problem is, selling a house has not always been a quick process. The average time to close on financing is 51 days. That doesn’t include the time and work prepping the home for showings. Its not always easy to know what to do first or how to sell your house fast.
Luckily, there are some options. Read on to learn more about how to sell your house fast.
Why Owners May Want to Sell Fast
There are many reasons why homeowners may want to sell their property quickly. Foreclosure can put pressure on the timing. Homeowners with an inherited property may want to sell it soon before they incur an additional tax liability.
Foundation issues, water damage, and fire damage all add up to costly repairs. Some owners are not able or don’t want to spend the money on the repairs.
Divorce is another common reason for home sales. Often the parties need and want to resolve the home sale as quickly as possible.
Sellers looking for a fast house sale don’t have time to make mistakes that cause delays. This guide about selling houses fast will help.
How to Sell Your House Fast
Your sales strategy will influence how fast your home sells.
Do you want to try to sell your home as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO)? Will you be working with an agent? Or will you list your home with an online platform that generates offers between sellers and buyers? Your homes’ location and your timeline are things to consider when deciding on your sales strategy.
Deciding what kind of buyer your home is best suited for can also help sell your home quickly.
The fastest way to sell a home is usually with a cash sale. There are different types of cash buyers.
What Kind of Buyer Is Best?
If your home is updated in an area with good schools, your ideal buyer is probably someone looking for a family home. To jumpstart finding qualified cash buyers, you can work with a broker who contacts investors or specializes in cash sales.
Of course, the fastest cash transaction is with a buyer that doesn’t require you to do any staging. You may not even need to do any repairs. You negotiate directly with the buyer for a cash sale.
Developers might be interested in your house if it’s an older home on a large lot. Investors that flip properties are always attracted to buyers looking for a fast sale.
Selling at an auction is an option. This may be attractive because you have a definite sale date and minimal interaction with buyers.
The downside to direct sales with investors or auction buyers is that you may not get as high an offer as you would with a buyer that secures a mortgage.
As you can see, selling your house quickly depends on your location, the condition of your home, and what kind of buyer you want to attract.
Here are 5 tips about selling your house fast.
Tip #1: Declutter and Cleanup
Prepping your house for a quick sale to a buyer looking for a new residence, as opposed to an investor, is all about making them feel like your house is an incredible value for the money.
To pull that off requires attention to details such as painting and minor repairs.
Before you schedule the painters, declutter and clean up first. A clear space makes it easier to get repairs and painting done. It’s much easier to repaint the inside of closets if they are not full of stuff.
A sense of spaciousness, cleanliness, and order is the number one feeling that convinces buyers that your home is spacious and move-in ready.
Storage space is important to buyers. Clear out closets, cupboards, and shelves as much as possible. Neatly organize any items in your cabinets.
Rent a storage facility to store your and huge furniture that makes rooms appear cramped or cluttered. Storage pods can make this process more convenient because they deliver the pod to your driveway.
While your family photos and souvenirs are important to you, they are a distraction for buyers. Buyers want to imagine themselves living in a home. If your personalized items surround them, it is harder for them to picture living in that house.
If you have been avoiding cleaning out the garage, now is the time to bite the bullet and tackle that job. Garage items that you don’t use very much should go straight to the storage space. Before showing your house, the garage should be almost empty.
A Sparkling Clean Interior
If there was ever a time to splurge on professional cleaning, now is the time. After you’ve completed the painting and repairs, hire a professional cleaning crew to come in to deep clean the whole house, room by room.
Baseboards, carpets, kitchen and bathroom floors, and ceiling fixtures should all be cleaned. If you have pets, consider asking if a family member or close friend can keep them while your house is on the market. If not, be sure that you don’t have any pet odors in the home when potential buyers are people are viewing.
Tip #2: Make the Most Bang for Your Buck Repairs
If you plan to sell your house quickly, this is not the time to start a major renovation project. Instead, focus on the quick repairs that will have the most impact on the cosmetic appearance of your home.
Walk through your home from a buyer’s point of view. Are there minor imperfections or deferred maintenance that you have been putting off fixing? Well, now is the time to do that.
Painting is an obvious fix. After you declutter, consider repainting the whole house interior. Stay away from strong color choices; your paint choice to be as neutral as possible.
Even if you don’t paint the whole house, be sure to repaint any areas with peeling paint, dirt, or showing wear and tear.
Kitchens and Bathrooms Are Key
Kitchens and bathrooms are prime areas for quick upgrades. Replace any dated fixtures. Consider purchasing new matching appliances for the kitchen and laundry areas.
Tighten dripping faucets and repair any loose tiles. Installing new cabinet hardware in the kitchen and bathroom is a fast way to update older cabinets.
Stains and dirt in bathrooms are a major turn-off. Do you have an older porcelain bathtub that needs to be replaced? Save time and money by reglazing it instead.
Once your home is freshly decluttered with all the repairs finished, the next step is to stage it for open houses and viewings.
Professional stagers are interior design experts who set an inviting tone and create interiors to complement your home’s best features. A stager can work with your furniture or bring in their furniture and furnishings.
Tip #3: Amp up the Curb Appeal
Buying a home is an emotional process for some buyers—the first impression matters. Your home’s curb appeal can have a negative or positive impact on the initial offer.
Walk around the outside of your house and make a list of any easy cosmetic repairs that need attention. Replace torn screens and sagging gutters.
Haul away any large objects stored next to or behind the garage or in an outbuilding. If your neighbors have messy yards or barking dogs, consider putting in a privacy fence.
Hire a landscaping service to plant flowers and trim all hedges, shrubs, and overgrown tree limbs. Make sure that pathways and sidewalks are clean and repaired.
Clean all the windows and screens. Remove spiderwebs and any other evidence of insects from the porch and deck. Replace old light fixtures and mailboxes.
Finally, repaint or replace the front door. Install a new door lock that sends a message of security and stability.
Tip #4: Request an All-Cash Offer
One proven way to sell your house faster is to ask for an all-cash offer.
Whether your strategy is to work with an agent or do an FSBO, finding a buyer to make a cash offer will speed up the process. You still have to do a title search and other steps, but you won’t have to wait for the buyer to close on their financing.
With all-cash offers, you might be able to close in as little as two weeks. Buyers naturally expect to get the best deal possible for a lower price. The tradeoff is you gain time and convenience by taking the mortgage out of the equation.
If you want to attract a cash buyer looking for a new home to live in, you will need to do some networking with brokers and investor groups.
Your pricing can influence the buyer’s sense of urgency. A good price in a competitive market can speed up the process and help you sell your house faster.
If networking and house prepping sound like a lot of work, that’s because it is. There is another way to sell your house faster, without the open houses, marketing, and staging.
Working Directly With a Buyer
With some all-cash offers, you work directly with a buyer. Some buyers want to negotiate repairs; others are happy to purchase as-is. Some online platforms are now using technology to further streamline the cash offer process.
You may be able to close in 2 weeks or less. One potential downside is you may not make as much money on a cash house sale as you would from a buyer getting a mortgage. The tradeoff is you won’t have to spend the time and money prepping the home to stage and show.
Some types of homes are easier to sell for all cash than others.
Homes in good school districts that need updating are attractive to cash buyers. Homes in popular Airbnb destinations are attracting investors, too.
Is the rental market in your area strong? Some landlords are looking for investment homes. Check out vacancy rate trends and what rents are for similar properties in the area.
Lastly, don’t forget to spend time perfecting your listing.
The Listing – Write it Right
A listing description is like a first impression – you only get one chance. Your agent and their team can help you perfect your listing description. A good listing description should include:
- Highlight the parts of your home that offer the features your ideal buyer wants.
- Talk up your neighborhood, mentioning all the positives such as school districts, distance to restaurants, entertainment, and parks.
- Build in some urgency by setting a deadline for submitting offers.
- Use professional photos. Poorly list amateur photos don’t attract high-end buyers.
To make your listing more searchable, include keywords in listings for homes that sold fast in your area.
Tip #5: Work With a Top Agent for a Fast House Sale
An experienced agent with contacts with investors and cash buyers can help you sell your home faster. They can connect you with cash buyers more quickly than networking on your own. Look for an agent with a network of investors and contacts with all-cash buyers.
Agents can help you with strategic questions like sales incentives for cash buyers and setting a timeline for price reductions.
An agent with good knowledge of the local market can also help you time your listing for the best results.
They can help your home stand out to qualified buyers. Your agent or their team will also help you with showing the property, freeing up your schedule from having to organize open houses and host last-minute showings.
Spark demand with a Coming Soon strategy. Similar to a save-the-date card for a wedding, you can create a coming soon period to generate buyer interest in your property before it even hits the market.
Depending upon your location, this can cut down the timing between your listing going live and your first offers.
The Right Tradeoffs for a Fast House Sale
Creating a strategy for how to sell your house fast depends upon the house’s location and condition. You will want to consider tradeoffs of convenience and time savings vs. getting the highest possible offer price.
This guide about selling house should help. If you have any questions about streamlined ways to sell your house fast, we can help you with that. Contact us or call 910-632-0516. We’re here to help.