Are you planning on putting your house on the market? There is a secret to selling your house quickly, and if your motivated chances are you will have a sale with in 15 days.
A quick way to get started with little to no money is start going to open houses. This will give you a feel for what your home might be worth, as well as decorating ideas. It will show you ideas for curb appeal, what updates people have done, and colors they are using.
Here are a few tips for a quick sale.
Curb Appeal:
Nothing says "buy me", more than an inviting front yard. Your yard sets the tone for the rest of the visit. Clean cut grass, shrubs and bushes trimmed, house painted a neutral color, vibrant colorful flowers, and swept sidewalk & driveway. Keep in mind too much curb appeal can shy people away as well. They may think too much upkeep. Less is more.
Keeping it Neutral:
One of the biggest mistakes I see sellers make is refusing to paint over the burgundy walls that match the Tuscany themed kitchen, or covering the mural that was painted for their child's bedroom.
Paint your house neutral colors. When buyers shop for a home they imagine themselves living in it. Bright colors, get them thinking of how much more work they will need to do. This can count against you. The buyer may, in return offer much lower than your asking price.
Paint does wonders to value of a home.
Kitchens & Bathrooms:
Ironically contrary to what you might think, kitchens and bathrooms pose as the biggest deal breakers in my experience. It is very true, what you might have heard rumored, kitchen and bathrooms sell homes. If you have a great looking home and gone neutral on colors, spruced the yard, put in new flooring, but did not update the kitchen, chances are your house will sit on the market. I can not tell you how many times I have shown homes to buyers and the first comment normally out of their mouth is, "the kitchen needs updating", Red Flag.....and we move onto the next home.
Here are simple ways to update your kitchen without spending a lot of money.
1. Paint - Simply painting your cupboards, or refinishing them.
2. Walls - Paint your walls a neutral color. (beige/white/cream)
3. Flooring - Use stick tile, it is easy to use, fast to put in, and done right, looks fabulous. No one would be the wiser.
4. Countertops - Buy Granite tile, or find a granite outlet. You can save a bundle by finding remnant granite pieces. Sometime your able to find a big enough slab with out having to worry about cutting and piecing together the countertop.
5. Hardware - Depending on the type of hardware, you can get away with little cost by just adding a touch to your cupboard doors and drawers. Be careful it can get costly, remember you just want the minimum to make your kitchen look sheik.
6. Trim- Do Not Cut Corners! Buyers will notice every little feature. Remember to dot your "I's" and cross your "T's" so to speak. So pay attention to detail, your buyer sure will.
Flooring:
If you have hardwood floors, refinish them.
If you have carpet pay to have it professionally cleaned.
If carpet needs replacing stay neutral. Tan and beige seem to be a common choice.
If you plan to replace carpet with flooring, I highly recommend real hardwood. Pergo flooring, although cheaper can ward off any potential buyers. Pergo flooring is great for the pet owner.
If you choose Pergo flooring, I propose finding a professional flooring company to put it in.
Price:
You have a higher chance of selling your home if it is priced right. How do you know if you have priced your house right? If within 15 days you have an offer on your house. Over pricing your home, will end up being the biggest problem in selling your home.
Over Priced:
House sets on the market. The seller has priced his/her house above the market value. This usually means they are out of the competitive market, and other homes are selling with better features at a lower price.
Right Price:
Seller should have an offer within 15 days. This pricing category means the house is competitive with other homes on the market, and has stood out among the other listings.
Under Priced:
This is a strategy usually suggested by the sellers agent, to bring in multiple offers. This is commonly used when a seller needs to move quickly and wants to place an aggressive price. This can also be used to the advantage of the seller in hopes to get a higher priced offer than their competitors. Be careful when doing under priced listings, sometimes this can backfire.
When you decide to put your house on the market, make sure you ask your Realtor to do a CMA (comparable market analysis). This will help you get an idea of what other sellers are pricing their homes. Another suggestion is to go look at the homes of your competitors. Firstly it gives you decorating ideas, and second it tells you what your competition is. If your neighbor has granite counter tops in the kitchen, and priced their home 10k less than you, chances are if your kitchen isn't updated, their home will sell first. So be aware of your competition, it will help you in the long run.
