Putting your home on the market can be stressful. It can take some strength of character to hear people you do not know come through and comment on the home you may have loved for years. You have to listen to experts who may have very different ideas about what is and is not stylish or attractive. As hard as it can be, they are experts. Their goal is not to hurt your feelings, but to help you in selling your home as quickly as possible while getting you the best deal for your home.
Use These Tips When Selling Your Home:
- Clean out the clutter
One good rule is to take a quarter to half of your belongings and put them in storage. If you cannot put something in storage, pack it up and take this opportunity to get rid of other items you have not used in a long time. This can be a good time to give your unwanted items to charity. (Remember to make a list of anything you donate as you can take that off of your taxes.) Your closets should all be only half full at the most. Home buyers will be nosy and will look through your closets, so make sure you do not leave anything in them that you do not want people to find. You can also hire someone to stage your house before you have a lot of people come through. - Talk to more than one real estate agent
Talk to your friends and family about realtors. You probably know someone who has bought or sold a home in your area. Find out what realtors have good track records for selling homes in your city. Look online for reviews of real estate agents. Talk to a few about how they would go about selling your home. - Put away the kitty cat and cute dog
We all love our pets, but people will not be impressed by a full cat littler box or home that is filled with dog toys. You do not have to get rid of your animals when you are selling your home, but you should de-emphasize their presence in your home. Clean the litter. Take the pets to an animal hotel for the day if you have an open house. Also, if you have indoor animals, they are safer if they are not in your home during an open house where they can get scared and run out. - Upgrade the right things
If you have an option to redo the plumbing or repaint, you should repaint your home. Do things that are visible before you do things that are not. Unless there is a crazy leak that will destroy part of your home, focus on things people will notice. - Make your real estate listing is searchable online
Make your online home listing attractive. Include photos and details about the house and the neighborhood. More than 92% of homebuyers use the Internet to help them with that search. When many people start to look for a house to buy, they start online. In fact, the first thing nearly 42% of all first time home buyers do when they first start looking at houses is an online search. Only 14% start with a real estate agent. Of the people who looked online to search for houses, more than 87% looked at photos, and another 84% looked at in depth details about the homes that interested them. - Set the right price for your home
Real estate pricing can be tricky. This is one of the most important things you can do in selling your home. Have an expert come in and find out what your home is actually worth. Then, take between 15 and 20% off of that price. You will be surprised by how many people put in bids on your home. Even when the real estate market is bad, people will bid on your home. This will drive the actual price you get up beyond that number you started with.
With the right work and planning, selling your home does not have to be a long and painful process. Follow these tips and you can sell your home in no time.
