Do you need to get your house sold quickly? Whether you need to get rid of the house due to a short sale, downsizing, or because you found a job in another location, there are a few strategies that you can use to sell your home quickly and at a reasonable price. Selling a house requires a lot of work on behalf of the seller, and it can be stressful if you are crunched for time. Try a few of these tricks to help you get your home sold in time, and still get a reasonable amount for it.
Price the Home Below Market Value
The easiest way to sell your home is to sell it for less than market value. By looking at other homes in your area and asking for 10 percent less than that amount, your house looks a great value in a great part of town. In many cases, you will start a bidding war between buyers who want to snap up the best deal on the market before it goes away. Obviously, you still want to get a reasonable amount for the home, but you’ll be surprised at how much it helps to set your price at a little below market value—it will surely draw plenty of buyers in for you.
Hire a Cleaning Crew
If you’re in a rush to get your home sold, it will be worth the investment to hire a cleaning crew to come in and get the home ready for showings. You’ll be much to busy with preparing other things for the move to clean it yourself, and you’ll be surprised how much better your home will look if you leave the cleaning up to the pros. Let cleaners and movers clear the home so that you’re prepared for when people come to look at it. Getting professionals to do things like clean the carpets, spray for bugs, or fix broken window panes will truly go a long way with potential buyers. If the move is a bit unexpected, your home might be a disaster zone, and this definitely won’t help you find a buyer any faster. Presenting a clean, sanitized, and organized home for those who come to look at it gives you a much greater chance of finding a buyer quickly.
Sell When Others Are Selling
Do your best to sell the house at a time when others in the neighborhood are selling. This takes advantage of extra traffic that will be driving by your house due to the other sales in the area. If your home is priced less than the others, your home will be among the first to be sold. You may not have much of a choice if you’re pressed for time, however, if you can start looking for buyers around the same time as others in the neighborhood, you’re more likely to find interested buyers to come take a look at the house while they’re in the area.
Keep the Appliances With the House
For many buyers, furnishings and other appliances can be a huge selling point. By keeping the new refrigerator in the home or offering to leave behind some of your furniture, you sweeten the deal for a prospective buyer. You also benefit because you won’t have as much to take with you if you have a long move ahead of you. Although this may seem like a small thing, for some buyers it could really help seal the deal. If your appliances are still in good condition, consider leaving them in the home in order to draw interest from prospective buyers.
Offer Closing Cost Assistance
Coming up with the money for closing costs and a down payment is the biggest hurdle for a potential home buyer. Offering assistance with the down payment and closing costs could help you sell your home with ease. Typically, a seller is allowed to offer a rebate of up to 6 percent to help with closing costs and other fees. This could save a home buyer as much as $6,000 for each $100,000 being spent on the home. This can help if you find a buyer who isn’t in as much of a rush as you are. If you’re trying to get the home sold as soon as possible, helping with closing costs could help you find the perfect buyer.
When you need to sell your home quickly, you need to be willing to entice buyers and negotiate whenever possible. By offering closing cost assistance, pricing the house below market value and timing the sale just right, you could have an offer on your home within 24 hours of showing the property. While selling a home is stressful (especially when you’re constrained by time), if you put in a little extra effort, you’ll have the home sold in no time—allowing you to focus on moving to your next destination.
