Selling your home can be a big decision to make. Whatever reasons you have, doing so isn’t just placing a ‘for sale” sign on your front yard or posting photos of your home on the Internet. A home sale can be an overwhelming task that requires adequate planning and preparation to ensure a more desirable outcome.
So, if you’ve decided to put your home up for sale, here’s a five-item checklist you should consider from the get-go:
1.Choose Your Selling Method
It’s essential to decide how you want to sell your home. Essentially, homeowners like you can explore different selling options. These can include:
- Listing your home through a real estate agent: This is one of the common ways of putting your property up for sale. Unless you’re an expert in the real estate market, you may need the assistance of a real estate agent to get your property sold as quickly as possible. They know how the market works, plus they have professional connections, making the selling process much easier and faster. With their knowledge, skills, and expertise, they can sell your home at a reasonable price.
- Listing your property by yourself: This selling method can be an excellent option if you don’t want to pay for commission fees and other rates associated with working with a real estate agent. However, putting your home up for sale by yourself requires a lot of preparation as you need to do all the selling steps on your own. Unless you personally know of someone who wants to buy your home, you might be unable to sell it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, you might have to wait until a potential homebuyer from the market pings you.
- Using seller financing method: This is another option of selling your home more conveniently. Under seller financing, the buyer pays the down payment, and the remaining balance will be paid each month. Once the buyer is fully paid, the title passes to the buyer. However, if you have a mortgage, using seller financing as a selling method might become more complicated. Thus, if you want to know how to sell your house fast, you consider talking to cash homebuyers in your area.
- Selling your home to a cash homebuyer: If you need instant cash from the sale proceeds of your house, choosing this selling method can be a great idea. Many cash homebuyers in the market are willing to purchase residential properties on an as-is-where-is basis. This means you don’t need to make some repairs or home upgrades before you can put up your home for sale.
2. Conduct A Pre-Sale Home Inspection
Now that you’re familiar with the different selling methods, it’s time to conduct a pre-sale home inspection. Doing this task gives you an ample opportunity to execute some repairs or home upgrades, and calculate your property’s selling price accordingly. The inspector will identify the areas that require renovations, and put them down to writing during the inspection. You can use the findings to get the trouble areas fixed or renovated for the actual home selling process
3.Price Your Home
Setting the selling price of your property is one of the essential aspects of putting it up for sale. Without a fair and reasonable price, you can’t sell your home as promptly as possible. Hence, it’s essential to understand its value in pricing your dwelling. Research the local real estate market in your area to scope out the competition, and determine homes in your area that are selling fast.
Also, take a look at your home’s working condition and location. For instance, you can consider the improvements you’ve made and the proximity of essential establishments to your residential property. In most cases, homes near lively communities and schools have higher prices than those in other areas.
4.Clean And Declutter
When putting up your property for sale in the market, you also need to clean and declutter to increase its value. Since photos will be taken of your house to make it look more attractive, you should take these tasks seriously.
To make the house shine, clean the carpets, walls, windows, baseboards, and other essential areas. If you’re on a tight schedule, you can hire a cleaning service to do deep cleaning for you. When it comes to decluttering, make sure the least-used and unnecessary items should be placed in boxes, and arranged in the basement or garage. By doing all these things, you can rest easy, knowing your property looks spotless during the selling process.
5.Carry Out The Necessary Repairs And Upgrades
If you want to sell your property fast at a good price, it’s best to make the necessary repairs. You can check the inspection checklist to know which things or areas require fixes or upgrades. For example, you can change the doorknobs, patch up cracks, repair roofing, and do other home improvement projects.
If your home’s exterior also needs magnification for the curb appeal, it’s also a good idea to give your driveway or patio an aesthetic boost to attract more homebuyers. For instance, you can pressure wash your driveway or give your exterior walls a fresh coat of paint. By making such repairs and upgrades, you can increase your chances of closing the deal at the right price.
Bottom Line
Dealing with a home sale can be daunting since there are several things to consider from the get-go. But, the process doesn’t need to be difficult as long as you keep this checklist in mind. Remember, the more you’re aware of what to do, the more you achieve a seamless selling experience for you and your homebuyer.
