Selling a property can sometimes be a long and complex process. To give yourself every chance of success, follow these simple tips to sell your house.
- Choose your real estate agent carefully. If you do decide to use a realtor, make sure you choose one who meets your needs. Ask around; friends, coworkers and family might be able to recommend a good broker.
- Set a realistic selling price. Compare your house with similar homes in your neighbourhood that sold recently. Discuss the situation with your real estate agent and agree on a reasonable price.
- Have your house inspected. This will prevent unpleasant surprises if a potential buyer should request an independent inspection.
- Make essential repairs. You don’t necessarily have to renovate every room to sell your house, but do fix that leaky faucet and sticking door. Do enough renovations to freshen up an outdated decor; you might want to repaint the kitchen, change the door knobs and cupboard handles and add a few accessories that breathe new life into your house.
- Clean thoroughly. First impressions make all the difference. Your house should be impeccably clean, both inside and out. Mow the lawn, wash the windows and scrub the bathroom. Make sure there are no unpleasant odours; empty the litter box, put fabric softener sheets into shoes and open windows to air out rooms.
- Tidy up. Above all, you don’t want to give the impression that you or your home are untidy. Reorganize your pantry and clear the kitchen and bathroom counters. Empty out half of each of your clothes closets to make them appear more spacious.
- Use home staging to enhance the appeal of your house. Rearrange your furniture to maximize space; put bulky objects into storage; depersonalize the decor and replace heavy curtains with sheers that let the light in. Assign a single function to each room and don’t leave any rooms empty.
- Take more photos. To convince online home buyers that your house meets their needs, photograph every room on a sunny day.
- Be honest. You can avoid potential lawsuits by being up front. If there was a water infiltration last year, state it in your declaration, even if you had the damage cleaned and repaired and have taken all necessary steps to prevent it from happening again.
- Be available. Be ready to answer questions from potential buyers. However, give visitors their privacy during a viewing, and put your pets in a boarding kennel or at a friend’s so your visitors will feel at ease.
Even if you follow these tips to sell your house, it is possible that it might not turn over quickly as you hoped. The housing market could be slow, with few buyers looking around, or maybe there are a lot of properties for sale in your neighbourhood. For those reasons, it’s strongly recommended that you sell your house before buying another one; the last thing you want is to end up paying two mortgages at once.
