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Cleaning and Decluttering the House
Accumulating stuff is normal for everyone, especially after living in a house for some years. The problem is, those same things can make the house appear smaller than it is.
Furthermore, you will find it extremely hard to convince someone to buy your house, if it’s disorganized, messy or full of clutter everywhere.
So, if you want to sell your home fast, then you should do yourself a favor and declutter it before you open it for viewing. Some of the places that you need to pay close attention to when cleaning and decluttering include:
- Inside cabinets and closets
- Kitchen countertops
- Basements and garage
- Floors and room corners
- Doors, baseboards and scuffed walls
You also need to remove all your personal effects from the house, such as family photos. Removing yourself out of the house will allow the potential buyer to picture themselves living in that space.
You can rent a storage unit temporarily outside the house to store what you need. After taking what you need, you can donate or trash all the other things, depending on their condition.
Choosing a Selling Strategy
When it’s time to sell your home, you will need to choose a selling strategy that aligns best with your situation. And in this case, you have two main options to consider. First, you can opt to sell the house yourself, a method known as for sale by owner or FSBO. Second, you can hire a real estate agent to help you with the process.
If you’ve sold a home or a piece of property before, then you can opt to sell the house by yourself. Selling the house by yourself means that you will save on realtors’ commissions. On the other hand, you will have to entire process on your own, which can prove to be excruciating and time-consuming.
As for hiring an agent, you will not have to file any paperwork, handle the negotiations, market the house or anything else related to the process. Your agent will handle all those processes for you. But of course, you will have to pay them the 6% commission for their services.
Pricing the House Right
As much as you don’t want to leave a single dollar on the table, you need to be realistic when pricing your house. So, you need to get over your pride and set the right price for the house.
The days of overpricing a house because you feel it’s in a good location are long gone. Buyers now have access to more information about properties than ever before, thanks to technology.
Therefore, they will compare your house to similar properties in the neighborhood and decide whether it’s worth the price quoted, even before they can come to view it.
And if your home is overpriced, then it will definitely stay longer on the market, even if you decide to reduce the prices later on. Eventually, you may be forced to sell it below its market price.
Instead of overpricing your home, you’d rather underprice it slightly than similar homes in the area. And when you do that, there is a high chance you will attract many potential buyers, meaning you will sell it on your own terms.
Undertaking Some Minor Repairs and Renovations
While you don’t have to undertake major repairs or upgrades, minor repairs and renovations can go a long way in helping you to sell your home in 5 days.
So, you need to take a tour of your house and make a list of the areas that may need some repairs or upgrades.
For instance, you can fix loose tiles, add a fresh coat of paint in the kitchen, repair loose door handles, repair leaky faucets, or install new shower curtains.
You can also undertake minor upgrades like installing new kitchen hardware and bathroom cabinets, replacing outdated light fixtures, or buying matching appliances.
As you can see, you have plenty of inexpensive ways of sprucing up your home. And when you do it right, you will attract buyers fast, meaning you will get value for the money spent.
Sprucing Up the Curb Appeal
Most homebuyers will decide whether to view the inside of a house, based on the curb appeal. In short, how your home appears from the street will determine whether you attract buyers or not.
Hence, if you want your home to sell fast, then you must be ready to enhance its curb appeal. The good news is, there are hundreds of simple and inexpensive ways of sprucing your home’s curb appeal such as:
- Trimming the shrubs
- Pressure washing the exterior
- Adding a bold color to the front door
- Adding a fresh coat of paint to the exterior
- Adding porch seating
- Updating the siding
- Clearing and cleaning the walkways, sidewalks and other pathways
You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to spruce up your curb appeal. A few touches here and there will enhance your home’s curb appeal and bring in plenty of potential buyers.
Hiring a Stager
Staging is a popular practice in home sales, especially for those who want to sell their houses fast. Professional stagers will help to define your house and the spaces while making your rooms appear bigger than they are.
And since you want to sell your house fast, it will be in your best interests to hire a professional stager. Stagers will come with their own furniture, décor and furnishings. They will then arrange them in a way that brings out your home’s best features while making it feel warm and inviting.
While it may cost you a few hundred dollars to hire a professional stage, it will be money well spent, especially if it will help to sell your home in 5 days.
Flexibility With Viewings
Selling your home in 5 days is your goal. And so, you will need to be as flexible as possible when potential buyers request to view the house.
For example, some buyers may request to view the house in the morning before leaving for work while others may want to see the house in the evening after work. Some may even request to view it during their lunch breaks.
And If you are not willing to accommodate their schedules, then you may find it extremely hard to sell it fast.
If you can’t manage to accommodate the buyer’s schedules for any reason, then you can hire someone to do it on your behalf. Whether you opt to conduct the viewings yourself or you decide to hire an agent, make sure the house is always available for viewings.
Selling to Cash Buyers
Besides selling the house by yourself or using a realtor, you can opt to sell your house to cash buyers.
Selling to cash buyers provides an easier and faster means of selling your house. And you can even manage to sell your home in 5 days or even less. Some of the available cash buyers include house flippers, buy and hold investors as well as house flippers.
House Flippers
House flippers offer convenience and speed. Furthermore, they will be willing to buy your house regardless of its location, age, size or condition. But as you may expect, they will buy your house below the market value. Also, there is no much room for negotiation.
Buy-and-Hold Investors
Buy-and-hold investors are companies or individuals that buy homes for cash, and then rent them out, thus generating passive income from the property.
Considering they usually purchase homes that are ready to rent, then are likely going to choose properties that are in great condition. The good news is, they are willing to pay fair market value for your house.
But like the house flippers, there is not much room for negotiation. Also, buy-and-hold investors may not be a good option for you, if you are selling a distressed property or the house is located in a neighborhood with low demand for rentals.
iBuyers
These are the new players on the market. They use algorithmic valuation modeling to determine the approximate value of your house. Once they determine the value of your house, they will then make an instant offer.
Compared to other cash buyers, iBuyers offer the fastest sale timeline. They will make the first offer within 24 to 48 hours after your house is listed on the marketplace. And if everything goes well, then you can expect to close the deal within a few days.
With the right approach, selling your home in 5 days is definitely achievable. But considering that, your main priority is speed, cash buyers will be the best option for this case. As much as you may not receive as much money as you may want from the sale, cash buyers will take the house off your hands fast, giving you the money that you need to deal with the issue at hand.
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