Home Selling Hacks
Home selling hacks can be simple, yet powerful. Use our favorites below and maximize your home selling success!
Who doesn’t want to sell their home for top dollar, no matter where they live or what the economy is like? It can be a tall order, but one that is definitely possible, thanks to these Home Selling Hacks! Ensure you start out on the right foot the second you list your property!
1. First Impressions Matter
Many first impressions of your home will happen online. It’s been stated that about 98% of buyers start their search online. If they don’t like what they see, they’ll quickly move on to the next home.
Many recommend hiring a professional photographer. They will use proper lighting and lenses to make your house appear bigger, brighter and amazing to everyone searching for a new home.
Once a potential buyer walks in, make that positive first impression last by getting rid of clutter. Store items that aren’t needed to help create a positive first impression. This will help increase your curb appeal when you do have potential buyers walk through your home!
You may need to put in a little elbow grease and spend a little money to make sure the exterior of your home looks spick and span. However, it could boost your property’s sales value, so it’s worth it! Also, double check that there aren’t any smells that may cause a potential buyer to cringe the second they walk in.
It will put you one step closer to selling your home for the price you want. Your home will be looking its best in no time.
2. Set The Stage
Countless studies have shown that staging your home can help to sell it quicker and for more money than if you wouldn’t stage your home. They can help you reduce the stress of making your home presentable. They also know exactly what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to placing items around your home.
But it can get a little pricey!
To help with costs, you can work on boxing up your personal possessions and photographs yourself. You want a potential buyer to picture their own life and family in your space. They don’t want to be reminded of how you currently decorate the home with your own knick-knacks!
To help with costs, you can also borrow items from friends and family that may work better in your home to stage it. Or buy inexpensive accent pieces to add pops of color and spruce up your space. You also will want to make sure you spend a lot of time and effort on the entry area of your home. It’s been shown that 80% of prospective buyers admit that they know if a home is right for them or not within seconds of stepping inside.
Make that entryway perfect!
3. Choosing The Right Agent
This is our specialty here at Zipi Wiki! You may want to do a little of your own research to begin with. Start by getting educated on what is selling in your neighborhood, how long it has been on the market, and selling price. These are the homes that are competing against yours, so it pays to be in the loop!
While many find their agent through a referral from a friend or family member, it may not work out to settle on the first person who comes your way. They may not be familiar with what you need and it may hurt your chances of selling your house quickly. That’s why a service like Zipi Wiki makes all the difference in the world! We’ll use data you provide us with and give you a history of agents that would be well suited for your needs.
Find how much experience an agent has. Are they a full-time business? Can they provide references? You want to make sure they will market your home in the best way possible. They also need to be involved in figuring out the pricing/incentives that could be used to help your home sell fast, and for top dollar!
It’s also important to find out what they may tweak if things don’t start off well when you list your home. Will they update your listing? Add video? Stay on top of how an open house may help your chances to gain critical feedback on what may not be working?
Choosing the right agent is imperative!
4. Correctly Pricing The Home
Making sure that you and your agent understand your home’s market and the types of buyers that may be most interested in your home is critical!
If you price your home too high, it will go stale with little activity. People start to really believe something must be wrong with your home. You don’t want this to happen! If you price your home too low, you leave money on the table.
Always get an expert real estate agent’s opinion (or 2 or 3) to make sure you are priced just right. There really is a magic number, and you need to find it!
Should you take on a buyer’s closing costs? Offer incentives for first time homebuyers?
Is your agent only interested in dropping the price when it’s not being well-received? Or are they suggesting that they create new pictures showing different angles of the property? Perhaps it’s worth updating the condition of items in the home based on feedback they have gotten, as well.
You and your agent should be able to feel comfortable with the price you will list your home. Don’t feel like you are taking a gamble.
5. Home Availability
Don’t make it difficult for potential buyers to come and view your home. Do your best to allow showings anytime of the day, not just around your personal comforts.
Why? Let’s face it. Homes that don’t get shown don’t get sold! Don’t make it hard for other agents and their clients to view your home. Otherwise, they will likely just scratch your home off of the list and go onto others that are easier to view on their own schedules.
6. Marketing
Marketing comes in many different forms in this day and age. One of the hottest? Social media! Promote your home on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Get your friends and family to share it on theirs, as well. You never know who may be in the market for your house and it may be seen by just the right person at just the right time!
You can also do a little video by walking through your home with your video camera. Take a stroll around your neighborhood, as well, sharing the best things about both. Explain why your area is a winner and soon potential buyers will be able to visualize a great life there, too!
Finally, you also want to make sure that your agent is using a mobile-friendly website to share your home. A majority of people start their home search on their smartphones or tablets, so make sure they will have the ability to see your home.
It may just be what brings in that quick sale!
7. Brighten Up Your Home
If things are looking a little dark and dreary in your house, it’s time for a change. And don’t fret, it won’t cost a fortune!
By simply hanging some wall mirrors to amplify the light and space in a room, along with swapping out some lightbulbs that may be a higher wattage will help to up the intensity of light in the room.
You’ll also want to make sure you keep your window treatments open and clean, to let in as much natural light in as possible.
Who wants to sit in a dark home for years to come?!
8. Promote Energy Efficient Features
Another thing that may help your home sell quickly and justify a top dollar offer? Energy-efficient options a potential buyer may find in your home!
Doing little things can make a difference. Items like making sure insulation in the attic is in tip-top shape, installing a programmable thermostat, and making sure doors and windows are properly insulated and weatherstripped can be a huge selling point! No buyer wants to purchase a home that will cost them more money in wasted energy from air leaks and drafts!
Therefore, if you have relatively low energy and utility bills, play up this fact with potential buyers! You could even do an energy audit, which is a low-cost report from a professional that will state just how energy-efficient your home is.
Home buyers are willing to pay a bit more for a home that can provide constantly low utility costs for them in the long-run!
9. Get The Neighborhood Involved
Live in a neighborhood that perhaps has a Facebook Group, online message board, or something similar? Send a link of your home’s listing to them and let them know they are more than welcome to come and check out your house now that it’s on the market.
This lets neighbors check out the home and let their own friends and family know the there is a new home for sale in a desirable area!
Let your neighbors know why you’re selling, info about your home, why you’d appreciate their help and who your listing agent is. Who is more familiar with your neighborhood than the people who live around you? They may just have a vested interest in making sure their new neighbors are people that they will be happy to welcome to the area!
10. Perfect Timing
Generally, March through late June is the best selling season. It’s a great time for parents to look for a new school district before summer vacation starts. It also allows the entire summer season for new homeowners to get their home in shape before winter rolls around. This is true particularly in northern states, where people generally don’t want to deal with cold weather and snow!
Selling your home can be one of the biggest decisions of your life. It can amplify the stress you’re feeling, as well! Make it as seamless and easy as possible, with these great Home Selling Hacks. You deserve to get top dollar for your home as fast as possible!
About Zipi Wiki
If you enjoyed this post about Home Selling Hacks, set yourself up with an agent that has mastered this strategy as well as so many more. At Zipi Wiki, we do one very important thing. We match you up with the best agent for you. There is no other service that can find more qualified real estate agents for selling your home than Zipi Wiki. We wish you the very best with your home sale, and hope your next abode is your best one yet!