On average, it takes about three months to sell a house. While this isn’t that long in the grand scheme of things, maybe you want to sell your house faster?
When sellers are strategic, they can sell their home in a matter of weeks, sometimes even days.
But, in order to do this, you need to be extra careful. There are a lot of pitfalls to avoid when it comes to selling your home in a normal period of time. When you try to sell your home quickly, there are even more pitfalls to contend with.
But, if you are aware of these pitfalls beforehand, you’re much more likely to quickly sell your home for a good price.
So, what pitfalls do you need to avoid?
Read on to learn about the 8 most common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to quick home selling.
1. Pricing Your Home Too High
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but if you’re pricing your home too high, you’re never going to get it off the market quickly.
Obviously, you want the most money you can get out of your property. However, don’t let this desire cloud your judgments and rational thinking when it comes to fair pricing.
In order to avoid overpricing your home, don’t go with the number that you think it’s worth. Instead, check out the price of other homes in your area. To pinpoint an exact price, you’ll want to consider local demand, the condition of your home, the strength of the market, and the home’s location.
This way, you’ll have an objective answer for a price, rather than just what you “feel” it’s worth.
2. Staying Emotionally Attached
You’ve put a lot of work into your home. Many precious memories have been made there, and the place really does feel like “home” instead of just a house.
Everyone should feel this way about their home. But, as hard as it may be, once your home is on the market, you need to try as best as you can to detach yourself from it emotionally if you want to sell it quickly.
This is so you can make decisions about your home (like pricing, as discussed above) that will be driven by logic instead of emotion.
For example, if you are extremely attached to your home, it can be very easy to overlook its flaws. Once you detach, however, it is much easier to see your home from an objective standpoint in which you can thoroughly understand its strengths and weaknesses.
If you’re having trouble detaching from your home, try to see it through the eyes of the buyer. If you were being shown this home, what would you think?
3. Neglecting Repairs
Many people know their home needs repairs, but they are reluctant to do it because they don’t like the idea of paying for people’s problems.
But, if you do not make the proper repairs, it will likely take a lot longer to get your home off the market. And, once buyers are made aware of the repairs that need to be made, they definitely will ask for a lower price.
Even repairing small things, like a cracked ceiling or an unhinged cabinet, can really make a difference when trying to sell your home fast.
Yes, big repairs and small repairs can be expensive. But in the end, it will end up costing you more money to not make the repairs than it will to skip them.
4. You Haven’t Decluttered and Depersonalized
It’s very important for buyers to be able to see themselves living in your home. But, this is very hard for them to do if you haven’t decluttered and depersonalized it.
Clutter can make spaces feel smaller, and it can detract from the best aspects of your home. Plus, it makes it look like its “past” rather than looking like its “future”.
Therefore, the second you decide to list your home, you need to start the decluttering process. Pack things up you don’t need, rent a storage unit, bring them to a friend’s house, or do whatever it is you need to do to make the place look clean and simple.
Also, while decluttering, you also need to make sure your de-personalizing. This means ridding your home of family photos, trophies, mail, quirky antiques, etc. The more “pottery barn” catalog you can make your home look, the better.
This will make it easier for buyers to envision a life in that home with their stuff in it.
5. Low-Quality Listing Pictures
The pictures of your home are often the first impression buyers will have of the place, so you want to make them count.
Low-quality pictures, or not enough pictures, are a huge turn off for buyers. So, if you don’t have a quality camera, find a friend or someone who does so you can get some professional looking photos of your home.
Be sure to take multiple pictures of each room, and take ones from different angles as well. High-quality photos and low-quality photos can mean the difference between selling your home quickly and it taking forever to sell, so do not skimp on the photos.
6. Poorly Staged
Staging your home is a process that involves setting up your home in a certain way that makes it look appealing to buyers.
Staging is super important when it comes to selling your home quickly, and best of all, it usually doesn’t that much money.
Decluttering and depersonalizing is the first part of the staging process, which we’ve already talked about above. In addition to those two things, you also need to clean it extremely thoroughly (we’re talking an obsessive level of clean – like no one has ever entered the home), rearrange the furniture, install bright bulbs, and add touches of freshness such as plants.
Ready to Start the Home Selling Process?
With these home selling tips in mind, your home should be off the market in no time at all.
If, however, this sounds like a lot of work to you, you should also look into selling your home for cash. If you’re interested in learning more about selling for cash, contact us today.