Tips to Help Sell Your Home Quickly
Trying to get that high price from the buyer of your home? Here’s some things you can do that can bring the price up and sell your house quicker and easier without costing you too much.
There are all kinds of expensive and costly things you can do to your home before selling it. But there are also some things that don’t cost much that you can do before you try to sell your home.
I know it sounds pretty bad when you say it, but you should think like the buyer when you look at your home before selling it. Think what you were looking for when you bought your home and the little things that you wanted to be sure was nice looking or in working order.
The first thing you should do is do a walk around, with pad and pencil and take notes. Think big and small, start at the driveway and look at the house. What stands out to you, the bushes that need trimming or the great paint job.
If your buying the house what are the things you are going to want done right away or even before you move in. These are things you can prevent the buyer from having to do and if he has to do them, the price they offer will be lower.
There are major things that you need to take care of before you even try to sell your home. Important things like problems with the electrical, plumbing and heating/cooling need to be addressed and fixed if there is anything wrong. The roof needs to be in good shape as well as any exterior weather proofing needs. Caulk around windows and doors, gutters and windows wells need to be in good shape and working properly.
After the big things are done you need to be sure you find and fix all the smaller things that’s wrong with the house and will bring the value down.
So start at the outside and list everything that is undesirable about the house that can be fixed. Cracks in the driveway, mortar coming out of the bricks, bushes need trimming. Write it all down.
Go inside and do the same, checking everywhere. I mean everywhere. Get out a flashlight and peek and peer into the attic, crawl space and garage. If it needs fixing, write it down and fix it. As you work on the various things, cross them off. If you find something else while your working on one thing, add it to the list.
Open doors, windows, cupboards, drawers and cabinets. Any sticking doors or squeaky hinges can be fixed. Any windows that stick or don’t open fully should be repaired.
Anything that can be used in the house should be checked. If it’s been used or can be used, it should be in good working order. Look inside and clean out any dust or junk behind drawers and in the backs of closets.
This might seem like a never ending job but you can get the things done that will make your house easier to sell. Things that need to be dealt with are the ones that you see but have ignored in the past.
Replace any burned out bulbs in fixtures. Clean off those ceiling fan blades and the tops of molding in rooms. Door frames and tops of cabinets should be dusted and cleaned. When you go to actually sell the house, you should clean everything form top to bottom.
Some things that you need to pay particular attention to are things that an inspector will be looking for.
Is the basement musty or moldy smelling. Get it dried out and aired out. If you need to purchase a dehumidifier and leave it behind, the new owner will be impressed with you trying to improve the home and be all that more ready to buy.
Are there proper smoke detectors in all the right places, and are they working. There should be one on every level of the house, by any bedrooms, in the kitchen and basement.
Is the attic properly insulated and ventilated. Be sure the insulation rating can be seen. Do not have anything in any attics and crawl spaces if you are moving, pack it up and store it before you try to sell your home, or put it in the garage in boxes. Anything you don’t want, get rid of now.
Are stairs, hand rails and decks secure, inside and out. You should walk on all the stair treads and fix any loose boards. Check railings and hand rails, see if there are any cracks on any metal fasteners. Check any decks or porches for loose boards or other problems. Fix anything that can be a safety risk.
Are all the appliances in working order. Check behind those panels and move them out to look behind the appliance itself. The inspector surely will. Clean out lint traps and those little screens in the hoses. Vacuum out any furnaces and air conditioners. Change any air filters.
You will want to fix anything and everything you can before you pay a professional to look at your home. This will save you if he spends less time finding things wrong with the house. If you’ve fixed all those nagging little things like holes in the plaster and peeling corners of wall paper, he will not have to bother writing it down and adding to your bill.
A good home inspection by a professional can be worth it’s weight in finalizing your house. He or she will be able to give you an objective look at the house and will give you a written list of all the things they find that you can take care of in one way or another.
If there are things you don’t want to spend money on, then at least you know about them and a buyer will not surprise you with it. That is what you are trying to prevent, the buyer finding something before you do.
They will not only check the things they can see but will be checking things that are functional about the home.
They will check your water pressure and drainage of the sewer. Plumbing and drains will be looked at and any leaks noted. They may pour water down drains in basements to see if they drain quickly or slowly.
The water pressure test is one where they run water out several faucets and then flush the toilet. They get to see how much the water pressure drops when the toilet is flushed. If you have low water pressure this may be from buildup in older pipes or a leak in the supply line.
If you have a drain field for a septic system they can add a die into your toilet to see if the field is working properly. If the die comes up in the field outside it is not working like it should. The field might need to be redone.
The electrical system will be inspected for adequate amperage of breakers or fuses. They will inspect wiring and special outlets and receptacles. They will look for ground fault outlets in bathrooms and kitchens. These are the outlets with the little red breakers on them.
So when you have your list, whether from an inspector or yourself, start fixing the things you can. Get everything done that you can regardless of how small it is. If you found it, so will the buyer. And it will be just one more thing that adds to the problems with this particular purchase.
If you can get to the point where the buyer sees the good in the house and not all the things he needs to fix, you’ve won. You want to be able to look at your home and see what the buyer will see, a good investment.
