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For sale by owner tips to getting an offer fast
Whether you’re getting your home ready to sell or if it isn’t selling and you want to impress future buyers I have ways that can convert prospects into people who are making good solid offers. These tips will be especially useful for “for sale by owner” situations where you don’t have an estate agent guiding you.
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Staging to sell
If you’re looking at preparing or “staging” your home for viewers, you’re probably looking for ways to help you make sure that your property sells faster and where possible, add more value. There are some inexpensive and easy ways of making your home look more valuable and sell faster.
Let’s take a look at those now so that you can start making improvements.
Declutter
When people are viewing your home, they need to be able to see what the property looks like if they do end up buying your property. However, if there’s lots of clutter around, it might be difficult for them to envision it.
While it’s important to make sure that your home still looks like a lived-in space, you should consider decluttering your home to make it look less noisy. Whether you decide to sell, donate, or even store the excess clutter is completely up to you.
If you struggle with getting rid of things, do it by the six-month rule. Have you used it in the last six months? Will you use it in the next six months? If the answer is no to both of these things, and that item doesn’t hold sentimental value, then it might be time to make a decision.
Another thing you could try to make your home less cluttered would be to replace any bulky furniture with smaller pieces to free up some space.
You may like this post on Tiny Habits, Better life.
This post on do I need a housekeeper, professional organizer or decorator can help with some of this too. I hired an organizer to help me understand what to get rid of and lay out my space better for an improved flow and it made a huge difference!
Freshen up with a coat of paint
Giving your walls a lick of fresh paint will make a world of difference. It will help make your property seem bigger and lighter. If you currently have eccentric wall colours, it might not do you any favours when it comes to selling up, so you may want to consider painting all of your walls neutral colours.
You can check out current year trends and go with the most neutral of the shades to make even an older home look like it can have a modern feel inside.
This might be an issue if you’re on a bit of a time limit, but you could enlist or hire some painters to give you a hand. If potential buyers think they’re going to have to redecorate as soon as they move it, it might mean you get a lower offer. Not only that, a fresh coat of paint will make everything look pristine, inviting and as if it’s worth more.
Fix up and clean up – it’s the little things
While the holes in the walls and the broken door knobs don’t affect you while you’re living in your property, it’s important to get those little things sorted out. Most potential buyers don’t want to have to worry about replacing cracked tiles or cleaning any limescale that’s built up on the shower door. So, take some time to fix the little things and scrub from top to bottom so that your home looks its absolute best. Not only will it make your home more appealing but it will help viewers imagine themselves living in a beautiful home.
Again, if you’re on a time limit, consider hiring some residential cleaners to come in and do a deep clean of your home. They can do things like make sure your carpets are steam cleaned and find areas that you may have missed to make sure everything is perfect.
Value added tip: Upgrading hardware on handles for doors and cabinets are an inexpensive way to add value. Home improvement stores and even some hobby stores carry these items.
Tidy your garden
This curb appeal is critical as it makes the very first impression potential buyers see. This is why you should also tidy up your garden where you can. This might mean cutting bushes back, power washing your decking and clearing away any weeds. While it might not add much value to your home, it will make your home more appealing to viewers, and that’s what you should be focusing on.
Give your kitchen an update
A kitchen will often make or break the sale of a house. This is because the kitchen is arguably the most important room in your property, and if there are a lot of problems, it could be the difference between selling your property and having it sit on the market for a long time.
You don’t have to spend much money updating your kitchen either! If you have wooden cabinets, consider giving them a lick of paint or restaining them with gloss so they look brand new, and consider replacing door handles to update the final finish, as mentioned above.
If your kitchen countertops are looking a little worse for wear, consider using DC-Fix to update them. It’s essentially sticky back plastic that’s water and heatproof and can completely transform how your kitchen looks. What’s even better? It’s inexpensive to buy and can be applied without any special tools. Spending a little bit more time and money on your kitchen might just give you that value bump you were looking for.
And there’s always the smell of cookies baking when you schedule your weekend open house! Smells are incredibly enticing.
Keep it light and airy
Even if your home is a decent size, you need to show off how much potential each room has, so it’s important to keep it light and airy. As mentioned earlier, sticking with neutral colors can really help with this, but you should also consider hanging mirrors to make rooms look bigger.
Cleaning windows on the inside and out can also affect how much light gets into your home, so that could be something else to try to keep your home looking light and airy. You can also use overhead lights and lamps to create a welcoming ambiance for potential buyers.
Light the fire
If you’ve got an open fire and it’s a chilly day, you should think about lighting the fire when viewers are expected. Not only does this help to keep your home warm, but it can help give a homely feel to a property. You can also introduce some welcoming smells like pinecones and cinnamon which will help make your home feel even more inviting. If you don’t have an open fire, make sure your fireplace is clean and tidy.
Make your space look appealing
Finally, the smallest touches can make a world of difference when it comes to staging your home. Make sure that your windows are dressed nicely and that you have curtains and blinds up. Naked windows can make a home feel cold and impersonal. You should also consider adding plants and flowers to bring some fresh air and a pop of color into your home.
Make sure your home has good energy
For some of you, this may sound woo woo or ridiculous but it has worked every time I have had someone do it. Use this post to understand how to clear the bad energy in your home. People instantly feel it when they enter and it is certainly not a place they want to live. I have seen MULTIPLE homes sell within less than a week after doing this one thing.
If you follow all these tips but still have bad energy in your home no one will want to be there.
As you can see, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make your home look more valuable and appealing to viewers, so try these techniques to help sell your home!