Every home seller dreams of easily selling their house, but the process is rarely as simple as saying the house is for sale and immediately getting the right offer. Things like the area you live in and the number of homes up for sale at the moment can have a really big impact on what your experience as a seller would be.
Also things like how you present your home and how good is a real estate agent you hire are very important. Of course, there’s a proper process that experts would recommend you to follow.
Keep reading if you want a checklist for selling a house, from the moment you make the decision to when you’re finally ready to hand it over to its new owners.
Get a Good Agent
By a good agent, we mean someone who knows the area. The more specialized they are, and the more they know your specific market, the better. This will allow them to advocate for you and negotiate better prices, know where to look for when it comes to finding the right buyers, and so much more. For instance, estate & letting agents Hempstead could be a great choice due to their local expertise.
You can also opt-out of this step, but you would have to market your home yourself, and not have access to the huge number of contacts a real estate agent comes with.
Repair Your Home
Before you even think about selling your home, make all the necessary repairs that you need. This means anything from replacing leaky faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms to installing new energy-efficient lights throughout the house.
Be careful not to invest in any repairs that aren’t in demand, like luxury fixtures that are hard to maintain.
Sell It As-Is
If your home requires a lot of repairs that you can’t afford or don’t have the time for, then consider selling it as-is to cash buyers. These are investors who will buy your house in its current condition, and usually for a lower price than what you would get on the market. This option is best if you need to sell your house fast due to any unforeseen circumstances, and can’t afford to wait for a traditional sale.
Luckily if you are located in Lancaster, several cash buyers specialize in buying houses in any condition. They will offer you a fair cash price for your house and close the deal in as little as several days. This is a great option if you need to sell your house in Lancaster and move quickly or don’t want to invest any more money into repairs. It is also less stressful than going through the traditional process of selling a home.
Get A Pre-Sale Inspection
Once you’ve repaired everything, make sure to get your home inspected and valued by an expert. They will be able to give you a rough estimate on how much your home should sell for, and even if you later choose to disregard the valuation in your own market listing, it can help manage your expectations.
If you have trouble looking for a valuer, talk to your real estate agent. Chances are they’ll know the right person for the job.
Professional Shoot and Home Staging
When it comes to looking for the right buyer, you might have better luck when you think about first impressions and put forward your best. Professional home staging services and a good quality photo shoot of your home can seriously increase the number of offers you get, and ultimately what price your home sells for.
You don’t have to invest in staging the whole home, but we recommend paying attention to the living area, kitchen, and master bedroom. Even if you don’t stage your home, make sure that it’s devoid of personal belongings and decoration. Buyers will want your home more if they can picture themselves living there.
Set Realistic Expectations
You might want to sell your home for as much as you can, but setting your price way up high isn’t going to benefit you. In fact, you might end up kicking the asking price down eventually when you get no offers and would have wasted a lot of time holding out for a client who wants to pay above market value for your home.
You can save a lot of time and effort if you set realistic expectations for what your home would sell for, and for how long the whole process should take.
Advertise and Negotiate Offers
Once everything is sorted, it’s time to start advertising your home on different platforms and maybe even in the local newspaper. The advertising method depends on the kind of buyers you’re trying to attract and the area, and your real estate agent might be best equipped to help you in this regard.
Once the offers start pouring in, all that’s left is to negotiate with the right buyer and sell your home.
