Whether your home has been on the market for longer than you'd like or you're just about to list it, you want more qualified buyers looking at it in order to make that all-important sale. Rather than wasting your time and money, you want to jump right into the process of showing off your home to the people who are willing and able to buy it and the following information will help you to do just that.
1. Be Accessible To Your Realtor
Both you and your home should be available to your realtor on nearly a 24/7 basis. If there's a potential buyer who perhaps works odd hours and can only view your home in the evenings or early morning, make it happen. Despite feeling like your front door has been replaced by a turnstile, you're going to increase the number of interested buyers seeing your home and sell it faster.
2. Have Your Home Ready At All Times
Let your realtor show you how to stage every important room in your home, then leave it set up that way. It may not feel like home to you anymore once the fake trees and other props are in place, but keeping the place in show-ready condition means anyone can come in at any time and see everything they're suppose to and nothing they're not.
Staging is an important aspect of home selling and while you may not want to live in a showroom, it's far better than the alternative of having to prep your home again for every new buyer who comes knocking. Keeping the home ready avails you to more opportunities with qualified, interested buyers.
3. Advertise Your Home Like Crazy
Beyond what your real estate agent is constantly doing to sell your house, take it upon yourself to go online and do more. Set up a YouTube account and post a personal video tour of your home. Ask your agent for tips on what to say and what to avoid and be sure to present yourself and the house in a friendly, welcoming manner. Include a tour of the backyard if you have one and open the doors to your most spacious and envy-drawing closets.
Also, keep your listings on other sites updated, such as Craigslist. Even if you don't actually add new information, when people see the ad has been up for a while, they may be less inclined to check it out. Post some extra photos and your ad looks fresh, inviting potential buyers on a regular basis.
4. Represent The Facts In Your Ads
Even though you want to attract as many home buyers as possible, always present your home in an honest light. Otherwise, if you exaggerate or embellish, the people who come to see your home are going to be disappointed and less likely to remain interested. Stick to the facts so you can attract people in ways that anchor them to the home, its property, and the neighborhood.
5. Offer Incentives Just To Look At Your House
Maybe a few potential buyers are waiting for just the right moment to stop in and have a look at your home for sale and you can do things to make that moment happen. For example, offer them a free book on home decorating or organic gardening (if you have the yard for it) or some other subject relevant to your home or area. The free book is a good enticement, but when it's coordinated to help them figure out how to make your home their own, your efforts are automatically doubled.
6. Announce Your Home For Sale From The Front Yard
You always want your home to look like it's for sale; however, a simple sign in the yard doesn't always get the message across. Keep fresh balloons attached to a big, welcoming sign that announces the home is available and that the seller is ready to show it now. This will help you draw more people in, including those that may have thought they only wanted to look for potential homes. A big announcement also means people who know somebody else who is looking for a new home will offer info about your home by word-of-mouth, further increasing the positive exposure your for-sale home is going to get.
7. Present A Time Sensitive Sales Price
Sometimes all people need to move from "browsing" to "buying" is a little nudge and that nudge could very well be a short-term sale price. For example, you could discuss cutting the price of the home by a certain amount with your agent, then announce the sale and its expiration date across all your marketing mediums. Update YouTube, Craigslist, and every other place your home is listed, including on the front lawn.
8. Throw A Huge Open House
A big open house definitely draws a crowd and creates a buzz around your home, both in the short and long-terms. Make the event an all-out extravaganza, not just a quick showing. Plan on letting people look around, have a seat and enjoy a cup of coffee and bagel as they take in all your home has to offer. Make a great impression with your personality and let them know they're welcome back for private showings. Your agent can help you with the details of the open house and will call upon their contacts to make the event a smashing success.
Although your life may feel like a whirlwind while you're selling your home, the more ways you can make it appealing, get word about it out, and work cooperatively with your real estate agent, the faster you're going to sell it.
Share17 May 2017
Once I paid of the mortgage on my house, I decided I wanted to buy an investment property. I had no idea that the buying process would be different, but it really was. There were so many things to consider that I hadn't thought about, and even the loan application process was different. It occurred to me that if I didn't know about it, others likely didn't either. I built this site to help others see what I went through buying my first investment home. I hope that it helps you to approach the process with more confidence and understanding.
