You are selling your house by choice or by necessity, but either way you are in a hurry and want to get your money out of the house as quickly as possible. There are certain things that you can do that will greatly increase your chances of a quick sale. Follow these ten principles and you may be smiling as you stand at the closing sooner than you think.
1. You need to set the right price. Look around your town or neighborhood and see what buyers have been paying for properties similar to yours. You need to price your house so that it is attractive to buyers. What you think your house is worth or what your house has been appraised for is completely irrelevant. Your house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
2. Clean it up. Nothing makes a house harder to sell than clutter. Get rid of everything that doesn't serve a purpose. The fewer things you have in your house the bigger it is going to look. Potential buyers want to picture themselves in your house and they can't do that if it is full of your junk.
3. Make a good first impression. Curb appeal is your home's first impression when a potential buyer pulls up and gets out of their car. Make sure that it is a good one. You really do only get one chance at a first impression.
4. Make sure there are no major problems with the house. Anything that a potential buyer would consider major should have been fixed before you even considered selling your house. If they weren't then get them fixed now.
5. It's all in the details. Make sure all of the little things are fixed and working. You should double check everything such as appliances, light switches, and electrical outlets. Make sure that the carpets and curtains have been cleaned and that none of the doors squeak.
6. Get yourself a good Honolulu real estate agent. A good agent can make the difference between not selling the house at all and getting your asking price. Ask around and get a recommendation from someone you know.
7. Give a buyer an incentive. Consider including some of your furniture in the sale. Or offer to pay the closing costs. You can offer anything that will make a buyer on the fence make a decision in your favor.
8. Use the internet. Traditional methods of selling houses still work, but the internet has provided many more ways of letting people know that your home is for sale. You can list it on craigslist or start an auction on ebay. The more people you can get your house in front of the more likely you are to get an offer that you like.
9. Stage the house for a quicker sale. You want to set the house up so that people who come to view it are immediately interested in it. If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself you can hire someone who does it professionally.
10. Don't be there. Nothing can intimidate a potential buyer more than having the home owner there while they are trying to look around. They want to be able to open all of the doors, open all of the cabinets, and look behind or inside anything and everything. Just get out of the house, don't be anywhere near the house when your agent is showing it. If you have it staged very well you may even consider moving out so that your agent can show it anytime.
If you are in a hurry to sell your house you should be willing to do whatever it takes to get that check into your pocket. Incorporate these ten principles into your plan and not only will you sell your house quickly but you will also be much more likely to get your asking price.