How to Get Your Home Sold Quickly
When listing a home, the goal is to sell it quickly and get on with your life. That’s all good and tidy, but what if it’s a fixer-upper home? Selling it as is means you end up losing money. If a house is dilapidated, has a sagging roof, and leaks everywhere, you can expect potential buyers to drive the price down to the floor.
This is a bummer because fixer-upper homes aren’t always as bad as they look. Sometimes, all one needs are a few fixes here and there, and the home suddenly becomes a hot cake. So, before you sell your home, how about fixing a couple of things to sell it as quickly as possible? Here are potential areas you’ll need to fix before listing your home for sale.
1. Establish Its Current Market Value
Before putting up your home for sale, first establish how much it’s worth. To do this, compare it with similar homes in the neighborhood. Look up recent sales for an idea of how much similar houses are going at. Once you’ve established the about-right listing price for your home, the next step is critical if you want your home sold quickly.
2. Inspect the House
Comparable houses in the neighborhood may have sold for a certain amount, but this doesn’t mean you’ll get your home sold quickly at the same price. Other factors, such as the condition of your house, will come into play, and only a thorough inspection by a home repairs professional can reveal if your home will require major or minor repairs.
After inspections, you may realize that if you want the home sold quickly, you’ll need to work on the roofing and plumbing, perhaps install a new fence, check the electrical work, install landscaping lighting, or repair the garage door. Let’s look closely at these potential home repairs to get your home sold quickly.
3. Fix The Roof
The roof is your family’s first defense against the elements. If it’s compromised in any way, there’s a high chance your home will be uninhabitable. To have your home sold quickly, inspect the roof for ridge caps and missing or broken shingles. These aspects of your roof keep water damage away from your home. For a thorough inspection, contact local roofers.
These professionals understand what it takes to protect your roof and can spot roof issues from a mile away. If it’s a broken or warped shingle, replace it right away. The key is to deal with roof repair issues immediately after you spot them. Such issues include blisters in the sealant, bubbles, and cracks. If you see any signs of a roof leak, fix it immediately.
If the damage to the roof is too expansive to fix with simple repairs, you may want to consider roof replacement. However, here’s some caution: Replacing a roof is costly, and potential buyers may not fully appreciate this fact when negotiating the price. According to Forbes, a roof replacement for an average-size home costs $11,500 or $80,000 on the higher side. If you must make such a huge financial investment in a home you’re putting up for sale, ensure the final sale price covers it.
4. Fix Plumbing Issues
One of the things that could hinder a quick home sale is a faulty plumbing system. Evidence of faulty plumbing includes leaks and an instant turnoff to potential buyers. In any case, if a home has plumbing issues, chances are it won’t pass inspection. Address plumbing problems first before listing your home for sale.
If you find a leak anywhere in your house, you have a plumbing issue. Fix leaks as soon as you spot them. If you don’t, that small leak could morph into a flooding nightmare down the road.
If you want your home sold quickly, having leaks or stains on your walls, floor, or roof would stand in the way. Some plumbing problems are minor, such as fastening a pipe, an easy DIY task. Others, such as drain cleaning, are more pervasive and require professional plumbers.
5. Install a New Fence
Just as the roof provides protection and shelter against the elements, a fence keeps intruders out. It also demarcates a protected area beyond which only authorized guests are allowed. But why erect a new fence? The obvious reason is that it’ll get your home sold quickly. Other benefits of adding a fence to your home include noise reduction, extra security, privacy, better safety, and increased value.
An ideal fence should be high enough to keep family members safely within and intruders outside. You can erect a six-foot-tall chain-link or a solid wood fence. Add a barbed wire along the top for extra security, but ensure the wire is inaccessible to children and children. For good measure, add motion-detection flood lights to further discourage intruders, especially at night.
The type of fence you choose depends on your preference and budget. You can choose from modern vinyl fencing to classic wood. Consider a decorative wrought iron fence if you want to make a design statement. The classic wooden fences are timeless if you want to go for functionality and aesthetic appeal. Besides, they add warmth to your home and are easy to install.
On the other hand, vinyl fencing is highly versatile, low maintenance, and easy to clean, which attests to its popularity. You can choose from various styles and colors. Vinyl is also highly resistant to rotting and warping, making it perfect for damp climates.
If you want to stand out and sell your home quickly, go for decorative wrought iron fences. They come in intricate, bold designs without jeopardizing the much-needed privacy. They are highly durable and can last years without requiring maintenance. If you’re unsure about the ideal fence for your home, contact a fence installer for guidance.
6. Check the Wiring
Clients always insist on a thorough electrical inspection before buying a home. Failure to undertake this critical step could herald electrical issues later and make it easier to have your home sold quickly. Sometimes, the issues are minor and easy to fix. At other times, the problems could be catastrophic, resulting in fires, causing property damage, and putting loved ones in harm’s way.
An electrical inspection by residential electricians could flag mistakes in wiring made by past homeowners. An attempt to pass on such mistakes to potential buyers would be frowned upon and punished by buyers with lowball offers. Hire electricians to address such issues before putting your home up for sale.
Often, old homes are culprits of electrical issues since wiring standards were different then. Besides, wear and tear may have compromised the wiring in such homes. Get residential electricians to address the problems if you want to sell an old home. In some cases, a wiring inspection would highlight the need to update the entire electrical system in a new home to bring it to current standards and specifications.
7. Fix the Garage Door
If there’s one thing potential buyers won’t miss when viewing your house, it’s the garage door. There are several reasons for fixing your garage door before listing your home for sale. One is to give your home a new look. If you want your home sold quickly, fix the garage door first to give potential buyers a great first impression of your home. It’s also likely to raise the value of your houses. Fixing your garage door also enhances the appeal of your curb, and you can choose from various colors, sizes, and designs to make your garage door stand out.
Besides improving your home’s curb appeal and simply looking beautiful, the other goal of fixing your garage door is to ensure it functions flawlessly. It’s a problem if it’s too loud, creaks, squeaks, or stops and starts. Such issues are an instant turnoff to a potential buyer. If there’s a problem with your garage door, let the potential buyer know, but be ready for attempts to lower the price to factor in the costs of residential garage door repair.
8. Landscape the Yard
Your home landscaping is as important as the house itself. A well-landscaped yard featuring neatly trimmed trees and a lush green lawn that’s well-watered and aerated attracts potential buyers. It’s an excellent strategy for having your home sold quickly.
Landscaping your yard before selling your home has several benefits, among them improving your home’s curb appeal and raising its value. Landscaping also makes your yard more functional and beautiful. Hire a landscape lighting company to install appropriate yard lights to pull off a perfectly landscaped yard.
The lights are stunning at night and provide a unique backdrop to summertime outdoor events. If your house has one, you may also want to hire a hardscaping company to deal with the hard surfaces, such as pavements, the deck, and the pool area.
9. Update the Windows
Among the most important components of a home is the windows. The right type of window controls the temperature and lighting in your home. They regulate indoor temperatures by keeping out extreme cold during the winter and extreme heat during the summer. For perfect installation, hire window and door installation companies. These professionals understand that windows are critical in regulating lighting and temperatures in a home. Window blinds also control lighting in a home besides improving its value, increasing the chances of selling your home quickly.
10. Do a Kitchen and/or Bathroom Remodel
An Aesthetically pleasing, functional kitchen or bathroom is an instant hit among potential home buyers. These two have a significant impact on the value of your home. The kitchen and the bathroom are the most used spaces in your home. You can upgrade them to create more space, especially if you have a large family and want to avoid conflicts in the morning over who gets to use the bathroom first.
Among minor bathroom remodels you may want to consider to increase the value of your home include replacing the existing old shower doors, adding new artwork, caulking the sink and bathtub, adding a new floor, replacing the tiles, or replacing a sink, vanity, bathtub, and other fixtures. More elaborate remodels may include adding decor and a new coat of paint, installing new countertops, lighting, a linen closet, luxury faucets, and a sink. You can also move the toilet and bathtub or expand the current space.
Minor kitchen remodels usually entail adding trendy decor and painting the kitchen with neutral colors, revamping the cabinets, upgrading the countertops with either marble, quartz, or granite, upgrading lighting and other fixtures, including under-mount lighting, replacing sinks and sink fixtures, and refacing drawers and cabinets.
Minor kitchen remodels include introducing an open concept in the kitchen, upgrading appliances to more efficient stainless steel, and knocking down walls to create an open-plan layout that combines the dining area with the kitchen.
11. Stage the Home
The purpose of staging your home is to make it more appealing to potential buyers. It involves setting up the home with tasteful furniture, decor, and fixtures to give potential buyers a sneak peek into how it would look and feel to live in it. Home staging has many benefits, among them getting your home sold quickly.
According to the Real Estate Staging Association, staged homes sell 73% times faster than unstaged ones. RESA also states that 63% of potential home buyers are willing to pay more for a move-in ready home, and depending on the home staging company you’re using, your home’s value could rise by as much as 20%. Other benefits of staging a home for sale are eliminating lowball offers and making it stand out. A staged home is more accessible to the market than one that isn’t staged.
Selling your home quickly is not rocket science. However, there are several repairs and remodels you may need to undertake to make it more attractive to buyers. Hopefully, the repairs will be minor, but there are instances where significant repairs may be the best option.
Among remodels, consider including bathroom and kitchen upgrades. These are among the most visited areas of a home. Others are landscaping and hardscaping your yard, repairing or replacing the garage door, and rewiring the house. Lastly, consider using a staging company to stage your home and improve your chances of selling it faster and at a better price. Ultimately, how fast you sell your home will depend on how it compares with similar homes in the neighborhood and how well you market it.
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