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Top Ten Tips to Help You Sell Your House Fast

There are several things you can do in today’s housing market to give yourself a better chance of selling your home quickly.

 

You have probably heard a great deal in the news recently about how house prices are rising and the UK property market is booming. While this is most certainly true of London and the South East, this is certainly not the case elsewhere in the country. Those hoping for a quick house sale in other parts of the country will be more than aware that the house market remains sluggish and that selling in the current conditions is something of a longshot.

There are numerous reasons as to why people may need to sell their property quickly, whether it is relocation, a new arrival to the family or repossession. If you are in a position whereby you need to sell your house quickly and need to achieve the highest possible sale price, then here are a re National Homebuyers’ Top Ten Tips on how to sell your house quickly in a slow market.
1. You Only Get One Chance to Make a First Impression

No matter how many improvements you’ve made or how much effort you’ve put into making your home’s interior presentable, the truth is that potential home buyers have already started judging your home long before they even walk through the front door.

When it comes to selling your home, I’m afraid it’s what’s on the outside that counts. There are several things you can do to increase your home’s kerb appeal, many of which won’t cost you very much. Better still, improvements that add kerb appeal generally yield at least a 100% return when you eventually manage to sell your home.

2. Your House Should NOT Be a Home

Prospective home buyers want to envision themselves living in a house they intend to buy. The more personalised your home is, the less they are able to do so. So take down those family photos, remove the kid’s drawings from the fridge door and put all your memorabilia, knick knacks and keepsakes into storage. You should aim to remove between a quarter and a third of the things in your house. This will also make your home appear bigger and allow you to maximise your space.
3. Beware of the Dog

Or the cat, or any other critters and creatures for that matter. While a big shaggy dog that greets you at the gate or a friendly feline that nuzzles your leg when you walk in the door may say warm and happy home to you, this may not be the case for others. Some people aren’t animal lovers, and some are actually afraid of them. Even those that feel the same as you do about the cuddly little critters will often pay more attention to your pet than they will to your property.

Don’t just put your pet in a room and keep the door closed during viewings. This stops the potential house buyer being able to inspect that room. It may even lead them to think you are concealing something about your home. Temporarily removing the animal for the duration of the viewing is a much better option.

The same goes for pooch paraphernalia and kitty bits. People looking to buy your home may be put off when they see the dog bowl in the kitchen or the litter tray in the hallway. Also make sure you thoroughly remove any animal hair that could cling to potential buyers’ clothes and leave with them with the impression that your house may be unclean.
4. Make Sure the Price is Right

Do your own research. And do lots of it. Find out exactly what your house is worth. Don’t just take the estate agent’s valuation as gospel. Some agents will often over inflate asking prices in order to gain business, increase their commission, or to leave wiggle room for negotiation with potential house buyers.

Once you have completed all your research and have a secure idea of the price your home is likely to achieve on the open market, consider reducing that price. Competitively pricing your property is the single best way to achieve a sale. And, you never know, you may just be lucky enough to attract enough interest to spark a bidding war that will push the sales price up to, or even past, what you were initially going to sell your home for anyway.

And if you think pricing your property too low seems risky, just consider how risky it is to price it too high. You will probably remain on the market longer than you wish and eventually attain a sale after dropping the price in the end anyway, having paid all the extra bills you wouldn’t have been paying had you priced your home right in the first place. Plus, if your property is on the market for too long potential buyers will wonder why and perhaps may even presume there is something wrong with it. Also, the longer your home is on the market, the more heavily you are betting on the housing market. Should the market soften, your house may begin to seem even more overpriced.
5. It’s All About Olfactory Appeal

Perhaps slightly surprisingly, numerous surveys have shown that the number one thing that puts potential home buyers off is the presence of unsavoury odours in a home they are viewing. You’ve already ditched the dog smell, now its time to tackle the tobacco stench. If you smoke inside your house, stop. While trying to sell your home, go outside for a puff, and remember to pick up your cigarette butts when you’re done. Also do what you can to remove any smell of damp or mildew present in your property, as this is the third most off-putting odour according to potential home buyers.

Try your best to completely eradicate any bad odours, rather than simply covering them up with perfumed scents. Potential buyers may have a more sensitive sense of smell than you, or may notice smells in your house to which you have simply become accustomed. You should also avoid cooking any strong smelling food before a viewing and fill your home with freshly cut flowers.
6. Take the Skeletons Out of the Closet

You know when I said earlier that you should put around a third of your stuff into storage? You thought that meant stuffing it into any available cupboard space you have, didn’t you? Wrong! Potential home buyers are always keen on storage space. They can’t get enough of it. This is because, chances are, they have just as much stuff as you! When looking to buy a house, people will always sneak a peek inside any cupboards or closets in your property, so ensure they are thoroughly cleaned and neatly organised.

 

7. Become an Obsessive Compulsive Cleaner

This one might sound slightly obvious, but the fact is it is easy to overlook little nooks and crannies that people looking to buy your house won’t. Scrub, scrub, scrub and then, when you think you’ve scrubbed enough, scrub a bit more. Once you have cleaned your property to within an inch of its, and your, life, take a look around. Be honest enough with yourself to notice anything in your home that doesn’t match up to your new standard of immaculateness, no matter how many times it’s been cleaned. This is a good way of gauging whether or not there are small home improvements that need to be made before your home is market ready.

The bathroom is often a biggie here, as a bathroom that even appears dirty puts many people off. Don’t go nuts, because the data shows that you will only recoup around 58% of what you spend on large bathroom improvements, but there are several small improvements you can make to give an appearance of increased cleanliness. Painting the walls, regrouting the tiles, replacing the shower curtain or the toilet seat – all of these inexpensive changes can play a big part in helping to make your home more appealing to home buyers.
8. Let There Be Light

A bright, well lit home is second only to location in terms of what people look for when looking to buy a home. Therefore, in order to sell your house, you need to take advantage of every lumen of light that enters your home. Take down your curtains, clean the windows (yes, clean them again!), place mirrors at strategic points to reflect and maximise the light shining through your now sparkling windows, paint rooms in bright (neutral) colours that reflect light, get rid of your lampshades, buy higher wattage light bulbs, trim trees and cut down bushes that block the light and shadow the house; do anything and everything you can possibly do to make your home as bright as possible in order to help you sell your home.
9. Resist Remodelling and Look for Quick Fixes

Get your property assessed by reputable and thoroughly vetted experts in order to ascertain what essential improvements need to be made and find out how much each of these will cost. Don’t just accept one quote, shop around to find the best deal out there but remember: the cheapest quote is not always the best quote.

Resist the urge to go overboard on the home improvements. Little, inexpensive changes like painting the front door or having the carpets thoroughly cleaned will almost invariably pay off. Monumental makeovers are much less likely to do so. If your kitchen is drastically outdated it will put house buyers off, but even on major kitchen remodels you are only likely to recoup around 80% of what you spend, so be careful not to overdo it.

It is believed that you are more likely to achieve a quick house sale when your home is decorated in a neutral style and with neutral colours.

Take a look at our article Clean Your Way to a Quick House Sale in order to gain inspiration for small and inexpensive quick fix improvements you can make that will help you sell your house fast.
10. Knowledge is Power

There are many people that will tell you to make yourself scarce when your house is being viewed. This opinion certainly has its merits. At the very least remove the rugrats. If the kids are there when prospective they are looking around, people looking to buy your home will be looking harder for the damage the kids have caused that you’ve put right and wondering how much destruction they’ve wrought which remains unseen. Kids are destructive. If you disagree, then you don’t have them and as such you have nothing to worry about here.

If you do insist on sticking around while your agent leads would be house buyers around your home, or if you are selling your home yourself, make sure you are clued up on your property and ready to answer any potential questions that might get thrown at you. Ensure you know exactly what you pay out for gas, electric, water, council tax; be ready to tell potential buyers how long it takes to get to the town centre, the closest park, the train station, the nearest hospital; expect to be asked about the local schools, doctor’s surgeries, take away restaurants, leisure facilities, places of worship. You never know when a little fact about your property and the surrounding area could be the difference between getting an offer and watching the buyer walk away. Research, be prepared and know your stuff.

Or You Could Just Sell Your Home Quickly to National Homebuyers

The most sure-fire way to sell your home is to sell it to a guaranteed house sale company. National Homebuyers are the UK’s largest direct cash house buying company and we have been one of the UK’s favourite quick house sale market for over ten years now.

 

We will buy any house, no matter what condition it is in. It makes no difference to us if the dog has chewed up the carpet or the kids have broken the balustrades playing stair-sledge. We even purchase properties with damage more extensive than your pets and children put together could manage if they tried.

What is more, we employ dedicated local purchasing teams responsible for specific areas across the entire country, so we will buy any home in any location in the UK. Busy roads, flight paths, whatever – we buy any house.

So if you are want to sell your home fast, chain and stress free, then call National Homebuyers now, or fill out the form on this page to get your fast, no obligation valuation and guaranteed cash offer!

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