Selling Your Home on a Tight Timeline: 4 Insider Tips

Under normal circumstances, selling your home can be a grueling experience, especially when your personal lives become public displays to strangers (and possibly their criticisms). Just the thought of adding a deadline to the mix can make anyone’s blood pressure spike! Luckily, now’s a great time to sell. According to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors, 32% of recent home sales were on the market for less than a month.

Preparing your home for sale is more than just cleaning up the living room though. Discover a few insider tips that will greatly benefit your bottom line and ultimately put a “sold” sign in your front yard.

1. Determine the Value of Your Home

If you really want to move the needle, you need to price it right. Don’t even start thinking about what you paid for it ten years ago (or how much you still owe on your mortgage). Simply put: the only thing that matters now is what buyers are willing to pay today.

If you price it too high, don’t even bother with curb appeal, buyers will pass it up without even stepping through the front door. Price it too low below the competition, and you can kiss any money goodbye that could have landed in your pockets.

You need to find a balance so you don’t lose time or money. A professional real estate agent can help you set a competitive price by comparing recent sales of homes in your specific area through a comparative market analysis (CMA).

2. Inspections

Save precious time later in the sale process by scheduling a home inspection early on. Inspectors will look for potential problems with electrical wiring, plumbing, etc. It’s better to know about these issues before selling your home which may end up altering your timeline. Additionally, it will help you market your house to the right buyer: some people want a fixer-upper, some people want a move-in-ready home.

3. Prepare Your Home for Sale

Many people have an idea of their “dream home,” and keep a list of features they want their new house to possess. Home staging allows sellers to generate more interest simply by presenting it in a way that’s more appealing to buyers. Because, when potential buyers feel at home, they can relate to the space and feel more comfortable…ultimately becoming more likely to make an offer. In fact, a recent study by the Real Estate Staging Association found that houses that were staged before being listed sold in an average of 23 days. (87% faster than those that sat on the market for several months before being staged).

Staging starts with decluttering and cleaning but also includes things like repairs, small upgrades, painting, rearranging furniture and creating a welcoming environment that buyers can see as their own.

4. Market Your Home Properly

Once you have every room looking catalog-ready, it’s important to put your best face forward and capture it with a professional photo shoot. It’s no secret that today’s buyers rely heavily on the Internet as they search for their future home. Knockout photos, no doubt, play a big role in capturing their attention.

In the end, if the clock’s ticking, find the right real estate agent with plenty of experience in fast sales who will generate the foot traffic you need to selling your home fast.

How fast can you sell your home? Let’s pull back the curtains and find out together!