If you’re facing a cross-Canada move, you are likely already feeling the time crunch. It doesn’t help that there are things within the moving process that are likely outside your control, or at least feel like they are. Selling your home is one of those things – you have no control over the real estate market, and all you can really do is choose your realtor wisely, right?
Waiting on your home to sell so that you can get on with the move itself can be stressful and difficult. There is good news. You actually have a lot more control over how fast your home sells than you might think. In this post, we’re going to look at 10 tips to ensure your home sells fast, so that you can make that big move quickly.
Before you do anything, check out the local real estate market. Are there lots of other homes for sale? Are there only a few? Is your neighbourhood moving faster or slower than other areas? Check out some of the real estate publications for your area and see what prices are for similar homes. This is just basic reconnoitring so that you can get to know the lay of the land. There is no point in going into the home-selling process blind. Know what trends are affecting your area so that you can plan and price your home correctly.
You have two options when it comes to selling your home – you can list it as being for sale by owner, or you can have a real estate agent represent you. Our money is on-going with the agent if time is pressing. If you’re trying to sell it on your own, that means you will have less time for other things, like looking for a new home, packing, and all the rest. A real estate agent will do all the heavy lifting for you, and they can also help you better understand the local real estate industry (which ties into our first tip above!). Of course, you need to choose the right real estate agent. Referrals can be great tools here, but also look at past results.
Sure, anyone can take photos today, and with smartphones and digital cameras, you don’t even need to wait to have those pictures developed. However, just because you can take a photo, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you should be the one to do it. Pay for professional photography (and videography!) of your home. That helps ensure that your home is put in the best light, and that it is as appealing as possible for potential buyers. Note that not all photographers are worth your time, though. Choose one with experience handling real estate photography.
One of the golden rules of home selling is to depersonalise the space. The less your home reflects you and your family, the more easily a potential buyer can see themselves in that space. It can be tough to balance depersonalisation with the need to pack and move to a new home hundreds or even thousands of miles away. To help with that, you can rent a storage unit, or even a storage container. Just pack your belongings and load them up. With a storage unit, you’ll have a central location when the time comes to move. However, with a storage container, you can usually just have the container itself delivered to the new home, saving you more than a few steps.
The less work a buyer has to do to get your home into livable shape, the faster the place will sell. Take a look around your home with a critical eye. Those scuffs on the walls from the kids? Yeah, they should be painted. That door your dog chewed up trying to get to the food? Yep, it should be replaced. The carpet that’s been stained by years of tracking mud into the house from the backyard? Again, get rid of it. Simple, relatively affordable fixes can have a huge impact on the value of your home and the speed with which it sells.
While your agent will do most of the heavy lifting, make sure that you’re doing your part to promote the sale of your home. Post that listing on social media. Talk to your family, friends, and co-workers to see if any of them are interested in buying. Enlist the aid of friends and family to spread the word about your house. The wider the net you cast, the faster the home will sell.
Bright, open rooms make a home more appealing and will shorten the time your house is on the market. Add brighter bulbs to your fixtures, and make sure that when the house is shown, you have your curtains open to admit lots of natural light. Repaint darker rooms with lighter colours – you don’t have to go with white, though. Off-white and even light grey can all open up that space.
While you’ll want to invest in a fresh coat of paint and make any necessary repairs, don’t neglect the value of a thorough professional cleaning. It can be a key step in ensuring that your home sells quickly.
The first impression made by your home is all to do with the exterior. Check out your home’s curb appeal and make adjustments if necessary. Exterior painting, basic landscaping, and the like can yield major results.
Yes, you want to make a decent profit on the sale of your home. However, you need to sell it quickly, which means it’s necessary to find a good balance between high and low prices. A well-priced home in a strong real estate market can actually sell itself.
With these 10 tips, you should be able to sell your home fast and get on with your move. Don’t forget to use MoveIt.ca to find and compare moving estimates and other professional services to simplify your life.
