Here are some Handy wee Tips to help you Sell Your House Faster. These are all 'tried and true' tips we've gathered over years of Buying and Selling Houses, so I know for sure that they work!
1. Clean your house -- no kidding...the cleaner your house is, the easier it is to sell.
2. Fix any glaring problems. You know -- doors hanging off, blowing in the wind... that sort of big thing!
3. Advertise yourself, even if you have a Realtor. It's not a given that your Realtor will actually advertise for you. It's an option that they can add in addition to putting you on MLS (Multiple Listing Service...). If you place your own Ad, include the Price, size, and any special features. There's nothing more annoying to us than a House without a Price -- it's much better to be completely up-front, so people will know well in advance whether your house is in their Price Range, and almost everyone has a Price Range!!
4. If you're not on a tight time-line, consider selling on your own -- you just need some good 'people skills' and a good Real Estate Lawyer. It's a Sellers Market out there, so it's worth a shot... you can always hire a Realtor in a couple of months.
5. Take some great Interior and Exterior pictures of your house, then make up a sheet with a written list of the features of the house, dimensions, etc. Make lots of color photocopies so you can have them available to any potential buyers. You can set up a mail box of sorts to hold the info so people stopping by can just pick one up privately -- put it in the Front Yard, or Main Entry of an Apartment Complex, if that's where you live). Lots of people will be interested in the house price before viewing.
6. Have Open Houses -- from 1:00 'til 6:00pm. For some reason, these are great hours. The typical Open House (if there even is one...)is from 2:00 - 4:00pm. Too hard for people with busy lives (the ones with the money to actually buy your house! ha,ha!) to get to in time. Hey, you're cleaning and prepping your house, anyway -- what's a few more hours? Those'll be some of your best-paid hours in your life, if you sell on your own, since you'll save about $10,000. on an 'average' home! Now, that ain't bad!
7. Put out fresh flowers -- potted or cut -- in as many rooms as you can. Adds great color and gives your home a lovely lived in feel. Also, the old 'bake something that smells delicious' thing really is effective. You can also put a cinnamon bun in the microwave for 45 seconds, or simmer apple juice, vanilla & cinnamon on the stove. It's welcoming and it works! Oh, yeah. Wear something appropriate and put the dog/snakes/leopards where they won't bother your potential buyers! :)
8. Get any offers in writing. Have your Contracts ready and read through them first, so you're not struggling to figure out who the Vendor is when your Buyer is sitting there...:) (If you're the Seller, you're the Vendor!) When you're using a Realtor, be sure that they have good contact numbers for you so you can all act quickly when an Offer comes in on your Home.
9. Contact a Lender On-line before you start the whole thing -- you need to know the current Mortgage Rates so you can help your Buyer, if necessary, and for yourself, so you can know how much you can afford for your next place.
Find a good Real Estate Lawyer, first, too, so you can give your Buyer his or her name. (When you're selling yourself, you can share a lawyer, unless your buyer seems crazy, in which case it may be wise to find another buyer, or at least retain separate lawyers!)
10. Keep a positive attitude! The right person always shows up at just the right time, so keep your chin up and sell your house!
Ailsa Forshaw is a Writer currently stuck in Alberta, Canada, but with great aspirations of 'living somewhere warm'-- and Publishing many items! Ailsa's website, http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca (http://www.theScottishDiet.com), came after years of Teaching, Building & Writing. She has Two lovely children, 17 & 5 (very careful planning), and is still married...with one gorgeous wee dog. http://www.buildyourownhouse.ca