How to Sell a House Fast: 5 Steps

• First things first, finish what you started.  Are there projects in various stages of completion staggered around your house?  Finish all these miscellaneous tasks.  Screens with holes, doors that creak or stick shut, and paint touchups are necessary to give the buyers the impression that you care for your home and keep up with the maintenance.   A well maintained home will ease the buyers mind ensuring a hassle free move into their new home.

• Clutter equals stress!  Nobody wants to go on a long awaited vacation only to open the hotel room door of your oasis to see dozens of painting of random locations, people and scenes scattered on the walls, or shelves you can not see due to the items piled on them, decorative or papers stacked.   Buyers need to feel invited and at ease when they enter the home and each room in it.   Allow them to walk freely around picturing their items in every nook and cranny by packing your personal items now and storing them.   When they can visualize where to place their pictures and furniture, they are that much closer to making an offer.

• Create a blank canvas.  Pack up all items in a house which will show a buyer who is living there.  Allow them to envision themselves in the home.  They can not do that if all they see is you.  Minimize decorative items and artwork, and keep them as neutral as possible.  A fuchsia accent wall might look great with your disco ball in your study/bar area, but it might clash with a potential buyer’s furniture.  Therefore, this not how to sell a home.  Eliminate the guess work for the buyer and neutralize your locations with classic taupes, creams and beiges.

• Define the room’s purpose.  We have eliminated clutter, and created a blank canvas so a buyer can now start decorating the home in their mind.  Help them along a bit more by minimizing furniture and odd items like exercise equipment in the dining room or an office/bedroom/playroom.  Pick a rooms purpose and keep only items that serve that purpose.    Remove crowding furniture which keeps them from walking into a room and throughout it.  A sofa should not be placed in front of a room’s entrance, and a dining room table should not be so big, that you can not maneuver to all the chairs with ease. 

• First impression is everything!  Imagine flipping through dozens of pictures of homes, but you only have time to view 6 this weekend.  What will put the picture of your house on the top of the pile?  Curb appeal will draw more people to your home than anything, aside from giving it away.  Prize winning hydrangeas lining a freshly painted exterior of one particular home created the look of a beautiful English cottage.  Although the inside was in disrepair, the amount of buyers wanting to view this home was astounding.  If you really want to know how to sell a house, hiring a professional landscaper to manicure the lawn, rake the leaves, mulch the flowerbeds and plant seasonal flowers and bushes is an important first step.

Buying and selling your home can be one of the most stressful events in your lifetime.  Minimize the stress with these 5 simple suggestions which get you on your way to your new home and fresh start.