Tips to Sell Your Home Quickly In A Down Market

With everything that is going on in our down economy today, there are a lot of houses for sale. There is no shortage of Homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure are selling many of these homes. Needless to say, it’s a buyer’s market and homeowners need to know all the tricks to help them sell their homes quickly.

Fortunately, there are proven techniques that you can use to help you sell your home quicker and some of these may even help you get top dollar for your home.

Follow these 9 proven techniques to help give your home the best chance to sell quickly in a buyers market.

1. Research your asking price

I know it’s very difficult to sell your home for less than what you bought it for a few years ago. It’s even harder if you’re upside down on your home loan.  But you can’t insist on unrealistic price if you want to sell your home in a down market. To get an idea of what similar homes in your area are selling for (what Realtors refer to as ‘comps’), check sites like Zillow.com or HomeGain.com, or you can get an appraisal.

Although you can’t compete with banks that are selling foreclosed homes, you’ll be in a much better position to compete against other sellers who aren’t as flexible on price.

2. Remove clutter from your home

A messy or cluttered home can often be a turn off for prospective buyers. So make sure your house is clean and organized. Remove as much clutter as you can, even if you have to store your stuff in storage. Here are some general tips to help guide you:

•    Tables, desks, and countertops should be mostly clear to show as much surface space as possible.
•    Remove family photos from walls, shelves, and fireplace mantle (if you have one). You want the potential buyers to picture themselves living in the house, not looking at your family history.
•    Remove any unnecessary furniture and put it into storage to give your house more living space.
•    Remove unnecessary electronics, extension cords, and power strips. Most buyers don’t care about your mega entertainment system. And you don’t want it to be obvious that your electrical system is old and lacking.
•    Remove clothing from your closets and put it into storage to make the closets feel bigger.
•    Remove all the extra clutter throughout the house to make it feel bigger and more spacious.

3. Improve your home curb appeal

First impression means a lot, and for your home the name of the game is curb appeal. You do not have to necessarily have to spend a lot of money improving your home, but there are plenty of inexpensive things that can be done to improve your homes appearance if you don’t mind putting in a little “sweat equity”. You want your home to look better than other houses in the area and in a “move in ready” condition.

Here are a few things you could do to improve your home curb appeal:
•    Trim hedges and mow your lawn.
•    Clean all windows and surfaces.
•    Repaint walls, doors, and trims in neutral colors.
•    Replace old window blinds or drapes, and update the window treatments.
•    Power wash or paint the exterior.

4. Fix problems around the house

Now go throughout the house room by room, and take notes of all the things that need fixing. Little things matter and they could turn-off your buyers.  If you noticed them, the buyer will too. Take the time to go around and fix those things one by one. Remember that fixing these small problems doesn’t have to be expensive, but it will take time and effort.

5. Learn the Art of Home Staging

Home staging is not decluttering and cleaning. Home staging goes beyond that and happens after the steps above. It involves much less tangible things that include:

•    Making the home smells fresh and airy. Some will even go as far as baking cookies before a showing to give the house a pleasant aroma.
•    Making sure the temperature is right. You want the potential buyer to feel comfortable.
•    Making sure rooms are properly lit by adjusting the window treatments and turning on/off lights.
•    Arranging pieces of furniture in an appealing manner.
•    Putting vases of fresh flowers on tables, or a small fruit basket on the dining table.
•    Showcasing various fabrics, decors, and knickknacks.
•    Arranging items on shelves, bookcases and fireplace mantels to draw attention to predetermined areas.

6. Leverage the power of the web to market your house

This is the Internet age and you should not let your agent limit your reach. Take advantage of online resources to help sell your house.  For example, put home for sale ads on Craigslist, Zillow, and HomeGain. If you use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, send out a message to all of your friends and contacts and let them know you’re trying to sell. You can also send out a copy of your listing to people on your email list to see if they know anyone that might be looking for a house in your neighborhood. Often times friends and neighbors can be the best sales resource you have. Use every channel that you have at your disposal!

7. Get a good agent to help you sell

In general, it’s better to work with an agent than trying to sell the house on your own. It’s their full time job to find buyers and show your home. This is harder than it looks and it’s generally better to leave this to the pro. However, you have to remember you’re the boss and that we are dealing with a lot of money here. So don’t just pick any agent that comes along. Call several real estate offices and ask to talk to their top sales agents. Make sure you are comfortable working with the person and ask questions. About.com has a great list of questions for asking a Realtor. You can find it here: http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/tp/Agentinterview.htm

Another important thing to remember is never go into an exclusive contract with your agent. You want to be able to fire your real estate agent you become unsatisfied with them.

8. Be creative

This is a buyer’s market, but even so, a house is still very expensive for most people. If you have a buyer that needs help to close the deal, consider offering some sort of incentives to make the deal happens. For example, you can offer to cover some parts of the closing costs. This works especially well with first time homebuyers).

Be creative!

9. Don’t be there

When you are having an open house, when possible try not to be present. It’s uncomfortable for you to have strangers in your home, and likewise, it’s uncomfortable to be in other people’s home. So why create any more tension? Leave the house and let your real estate agent takes care of business. Let your buyers look around at their leisure without feeling pressure.

Selling your house in a down market isn’t easy, but you can do some work to make your chances better.  In the end your house will show better, and you’ll be able to sell your house that much quicker.