The holidays are filled with so many things to do. The thought of adding something as monumental as selling your home can be overwhelming. But by breaking down the home selling process into 12 easy steps can get your home sold faster than you can say “Bah Humbug.” This holiday season, get your home sell ready before Christmas. Here’s how:
1. Finding an Agent
Just doing research and finding the right agent can help you speed up the process to selling your home. A good agent can tell you what they can do to sell your home as well as advise you on the market conditions in your neighborhood. The right agent will market your home in the best places and help you to find the right buyer.
2. What’s Your Home’s Worth?
It’s important to have an idea of how much your home is worth before putting it on the market. You can research similar homes recently sold in your area to get a ball park idea on your home’s worth before you actually pay for an appraisal. You can also utilize the great agent you found in step one and use their comparative market analysis tools to estimate your home’s worth before placing it on the market. Knowing your home’s worth will help you in setting the right asking price and negotiating with potential buyers.
3. Listing Your Home
If you’ve done your homework in the steps above, you are more than ready to decide on a listing price for your home. Remember to keep up to date with current market conditions in your specific area. If similar homes in your area are selling for 250,000, don’t list yours for 350,000 because you won’t attract potential buyers. Simply listing your property at a marketable price can attract buyers. Remember, you can always negotiate price later.
4. Make Necessary Repairs
While you might use Christmas lights to hide dangling roof tiles or broken gutters, potential buyers won’t be impressed by a home that is in need of some TLC. Take the time to make the repairs to your home that you have been putting off. Especially around the holidays, you can find reasonable prices for many of the most common areas often in need of repair like gutters, roofs, decks and windows. If you’re handy around the house and you don’t want to have someone else do them, think of making them part of a your DIY projects for the season.
5. Clear the Clutter
Organizing doesn’t have to be a chore. Think of this as multitasking. Holidays are great times to donate and share your abundance with others. If you have mounds of clothes or excess furniture around your home, take the time to gather unwanted items together and donate them to Good Will or your favorite charity. Buyers who come to view your home don’t want to see a lot of clutter and your home will look larger and more spacious when you remove unsightly clutter from it.
6. Furniture Arrangement
Think aesthetics and function when arranging furniture. If you like having the coffee table flush against the couch to put your legs up, this does not necessarily translate into a selling point for a buyer. Arrange furniture in a way that highlights the top features of your home. If you have a fireplace, make sure that furniture isn’t blocking this high sale feature. Rather frame the fireplace with strategically placed furniture to lead the buyer’s eyes to it.
7. Stage Your Bathroom
This should be a given, but if it isn’t, make sure you first clean the bathroom. Bathrooms are huge selling factors in real estate and a dirty one is a big turnoff. If your bathroom is modest on size, you can make it appear more spacious by eliminating clutter and by adding mirrored cabinets and wall decor. You can update the room’s look by adding decorative tiling and re-grouting the tub. Simply hanging up pretty bath curtains and matching towels and bathroom items can spruce up the look.
8. Stage Your Kitchen
One of the most important rooms in your home is your kitchen. And, while it doesn’t have to be a Food Network test kitchen, it’s important to cast your kitchen in its best light. Resurfacing the cabinets or investing in a complete kitchen remodel will increase the value of your home. What you invest in your kitchen you will recoup when you sell your home at a lucrative price.
9. Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal
Don’t forget about the area surrounding your home. You’ve put time, effort and resources into getting your home buyer ready. It would be a shame to loose a buyer because you didn’t rake the leaves or shovel the snow. Ohio can be cold this time of year, so being prepared for the first snow is important.
10. Add Seasonal Touches
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and you want to make sure that your home looks like it as well. You want viewers to see that you take pride in your home. Hanging some wreaths and stockings will keep you in the season and keep buyers coming back to view your home.
11. Hosting an Open House
One of the best ways to increase potential buyer views of your home is by hosting an open house where buyers can come to view your home in mass. You can serve light refreshments and have a window of time where your home is open to the public. Your agent can answer technical questions your buyers might have, while you can share the nuances and nostalgia of your home.
12. Open House Feedback
Once you’ve completed your successful open house event, it’s crucial to touch base with your agent about the buyer response. Once you’ve discussed these with your agent, you and your agent can tweak your holiday home selling strategy and have your house sold before Christmas.
Selling Your Home in the Columbus Area
If you’d like more information about selling your home, read our free home seller’s eBook:
