Selling isn’t easy. It takes time, energy, enthusiam, patience, and more. Chances are that you’ve heard stories about houses that sat for years on the market without selling, often gradually decreasing in price. If you’ve been considering selling your home, here are a few ways that you can prepare your home for the market, broaden its appeal, and hopefully sell it fast. 

1. Fix what’s broken

Today's Buyers are looking for move-in ready homes. Work smart and fix items that are key to the operation of the household and reduce buyer's concerns and questions. Remember that most buyers want something they can move into right away without spending months working on. If there are problems with the home that you can easily fix, whether it be chipping paint, tired landscaping, or a broken fence post, try to fix them before you list your house. 

2. Update your appliances

It’s important to remember that homebuyers have specific items they look for in a home. For many buyers great appliances are number one on their wish list for a home. That’s where you come in. While you probably can’t afford to update every one of your home’s appliances, take a hard look at what your current setup looks like. Is the stove outdated? Is the fridge about to die? Dropping a few hundred dollars on a new fridge,dishwasher or oven might not be the way you want to spend your money, but it could help you sell your house. If someone sees an old stove sitting in the middle of the kitchen that looks like it’s about to break, they may wonder what else is going to break if they buy the house. 

3. Breathtaking photos

Pictures are one of the most important ways that you can draw in potential buyers. If someone is looking for a new home, they’ll typically take a look at real estate websites before setting up showings or attending open houses. Because so many shoppers look online before they decide to explore a property in person, it’s important to have high quality photography. When you choose to list with my agency, Mott & Chace Sotheby's International Realty, top quality photos of the exterior, the interior, and aerial drone photos are part of the package. When appropriate to the property, our photographers will even do a floor plan, a video or a Matterport tour. 

4. Ditch your clutter

Clearing out junk is easier said than done, but if you want to sell your house quickly, you really need to minimize your clutter. Pack up or get rid of extra papers, magazines, memorabilia, and tchotchkes that might be sitting around your house. Clean out the closets, clean under your beds, organize the garage, and more. When buyers walk through your house, you want them to look at the house, not the stuff. You want them to imagine themselves in the space. For inspiration on decluttering your home and lfe, you might consider watching a few episodes of the new Netflix Series called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Her line "does it spark joy?" may be helpful to you. 

5. Choose a Realtor

I will be the first to tell you: you need to focus on preparing the property for the market and also selecting an agent to guide and represent you in the selling process. Remember that buyers probably won’t drive by your house and just see the “For Sale” sign in your yard. Rather, they’ll find your house online first, on a website, on social media, or even in a newspaper or a brochure. Contact a Realtor (like me) and ask for a Market Analysis. We are professionals experienced and seasoned in this process. We love to help! 

6. Price Fairly

You’ve spent years in your house and the process of selling can be emotional, so it’s normal to want to attach a price tag to those. Unfortunately, the reality is that you can’t afford to ask too much for your house as it will cost you time on the market. Be realistic. Remember that buyers are smart. Review the Market Analysis that your Realtor prepared for you. Take a look at what other houses have recently sold for in your area and price your home competitively and accordingly. Ask questions of your Realtor. Set realistic and reasonable goals for your selling timeline. 

7. Don't be Emotional

A mistake that some sellers make is to turn down offers because they are emotional over the low purchase price that was offered. Even if you don’t like the details of the offer to buy your house, realize that someone (a buyer!) just told you via an offer that they want to buy your home! Set aside your own emotions and consider their offer carefully. Lob them a counteroffer and see if we can get them to engage. As your agent, I want to help you get the highest dollar value for your home in the shortest possible timeframe that meets your goals. Time is money. For the shortest market time, be prepared and don’t be emotional or choosy about your offers. Sell your property to the first person who makes an offer that is well-presented, reasonable and meets your timeline and goals. The first offer is sometimes the best offer.