Sell Own House - Remove Obstacles !
One thing is for certain, you do not want your property sitting on the market for months or even years at a time. But, that’s exactly what we see happening; and when this happens, potential buyers will see your property as stale. Whether you sell own house or list it with a Realtor, you need to get your property sold fast!
If you find that you are getting plenty of ‘lookers’ but no offers, you need to take a step back and look at your property from a potential buyer’s perspective. I know I can’t see any problems with my own house, but if you walked through it, I’m sure you’d find all sorts of things that are unsightly to you. So, the best thing to do is to have a friend or neighbor do a walk through for you. Let them know you will not be offended if they tell you that the old chair needs to go or that it may be an antique to you but it just looks old and dirty to me. Perhaps the cat litter is stinking up the place; our individual sense of smell can adapt and we may not be aware of the offense. But someone seeing (smelling??) your property for the first time will have the freshest and oftentimes the best perspective. I just love the flowered wall paper in my dining room, but wow, what year is that from? To sell home fast, it may be time for your property to get a cosmetic face lift.
Here is just a sampling of items to look for when you want to sell own house:
The Basement stinks — Now, I mean, the basement really stinks. Who cares, you say…it’s just a basement. Well, that smell definitely filters into the living areas of the house. And no one wants to live in a house that smells musty. Go ahead and get as much cleaned out of that old cave as you possibly can. Wash down the walls and floors with a special solution and then, if you’re feeling energetic, go ahead and paint them with basement paint. Be sure to run the dehumidifier too.
Rugs are old, worn and musty – I know I can’t see the wear-and-tear in my 20-year-old carpet, but I’m certain if you walked through it would be one of the first things you’d say “YUK” to. If you have wood floors under that smelly, old carpet, go ahead and remove the carpeting. The best option once you’ve removed the carpet, of course, is to have the wood floors professionally refinished. It’s the more expensive option, but you’ll have a clean, gleaming, updated look that everyone is looking for.
Kitchen is too small — Now, this is a tough one because you don’t want to start knocking down walls when you’re getting ready to leave the place. But what we’ve found works well is to hire a kitchen design firm to draw several layouts of potential kitchens. They will gladly offer their services at no charge for a potential sale. Be certain they give various price range estimates, from low level cabinets/counter tops to top-of-the-line. Leave the drawings on the counter top for potential buyers to see. Now, let’s say the price for a new kitchen comes in at $10,000. Here’s what you can do. Offer your prospective buyer a $10,000 Seller Concession at time of closing. Can’t afford $10,000 less at closing? Simply increase your asking price $10,000. Your buyers will be thrilled at the chance to pick out a new kitchen that is, in effect, already paid for!! This is another great way to sell a home fast!
More areas to look at:
- Walls are dirty – Throw on a fresh coat of paint. Be sure to pick nice soft neutral colors.
- Crazy wall decorations – Your Picasso daughter liked to paint pink trees on her bedroom walls and they were beautiful and special to you. But, most folks will need to see a neutral wall color to picture the house as they’re home. So, as hard as it will be, go ahead and paint over that beautiful artwork. But be sure to get plenty of pictures for your scrapbooks before you paint over it!
- Blinds are dusty, curtains are old – Be sure to clean dusty blinds and if the curtains have seen better days, it’s better to have bare, clean windows than old and dirty window treatments.
- Room is cluttered – If the room looks cluttered to you, it will surely look cluttered to first-time lookers
and you’ll lose many potential buyers. Get rid of the clutter.
Naturally every house will require its own specific “obstacle removal plan,” but as we suggested earlier, the best way to identify the highest priority items is to have a friend or neighbor tour your house and make a list. Once you have these items addressed, you will be far more successful in your particular sell own house fast strategy!
