How To Jump-start The Home Selling Process In 9 Steps

The home-selling process can be long and arduous, but there are a few things you can do early on to speed things along and help your house sell faster and for more. Whether you have Basalt real estate for sale or are looking to list your Aspen investment property, these tricks translate into a faster sale and an increased price.

The best thing you can do is start the selling process with a clear idea of your priorities. This can include selling fast, maximizing profit, or selling without having to do renovations. You also should take a moment to determine what sacrifices you’re willing to make. Will you accept a lower price to sell faster or avoid having to have upgrades done? Are you willing to delay your move to get a higher price? Are you willing to spend a bit more to accelerate upgrades in the hopes of seeing a significant return on your expense?

Having these goals and accommodations listed out can help you and your real estate create a selling plan and timeline that will achieve your priorities and will allow you to set reasonable expectations.

If you want to accelerate the home-selling process, start deep-cleaning the house. While you’ll likely want to hire a team of professional cleaners, doing some scrubbing on your own can highlight issues that need to be repaired and gives you an opportunity to sort through your personal possessions to determine what can be trashed.

Even if you’ve just decided to sell and you still haven’t found an agent, you can start packing up your belongings. When the house is being shown, you will want to remove your personality from the structure, so packing things up now just makes it easier down the line. Family photos, kids' toys, and more can make it difficult for potential buyers to picture themselves in the house, so pack them up. At the same time, take the opportunity to throw away, sell, or donate items you no longer need – there’s no point in taking them to your new house when they are already obsolete in your life.

Buyers typically have their own home inspections done when you accept their offer, but it’s still worthwhile to have one done yourself early in the selling process. The inspection can bring to light issues with your house that need to be repaired – plumbing, electrical, structural – giving you the opportunity to fix those issues before the house is on the market. Even if your house is in good shape, the inspection results can be used to reassure buyers that they won’t be facing any problems that might kill the sale after they’ve fallen in love with your house.

Whether it’s major issues revealed by the home inspection or smaller, aesthetic projects that will help your house sell, very few houses are ready to go on the market with absolutely no work. The most common task is repainting – while you’ve likely painted your home to reflect your personality, a fresh coat of a neutral shade is more appealing to buyers. You can also repaint cabinets and other elements to update them without taking on a major project.

Take a look at the light fixtures, doorknobs, and other hardware around your house. Replacing these may be another easy upgrade that can have a big impact on potential buyers. While you’ll want to discuss more complex renovations with an experienced real estate agent like Jill Shore, small, simple, and inexpensive changes can be done early on to put you ahead of the game.

Don’t forget to go outside your home, too. Curb appeal is the first thing buyers see at a showing, so start refreshing that garden. Try to make sure you have plants that are at their best around the time you’ll be listing your house and refresh the mulch so that it’s vibrant and neat. Have your house, walkway, and driveway power washed so that they look clean, and take some time to repaint or stain your porch and deck. Again, these are relatively easy projects that generally net a return far greater than your investment.

Do a little studying on the local and national real estate market. A basic understanding of current trends can help you decide if you want to sell soon or wait a few months to list and can give you a better understanding of what to expect. You’ll also be able to learn what buyers are looking for in homes at the moment and use that knowledge to ensure they find those elements in your home.

Don’t decide to sell your house on your own. Instead, hire a realtor. The cost of the commission is easily outweighed by the fact that you’ll face a simpler and streamlined sale, you’ll have an advocate to negotiate on your behalf, you’ll have an advisor for any issues that do arise, and realtor-represented homes tend to sell for significantly more than for-sale-by-owners. Hiring a professional extends into other areas as well. While you can learn how to do a number of home repairs on Youtube, ensure that everything is done right by hiring experts. Your real estate agent will have recommendations for people in a variety of specialties, from plumbing to electrical work.

You’ll also need professional stagers and photographers. A stager will know just what size bed highlights how welcoming and soothing the master bedroom is or what rug makes a cramped dining room look a bit larger. They will also be up to date on buyer trends, so they will know if the third bedroom should be designated as a home office to attract young professionals working from home or if a zen bathroom is the key to receiving multiple offers. The photographer will use proper lighting and creative angles to ensure that photos highlight the best features of your home while downplaying any flaws so that more buyers are intrigued enough to schedule a showing.

Tell everyone you know that you’re getting ready to sell your home. Coworkers, friends, and family – any of them may know someone looking to upgrade into a bigger home or move to the area. While your real estate agent will handle the bulk of listing and marketing your home, being vocal about your intentions may lead to a few extra showings.

One trick that most people don’t think of is to create a guide to your home and neighborhood. Include the insider information that people new to the area won’t know – pickup basketball games every Saturday morning at the park or the playgroup that will help new families find friends. You should also list out any restaurants that you love, where you like to go shopping, and fun activities in the area. Type it all up in a lovely layout (Canva is a great web-based program to use), place it in a binder, and leave it in a prominent spot during showings. This guide can help potential buyers imagine the well-rounded life they’ll be able to build if they buy your house and may just be enough to make your property rise to the top of their list.

Selling your home can be a long process, but these tasks can help you get a jump-start, even before you’re willing to seriously commit to putting your house on the market. Once you’ve decided to sell, however, reach out to Jill Shore for more tips, tricks, and advice for navigating the Colorado real estate market. Whether you’re trying to decide your Woody Creek house price or getting ready to sell an Aspen single-family home, her expertise will be invaluable as you move forward with selling, and her work on your behalf will show when you achieve your goals.