Ten Tips For Selling Your House

A big mistake people make when selling a house, is not understanding real estate value. It's irrelevant what you think your home is worth. The value of your home, and any improvements you have made to it, is determined by buyers. What you enjoyed about your house isn't important when it's time to sell. Think in terms of what buyers want, and use some of the following tips.

House Selling Tips

1. Know the market. Find out what similar houses have sold for, and have those examples ready to show potential buyers.

2. Decide on a minimum price - the price below which you just won't move. Don't tell your agent what this minimum is, but work with any buyers who make an offer at or above it.

3. Clean the visible things first. Maybe buy a new mailbox. When buyers fall in love with the house before they even enter it, they forgive a lot of problems.

4. Clean the neighborhood. If there's a neighbor who's yard is messy, pay their kids $10 to pick it up. The spend $20 to put flowers in any common-areas, and buyers will have a better first impression of the neighborhood.

5. If you or your agent don't getting many calls, find out why. Is more advertising necessary, or is the price too high? Drop the price fast, if that's the problem.

6. Listen prospects' comments. They'll be more objective than you. If you hear twice that the kitchen is dark, get out the white paint.

7. Find the average sales time is in your area. If your house takes longer than average to sell, there's a problem. Usually it's the price.

8. Ask your real estate agent what they plan to do - before you sign a listing agreement. Write down what he tells you, and hold him to his promises.

9. If there are known problems, such as an old roof, get an estimate for repairs. The sellers may want a $7,000 allowance - until you show them your $4,000 estimate.

10. Do improvements that can realistically get you a two-to-one return on investment. If $200 to seal the

driveway is likely to add $400 to the sales price of the home, do it. Do first those things that are most visible.

There are dozens of things you can do to sell your house faster, and to get a better price for it. If you really don't have much time, start with the ones that will get the most "bang for your buck." Or take a day off work and use all the house selling tips you can.

P.S. To make selling your house faster and more profitable, you can also make it easy for the buyer. For more on that, read the page on offering seller financing.

Houses Under Fifty Thousand | Ten Tips For Selling Your House