Are you selling your house? These selling tips and tricks will help you prepare your house for sale. Our tips are tried and true, proven to work in any market and will get you a better outcome, whether it’s to sell quickly, sell for more money, or both!
Painting your house in the best light might literally require painting your house. First impressions matter a lot. You love your house for the memories you’ve created. A buyer will only love it based on what they see, so show them the best your house has to offer.
- Curb Appeal – How does your house look from the street or sidewalk in front of your house? Is the lawn well-manicured? Are trees and bushes trimmed? Are walkways swept? Does the paint look fresh yet neutral?
- De-Clutter – If you’re still living in your house while it’s on the market, take the extra effort to pack away anything you don’t need on a regular basis. Stow it away in your garage or spare closets.
- Clean – When you show your house, you really have to take “clean” to the next level. It’s well-worth a hundred bucks or so to have a professional cleaning crew do a full sweep of your house top to bottom. Don’t let potential buyers get caught up on dusty floorboards or dirty mirrors.
- De-personalize – You may love the dark red accent wall in your living room, but that might not be everyone’s taste. Most people will realize they can easily paint over the red, but why make that be a sticking point for the people who just want to move in and enjoy their house right away?
There are some home renovation projects that can add more value to your house than the cost to implement. If your home is a little older, there are a few remodel projects that won’t break the bank.
- Stone Veneer – Adding some stone veneer to the front of your house gives costs a few thousand but well worth it for the curb appeal value it adds.
- Front door – If your front door is pretty basic, consider adding one with sidelight panels. Creating a more grand entrance also gives potential buyers a good first impression.
- Garage Door – Replacing your garage door may cost a few thousand. A sturdy garage door with galvanized steel tracks and hardware, thermal seals, and an attractive panel and window panes at the top can really improve the look and functionality of your house.
- Fixtures – Modernizing your bathroom and kitchen fixtures (e.g. faucets) and hardware (e.g. cabinet handles, doors knobs) can go a long ways towards making your house look fresh and new without breaking the bank.
Even if you are still living in your house while it’s listed, an Open House is an opportunity for buyers to view your house. It’s a great way to get a large number of buyers in to see your house. A large crowd will generate interest and hopefully some offers from serious buyers. In fact, if you are still living in your house, it may be more convenient to take a short weekend trip and let your listing agent host an Open House.
Whether you’re selling your house on your own or enlisting the help of Team Lowe, advertising is key! There are lots of ways to advertise your house.
- Multiple Listing Service – The MLS is a centralized database of house listings that’s available to all brokers registered in WA. The second a listing goes live on the MLS, other agents can find it and bring their interested buyers to see your house.
- Online – Craigslist, Facebook and other social media and marketplace websites are great places to advertise. It’s less likely a broker representing a serious buyer will find your home on these advertising channels, but it’s a great way to advertise for free.
- Signs – If you list with an agent, you’ll likely find a “For Sale” sign go up in front of your house as well as directional lawn signs that lead to your house. This is a great way to attract people who drive by.
- Online Ad Marketing – Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, etc. are great ways to increase visibility to your listing. Both advertising platforms can be targeted to a demographic that’s most likely to be in the market to buy a house.
- Print and Direct Mail Marketing – You may have noticed that you probably get less “junk mail” than you used to. With online, digital marketing being so cheap and sometimes free, less marketing is making it to your mailbox. That means, direct mail marketing has a much better chance of being seen than in the past. Postcards or personalized letters have a higher chance of catching someone’s attention these days.
Team Lowe will develop a marketing strategy that is adapted and customized to attract serious buyers to your house.
Additional Resources
For more help with selling your house, check out these resources: