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It’s no surprise that it is hard to sell a home these days. Even in the best areas, homes can sit on the market for months — or years.
While this is great for home buyers because they have their pick of homes, home sellers need to work extra hard to make a sale.
The longer a house is on the market, the more it costs the seller:
- You might lose out on your own home buying opportunities.
- Or you could lose more money — especially if you have already purchased a new home, or need to get out of a home that you can no longer afford.
As a homeowner, you have to get creative about the ways you attempt to sell your home, since homes aren’t selling very fast on their own these days.
Here are some creative ways to sell your house fast…
#1 – Have A Home Auction
I first heard about home auctions in the late 1990’s. There was a news report that homeowners were having great success in auctioning their home instead of waiting weeks and months for a buyer to come along.
In the early days of eBay, home auctions online were somewhat successful. But due to location issues, eBay home auctions became more of an expensive listing service.
Still, home auctions are a good way to sell your house fast. (Or, you could even raffle off your house!)
According to Consumer Reports, the best way to sell a home fast is with the use of an auction house.
#2 – Price Your Home Competitively
Even if a home buyer falls in love with your house and it’s in the perfect location for them, money will ultimately be the determining factor — in terms of how quickly your house sells.
If you’re selling a car or a house in today’s sluggish economy, make sure the price is right.
— MSN Real Estate
Did you know that a precise price (as opposed to a round number) will affect buyers differently? Plus, you need to make sure your home is priced significantly lower than other houses in your area that are comparable to yours — if you want a quick sale, that is.
Now here’s an idea!… Check out this couple who is offering a free house — buy it now, and get your money back when they die!
Keep in mind that you may be competing with foreclosures in your local area. So, in addition to pricing your home competitively, you will also want to offer buyer incentives such as closing costs, points, or a decorating and appliance allowance.
#3 – Re-Think The Open House
There was a time when you could definitely sell a house faster by having an open house. Now, all an open house attracts is nosy neighbors!
The truth is, there are just as many reasons not to have an open house, as there are reasons to have one if you want to sell your house fast.
Pro’s
- It’s a “free” way to get exposure and attract potential buyers
- You can set your house apart from the rest
- It’s a great way to “wow” your potential home buyer
- You can create a sense of urgency for buyers who don’t want to “lose this house”
- It’s the most relaxing way for prospective buyers to learn about your home
Con’s
- There’s a slim chance of a sale
- You have to be on the lookout for theft and home security issues
- It benefits the real estate agent the most
- Bad weather directly impacts your efforts
- Your house can’t be “off the beaten path” and difficult to find
There’s one exception: If you list the home online and hold an open house almost immediately, the home can sell more quickly — and for a higher price. The higher the exposure, the greater the competition and therefore the price. —CNBC
#4 – Enlist The Help Of Neighbors
For starters, you could have a neighbors-only open house. This will get the looky-Lou’s out of the way, and also get your neighbors thinking about who they know might be looking for a house.
Offer neighbors a $200 gift card, if they can bring you a buyer. Instead of having one realtor trying to help you find a home buyer, you will instantly have 20 to 50 people working for you!
Along those same lines, see how having a garage sale can help sell your house fast!
#5 – Have A Virtual Open House
Most home buyers start their search for a home online. So why wouldn’t you want to marke
t your house online?
About 77% of all home buyers say they house hunt online, so Web presentation is extremely important. — ABC News
To have a virtual open house you simply need to take wide-lens photos of your home, and create a virtual home tour. Then, post your virtual home tour on YouTube and advertise the link to your virtual open house on message boards and websites — like Craigslist and other local websites. Of course, if you have your own blog, post it there too. (Like they do at Bloggerslane.)
Here are lots of examples of virtual home tours.
BONUS: #6 – Make Your House Sparkle!
Of course, before you can put the above tips in place, you first need to prepare your home for the sale — because not everyone is looking for “a diamond in the rough.”
Your home must sparkle in order for it to sell… fast!
So, before you show your home to the first potential homebuyer, you need to make sure your house is in pristine condition — inside and out.
These are the most important things you can do to make your house sparkle:
- Have your home cleaned professionally. (Here’s how to deep clean your house yourself!)
- Hire a home stager. (See how to stage your home to get the highest selling price!)
- Remove pets and pet smells from your house. (Here’s are some great tips for selling your home when you have pets.)
Here are some unique insider marketing tips for selling your house.
I have been a certified tightwad since I became pregnant with my first child and decided to find a way to stay home with him. I enjoy sharing my experiences in my journey back to financial health and planning for a future — which will include sending 2 kids to college and early retirement.
