Category: Real Estate

Regardless of how appealing or valuable you think your home is, you shouldn’t expect to sell it off quickly, primarily due to the highly competitive real estate industry. Home buying is a long and often complicated process that requires skills and strategies to succeed.

If you’ve been asking yourself the question, “I want to sell my house, where do I start?” for months now, you came to the right place. In this post, we will discuss how you can improve your chances of finding a buyer – whether it’s about finding the right photo editing company like Phixer or improving the overall aesthetics of your home.

TL;DR: Here are ten amazingly best-kept secrets that can teach you how to sell your house fast:

1. Make a Positive and Lasting Impression

No matter how well-decorated the interiors of your home are, buyers will already judge your property even before they walk through the front door. How your home looks from the outside will already affect their decision to buy from you.

One answer to the question, “I want to sell my house, where do I start?” is to make a first impression by improving your curb appeal. Your exteriors will significantly look and feel better when you clean your driveway, apply a new coat of paint, add flower boxes, and install outdoor lighting. You can also purchase a home warranty to reassure potential buyers that repairs and improvements will be covered.

2. Remove Personal Items

De-personalizing your home is a critical step when selling it. Before you take photos and list your home for sale on various online and offline platforms, you should remove personal items such as unique keepsakes, photos, exceptional family items, and even pets. It’ll be challenging for potential homebuyers to visualize themselves living in the property if it’s still filled with your family’s trophies and pictures.

3. Price it Appropriately

If you want to know how to sell your house fast, have it appraised. Listing your home with an expensive price tag will likely shoo away potential homebuyers while pricing it too low will prevent you from earning profits.

To price your home right, you should look into other similar properties in your area and assess their prices. This information can tell you a lot about what local homebuyers can afford, making it easier for you to price your home accordingly.

4. Invest in Proper Lighting

The quality and quantity of the lighting fixtures can affect a person’s mood and the space’s ambiance. You can positively impact the perspective of potential homebuyers and create a welcoming atmosphere by using the right type and amount of lights in your home.

Improve the lighting in your home by investing in various lighting fixtures to ensure that every room in the house is well-lit. You can open the curtains to let natural light in, especially when you’re planning to stage your home virtually.

5. Spend More Time in the Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of every home, which is why you should exert more time and effort in improving how it looks and functions. Some people use a clean kitchen to entertain guests, so you should consider remodeling it before selling your house.

Minor kitchen remodeling projects include repainting kitchen cabinets, updating hardware, or installing a new backsplash. On average, you’ll spend around $23,452 for a bit of kitchen remodel, but you’ll be able to recoup $77.6% of the cost and increase the resale value of your property by up to $18,206.

6. Showcase Your Home’s Best Features

Another way to sell your house fast is to showcase your home’s best features when listing it online or to take photos. Familiarize your home’s best features before selling it. You need to know what makes your house different from others in the area.

If your home is accessible to various schools, hospitals, and supermarkets, include this information when listing the property. Don’t forget to take photos of recently integrated innovative technology and smart home devices.

7. Offer More Storage

Sell your home fast by offering as many storage spaces to homebuyers. Storage areas are crucial to a healthy, happy, and organized home. The amount of storage space available in the home can influence the buyer’s decision. You can do this by taking out your belongings from your closets and investing in innovative storage solutions, like installing drawers in the unused space under the stairs or adding more hanging shelves in the kitchen.

8. Upgrade Suitably

Not all remodeling or renovation projects can add value and appeal to your home. Extending a room, installing a swimming pool, and adding a wine cellar might seem like an exciting project, but these won’t do anything to your home.

When deciding which remodeling project to invest in, take the time to assess which ones will pay off. Aside from minor kitchen upgrades, upgrading door handles, replacing curtains with inexpensive ones, and fixing leaking faucets are great investments that will get you the best bang for your buck.

9. Create a Strong Digital Presence

You’ll be able to sell your home fast if you maximize technology when marketing it. You can upload information about your property on real estate websites and utilize social media to sell your house.

To create a strong internet presence, make sure to list accurate information about your property and use high-quality photos, as well. These will surely attract home buyers from different parts of the world, allowing you to sell your home fast!

10. Take Great Photos

Photos can visually represent your home to potential buyers. Keep in mind that you will use photos for marketing your property – and the quality of these materials can leave an impression and affect a homebuyer’s decision to buy from you. Work with a professional photographer since they can highlight your home’s best amenities and produce stunning photos. Photographers also have the skills and tools to edit photos to remove any unwanted items from your property.

Knowledge is Power

Selling your house fast will require time, effort, and commitment. A house is an expensive investment, and no one wants to spend their hard-earned money on a property that looks unkempt or run-down. Fortunately, by incorporating the tips presented in this article, you won’t have problems finding homebuyers and getting your property off the market!

Selling your house is a great way to earn profits, especially if you invested in home upgrades that warrant high ROIs for the past years. A homestead is an essential commodity, so you can expect interested buyers to assume ownership of your property.

However, you shouldn’t be hasty especially and take photographs just yet. It would help if you prepared several things before hiring companies like Phixer to edit your real estate listing photos. These steps are essential for attracting buyers, providing a smooth buying experience to them, and earning the most profits from your home.

TL;DR: If you want to know how to sell your house quickly, follow the guide below:

1. Plan Ahead

Proper planning is the key to accomplishing your real estate sales goal, especially if it’s your first time. It would help if you considered the current market value, decide on upgrades, and established a marketing plan at the beginning. These steps will help make a more pleasant home selling experience.

Here are some of the steps involved in the planning stage:

Price it according to market value or have it appraised by a professional

The selling price is one of the most important considerations when selling a house because pricing too high will likely shoo away potential buyers, and pricing too low will prevent you from earning the most profits. Set a realistic price for your home by looking at properties around your neighborhood.

Look for homes with the same size and amenities as your home, and use this information to set the right price. If you’re at a loss, contact an expert real estate appraisal service.

Decide on repairs or home improvements

Avoid wasting money on unnecessary upgrades. Instead, pay attention to what local buyers are looking for and plan your improvements accordingly. For example, if local homebuyers aren’t looking for a steam shower or skylight, then don’t add them to your home.

Create a marketing plan

A marketing plan is essential to stand out from the competition. The real estate industry is thriving worldwide and regardless of where you’re going to sell your house, expect that you’ll have to compete with various companies and agents.

Don’t just at the first chance to list your property online since learning how to sell your house quickly is a long process that requires extensive planning.

2. Prepare the Necessary Paperwork

The bulk of any real estate venture involves compliance and documents. You should prepare the necessary paperwork ahead of time to sell your house efficiently. You’ll typically need several papers before you list your home, when you launch your home sale, while you’re on the market, and once a buyer makes an offer. You will also need to prepare another set of documents before and after closing the sale.

Make sure to prepare these documents as these are what you need to sell your house:

Pre-listing

• Original sales contract
• Professional appraisal form
• Home repair and maintenance reports

Upon Listing

• Mandatory disclosure
• Initial title report
• Pre-inspection report

Pre-launching

• Comparative market analysis
• Listing agreement
• Proposed marketing plan

Buyer Offer

• Purchase offer/counteroffer
• Contingency removal form
• Finalized purchase and sale agreement

Upon Purchase

• Home inspection and appraisal report
• Most recent tax statement
• 1099-S tax form

Getting the documents ready beforehand will ensure a smooth selling process.

3. Stage Your Home

In real estate, home staging is the process of home makeover or preparation to appeal to the most potential buyers who will pay the highest price for your property. Customers are attracted to visual imagery, and they are attracted to beautiful scenery and homey vibes where they can imagine staying a long time.

Therefore, home or virtual staging is what you need to sell your house faster than average. Virtual staging gains popularity in recent years because it empowers sellers to reach more individuals without exerting more time and effort.

Take note of these home staging tips to sell your property quickly:

• Stage where it counts: All the rooms in your house aren’t equal in home staging. Ideally, it would help to focus your efforts on staging rooms that have the most significant impact on a potential buyer’s decision.
• De-personalize the space: Take out personal items, such as your family photos and kid’s trophies, from your home before staging it. When you de-personalize the room, you’ll make it easier for potential homebuyers to envision themselves living in the property.
• Get rid of clutter: You won’t be able to highlight your home’s best features if the space has mess all over. Instead of creating a positive impression, clutter will only discourage potential buyers from investing in your property. A clutter-free home will look bigger and brighter. You can digitally declutter your images with Phixer’s unwanted objects removal service.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the most important rooms for buyers are the kitchen, living room, and master’s bedroom. Exert more time and effort to stage these homes, so you won’t have any problems convincing potential buyers to invest in your property.

4. Produce High-Quality Photos

If you want to learn how to sell your house successfully, invest in high-quality photos. How your property looks in these photos can significantly affect a buyer’s decision. You will need these photos for listings, marketing, and other purposes. Regardless of how functional and appealing your home is in real life, you cannot expect buyers to see it without illustration. You can take high-quality photos by investing in a great camera, using a wide-angle lens, and maximizing natural light. You can also hire a company that offers real estate photography editing services, like Phixer.

5. Process the Listing

After ticking off the tasks from numbers one to four, it’s time to list your property. Listing your home on the right platforms will increase your chances of attracting buyers and selling your house fast. You can register your home on different online listing sites, such as Zillow, Realtor, or FSBO. The more online platforms you’ll use to advertise your home, the faster you can find your buyer.

Key Takeaways

Learning how to sell your house is challenging, but you can always do it as long as you’re willing to follow specific guides and stay committed to your efforts; it won’t be long before you can enjoy the profits from your newly sold home! Prepare all the documents, photos and listings to ensure a smooth selling process.

Real estate properties are some of the most in-demand assets this year. As more people are moving in and out of suburbs, there are more homes on the market. Hiring an excellent real estate editor would give you a beautiful photograph adequately showcasing your home to would-be buyers.

However, the image is only part of the overall process. It would help if you avoided rookie mishaps to prevent expensive blunders and maximize the sales value. You could even offer the same service to other people.

TL;DR: Here are some of the most prevalent mistakes that people should avoid when selling the home:

1. Skimping on Listing Photos

One major mistake is not setting a budget for listing photos. Ideally, you should hire a real estate photographer to ensure that your photographs can compete with other real estate images online. However, if photographers are too expensive, you can take photos yourself leave the post-production to an expert real estate photo editing service like Phixer.

Here are some reasons why you should take listing photos seriously:

• First impressions last, and listing photographs could be the deciding factor between click or scroll away.
• The real estate industry is highly competitive, and while you are taking photos with your phone, other companies are hiring experts for the job.
• People like visually attractive listings.

Either way, you should never skimp on the quality of your photos; whether you hire a real estate photographer or a real estate editor is entirely up to you.

2. Submitting Natural Photos

Some people shoot and upload without checking the output. As a result, you may think that posting the listing earlier takes precedence over an attractive listing photo. However, you’ll eventually find out that the length of time doesn’t matter as much as the quality of the photograph.

If you don’t have time for post-production, you can hire a real estate photo editing company to create a virtual showroom using an improved version of your current space.

3. Not Anticipating the Costs

You might be selling your home to cut corners or earn money, but don’t forget to account for the selling expenses that go with it. While you may quickly put the fees on top of your selling price, you should also consider the current price on the market.

Here are some of the costs you should consider when selling your home:

• Home inspection and appraisal
• Agent commissions
• Cleaning and renovations
• Real estate photography or editing

Make sure that you’re ready for the charges before putting your house up for sale. Some of the fees, like agent commission, only need to be paid after the deal, but it’s crucial to prepare, especially if you want the highest market value.

4. Doing it Yourself

One of the most critical mistakes that new home sellers make is trying to do the sales process all by themselves. Instead, it would be best to rely on professionals like a realtor and a real estate photo editing company to ensure adherence to corresponding standards and protocols.

5. Unrealistic Pricing

This mistake centers around not having a proper home appraisal before posting the home on real estate listings. If you don’t ask experts about the actual price on the market, you will end up giving a price that’s too high or too low. Both extremes would be bad, so you should appraise your home first.

Conclusion

Selling a home is a big decision, and it’s vital to deploy help when you need them. Companies like a real estate photo editing service or real estate agency will allow you to make the best possible choices regarding property sales. You should trust the experts and maximize your returns for a stress-free sales experience.

Selling a property that needs an overhaul can be complicated and intimidating, mainly when most of the listings online feature completely furnished houses. Even if you use high-quality images edited by a real estate photo retouching company for the listings, one thing is for sure: repairs can affect a sale. Say you have spent time and money renovating the house’s exterior, but the interior is still in bad shape. What will you do?

The main problem associated with repair issues is the money and factors that affect the market’s saleability. Such factors include the current trend in the real estate market, competition, and investment return.

You can spend money on fixing the home’s issues before putting it up for sale as a seller. It does not mean repairing everything; sometimes, improving what is visible to the buyers’ eyes is okay. Still, it would be best if you informed him or her about the other possible repairs.

Buyers consider the “as is” condition of a property when making a deal. The selling process becomes more difficult as the potential buyers ask for more information about the house or building. When answering their queries, it is better to be honest than lying about the property’s situation.

Things to Consider Before Doing Repairs

Weigh the cost of the proposed repairs

Smart sellers will not make reckless decisions. It is appropriate for them to weigh the cost of the renovations against the home’s market value after the upgrades are completed. The idea is that the improvements may become of no use if it cannot return the investment once the property is sold. In short, evaluate its pros and cons.

Take a tour at your neighborhood

Give time to take an afternoon off to tour other homes within the vicinity with your agent. It helps if you take down notes on the condition and amenities in these homes. Next, compare homes in the neighborhood to yours. Highlight the crucial parts of the house, such as the kitchen, bathroom, and the rooms. If most of them have upgraded these parts, you should concentrate on fixing them too. Remember that these homes are your competition, and buyers are easily attracted to a ‘ready to move-in’ home.

Consider doing minor remodeling than a complete overhaul

Sometimes, it is better to do some minor fixes to your home – may be a complete remodeling of the kitchen or the bathroom that can add value to the investment. This doesn’t mean you have to buy designer appliances and tear out the kitchen cabinets. You just need to do a minor remodel – either by redesigning the kitchen and adding some state-of-the-art facilities into it. You can also focus on the paint. Sometimes, a simple change of color in the kitchen or bathroom and installing updated hardware can give them an all-new look.

Consider the security and safety issues

Here are some home improvements worth doing, especially that these are the most common issues encountered by buyers and inspectors that could flag some safety and security issues.

• Replacing the roof
• Repairing pipes, sewer connection, or septic system
• Addressing termite, mold, or water damage
• Updating the electrical panel
• Updating the HVAC system
• Installing a new water heater

Evaluate your capability

Try considering as well your ability to do some repairs. Are you into it financially? For example, it will not be a smart choice to do the renovations if you will borrow money to accomplish it. You will end up getting debt, and if you fail to sell the home based on your desired amount, the worth of the money you spent on the repairs are useless. There will be no profit gained at all.

Practical Tips to Sell Your Home Fast (even if it needs renovation)

Most of the time, renovations are costly. Such an amount of money may not be included in your budget, ever since you have planned to sell it. The truth is some prospective buyers are willing to shoulder the renovations all by themselves, but what if it is the other way around?

When this happens, you can always negotiate with the buyer, ask help from a professional real estate agent to deal with the property’s interested buyers, or give up entirely the idea of selling the place until repairs are done. Besides, here are some practical tips you can try.

Price the house lower than the usual

This option may not give you the best profit out of the deal, but if you do not want to shell out money for the repairs before selling, you can opt to sell it for a lower price than the ideal. Most buyers will negotiate with this option, especially that they need to pay for whatever renovations are required.

Consider the idea of fixer-uppers homebuyers

A fixer-upper refers to a property that requires repair even if it usually can be lived in or used as it is. Buyers who are interested in fixer-uppers are generally looking for those that need only light cosmetic repairs. Most of the time, they are buyers who either don’t qualify to buy a more expensive property or want to profit by fixing up the home and then resell it again. Here are a few tips to make the most of your fixer-upper listing.

• Price it accordingly. Ensure you know if you’re selling in a buyer or a seller’s market before pricing it. It can help if you benchmark the current home prices with the same condition as yours before dropping the digits.
• Focus on the positive side of the deal. Even if your house needs some repairs, other factors such as the location, lot size, and floor plan can be your unique selling points.
• Use keywords with high search volumes. Ensure a complete description of the home in your listing because buyers always appreciate having a detailed one. Consider eye-catching keywords that can add value and searchability to your listing. Doing a bit of search engine optimization (SEO) can help you stand out among others.
• Add quality real estate images – even if you are selling a property that needs renovation, make sure to use pictures processed by a real estate photo retouching company.

Doing easy upgrades to sell your home fast

Beyond any critical updates, think about the other easy things to do before selling your house. Here are some of the quick and economical upgrades you can consider.

• Caulking in bathrooms and kitchens – this is especially important since pipe leakages usually cause headaches to the new owner. Repairing faulty pipes adds value to the property and makes it sell fast.
• Having the carpets cleaned – if you are putting up a house for sale with all the old appliances, decorations, and furniture, make sure that they are still in good condition and usable. For carpets, have it cleaned with a professional cleaner.
• A fresh coat of paint, always in a neutral color – the choice of paint color also affects the property’s saleability. It is often recommended to choose neutral colors since they are attractive and pleasant to the eyes. Among the best neutral hues to choose from are beige, ivory, taupe, black, gray, and white.
• Improving lighting by adding fixtures or replacing bulbs – no one wants a home without any functional lights. Make sure to fix this issue at least before putting up the listing.

Overall, these are only some useful tips to follow and consider if you are selling a property that needs renovation. Hoping this helps, and best luck!

If there is one thing that other realtors tend to forget in their listings these days aside from the real estate images, it is the floor plan.

A floor plan is a drawing to scale that shows the property as seen from above. It shows the layout and the connection between rooms and spaces of the property.

While engaging visuals capture a buyer’s attention, the floor plan still has an essential purpose in a listing that can influence the buyer’s decision.

So, how can you make use of floor plans to leverage your listing? Here are some proven ways you can try.

Add it in listings

Having the perfect visuals is excellent, but not if your client wants to see the property’s open layout. This is why you need the floor plans. Potential buyers love floor plans because they give them better visualization of the property. A single floor plan can provide a more accurate flow of the rooms than having a furnished photo alone.

Highlight its importance

When you prepare the listing, try to include a section about the plans and its uses. Discuss there briefly the floor plans included in the listing and how to use them. This will give them better insights.

Add it on brochures (online and offline)

If your real estate marketing materials include catalogs, do not forget to add them. Adding floor plans into online property brochures adds a touch of professionalism. It sets your listing apart from other available listings online. On the other hand, if you also practice offline marketing of the property by handing out printed brochures, do not forget to add the floor plans. It is those little details that sell a property.

Pair it with compelling real estate images

A realtor’s job is to make buyers fall in love with the property you’re selling. Using high-quality and attractive images processed by a real estate photo editing company gives agents the advantage to have more potential buyers. But, this is only one thing, because adding floor plans is another thing to consider.

These two should come in pairs. This gives prospective buyers more comprehensive and detailed listings. The retouched images from a real estate photo editing company let them visualize the property when it is fully furnished. At the same time, the floor plans give them a chance to check the layout of the overall property – how many rooms, what are the arrangements, where are the fire exits, etc.

Learn its proper usage

It is essential to know how to use floor plans correctly to get the most out of them. Here are some tips to follow::

• Make sure the floor plan’s illustration is clear. It will help to recheck too if the plan has written descriptions. Otherwise, including one is pointless.
• Always include a compass in the plan. Interested buyers want to know the direction of the property, such as how the garage faces or where the master bedroom is.
• The most important thing to check is the measurements. Most buyers want to know how big the rooms are, or how wide is the total floor and lot areas. This gives additional insights that can help them determine the value of their money.
• Put appropriate labels/legends on the floor plans. This will help the buyers navigate it efficiently, especially if the plan is for a big property.

The five ways mentioned above are practical tips to get the full benefits of using floor plans in listings to sell your property. Still, the most important thing to remember is to explain well with the buyers the advantages of purchasing the property.