Are you one of the troubled homeowners in California who is wondering how to sell your house fast? It’s not easy, is it? You want to get it done as quickly and easily as possible so that you can move on with your life, but yet how do you even do that? It’s a lot of work to sell the traditional route, but you are in luck because we know of a much faster way.
Below, we take you through a journey of what it looks like to sell the traditional route, which reveals how terribly long that can take, and then we compare that to our own process here at Osborne Homes, which is undoubtedly the ultimate fastest way to sell your house and one you should definitely consider if you’re for sure in a hurry. Hopefully, you will come out of the other side of this article armed with the information you need to make the right decision for you.
Start by hiring an experienced agent
If you go with a traditional sale, you will want an experienced real estate agent who knows the location of your home well and has many years under their belt listing and selling homes there. You can be sure they have a good idea of what needs to happen to get your home sold as fast as possible. After all, that is a common goal they have with you. The sooner your house sells, the sooner they get paid! Before hiring someone, though, it’s worth it to take a minute to fill out the form on our site and tell us what you’re trying to sell. Our process is MUCH faster!
A good agent will give you advice on selling your house and will be sure not to skip any pertinent details on the listing; things about your home that might be the most attractive to buyers, such as the home’s features and benefits. They will make the contact process as clear and easy as possible on any printed material so as not to confuse the buyers.
But how do you go about finding an experienced real estate agent that knows your area? Well, you might start paying attention to the for-sale signs in your neighborhood and contact the brokerages on them, one by one. Ask them these questions:
- How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood?
- How many are listed for my area currently?
- How long have those listings been sitting on the market?
Another way to find a real estate agent who will be the best fit to sell your home is to get referrals from neighbors, family and friends who may have bought or sold a house in your area. Be sure and ask them what they liked about their agent and if they would use them again.
Don’t forget too, about the agent who may have helped you buy your home. Maybe they will be the key to getting your home sold quickly, now. However, if it wasn’t a good experience working with them back then, maybe skip that idea and find someone new.
Once you have secured your prize agent they will likely have some guidance for you on what you need to do to get your home ready for listing and finding buyers. Here are some of the things they may suggest that will help get your home sold as fast as possible, in a traditional sale. Again, be sure and check with us here at Osborne Homes, before you commit to an agent. You’ll be so glad you did!
9 Steps to Get Your House Ready to List
Your real estate agent will give you advice on selling your house. They will tell you that the quickest way to find a buyer is to make your home the most appealing out of all the comparables. You want to make your listing stand out, grab their attention, get buyers interested in viewing your home and, if you cover all nine of the bases here below, then you have a great chance of seeing an offer come in quickly.
But the question is, do you have the valuable time and resources to make all.of this happen? While reading these steps through, keep that question in mind. Because each of these can sometimes take a considerable amount of time and money and if you don’t have that then skip to the bottom of this article to learn how you can avoid it all and go with the ultimate fastest way to sell your home – to us here at Osborne Homes.
1. Have your home inspected and make any necessary repairs.
You might be wondering, “can I sell my house without making repairs?” And, yes, you can when you sell to Osborne Homes. That is the best way to sell your house fast. But not if you go the traditional route. When you go with a traditional house sale, you have to take care of pesky repairs and you don’t want them holding up the process. So this is a good place to start. You could even have this done before finding the right agent for you, or just simultaneously to speed things up even more. The inspector will come out and use their experience to locate anything that could hinder the sale of your home or cause the price to be lower than you might desire. Once you have the report, get right to work fixing anything pertinent. Or, again, skip to the bottom of this article for the fastest way to sell your house without having to make repairs.
2. Clean, declutter, and stage your home to make it look its best.
… And you’ll need to keep it that way through the entire process. Not just for the photography session where listing pictures get taken, but also during all of the open houses and buyer agent showings. Having your home cleaned, free of clutter and staged with any items that might make the place look more modern or cozy will make all the difference. It helps make your house look more spacious. It’s also important that you remove ultra-personal items like family pictures. You want your buyers to be able to dream about what THEIR life will be like in this home and if they see your family memorabilia it may block their ability to dream about making it their own. Keep reading on for more tips to sell your house fast.
3. Don’t underestimate the power of curb appeal.
Imagine you have just completed your spring cleaning and put your home on the market. You nervously wait for the first offer to come in, but it doesn’t happen. You start to get worried and wonder what is wrong with your house. The truth is, you may not be giving your home enough curb appeal. Many buyers make their decision about whether or not to buy a house within the first few seconds of seeing it, so with the outside being the first thing they see, it is important to make a good first impression! Because if your home doesn’t look good from the street, you can be sure that potential buyers won’t even bother looking inside. So, just make sure it’s well-maintained and landscaped, and consider adding a fresh coat of paint or some new flowers. Or, if you really want to know how to sell your home fast, don’t forget that we buy houses all over California and can get started on buying yours today.
4. Price it right.
Take your agent’s advice on selling your house and list it at the price they recommend for a fast sale. You may be tempted to list your home for more than it’s worth in order to garner as much money from it as possible, but this will only result in disappointment for you when no one bites. Instead, price your house at or slightly below market value so that you have a better chance of attracting buyers. You may need to lower the price if it’s been on the market for a while
5. Use quality photos and videos to showcase your home online.
In order to get buyers to come see your home in person, you’ll need to have some great online photos and videos. Today’s buyers are shopping for homes online before ever stepping foot inside an open house. That means if your home doesn’t look good online, it will likely stay on the market longer than homes that do. So, how can you make sure your home looks its best online? Either hire a photographer or take a cue from the professionals and do it yourself – take and use your own high-quality photos and videos! Or forget about all of this extra work and sell your house fast in California without the need for any photography at all, with Osborne Homes.
6. Market your home aggressively through online and offline channels.
Sellers today have a vast array of resources at their fingertips when it comes time to sell their homes. Gone are the days when putting up a sign in the yard and listing with a real estate agent were the only options. Today’s sellers can take advantage of online portals, social media, and even drone photography to get their homes in front of as many buyers as possible. But that doesn’t mean that traditional methods are obsolete – using both online and offline channels can be extremely effective in getting your home sold quickly and for the best price. So how do you go about marketing your home in this day and age? Here are some more tips to sell your home:
• First, take a look at what’s available online. There are dozens of websites where you can list your home, ranging from general portals like Zillow and Trulia to niche sites targeting specific audiences. Be sure to research which sites will reach your target audience and list on as many channels as possible.
• Second, use social media to get the word out. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram offer great opportunities to connect with potential buyers who might not see your listing otherwise. Make sure your profile is updated with professional photos of your home, and post regularly about updates in the market or new listings that might interest them. You never know who might see your post!
• Finally, don’t forget traditional methods! Sometimes there’s no substitute for good old-fashioned word-of-mouth marketing, print advertising and direct mail campaigns targeted specifically at people who are likely interested in buying a home like yours. Pull together a package showcasing all the amazing features your home has to offer and send it to local Realtors® or homeowners associations for distribution among their memberships. With so many options available, there’s no excuse not to market your house aggressively! Unless of course you just don’t have the time or money to make it happen. If you don’t have time for all of this and you just need to sell your house fast, fill out this form and or call us up and we will give you advice on selling your house the quickest way possible.
7. Be flexible with showings.
Nobody likes to be inconvenienced, least of all home sellers. But sometimes you have to put your personal feelings aside and be flexible with potential buyers. That means being available for showings on short notice, even if it’s not always convenient. Because the truth is, the more showings you have, the more likely you are to sell your house. So do yourself a favor and be flexible! Don’t insist on scheduling all showings during just a few times, like work hours or Sunday mornings. Let buyers come when they can and be available for last-minute showings too. Your agent will appreciate it, and so will the buyers who are interested in your house. But, remember, a traditional sale is not always the best way to sell your house fast.
8. Think outside the box.
If you live in a desirable area but your house isn’t exactly perfect, consider staging it with rented furniture or doing minor repairs yourself to make it more appealing to buyers. Sometimes a little elbow grease is all it takes! But you might also be asking, “can I sell my house without making repairs?” And yes, you can. In fact, to do so is when you’re really thinking outside the box. Our team at Osborne can fill you in on how to do it if you decide against a traditional sale.
9. Be prepared to negotiate with potential buyers.
If you’re like most home sellers, you probably have your sights set on a certain asking price. But be prepared to negotiate with potential buyers and be willing to come down on the price a little – especially if a buyer seems really interested in your property. Keep in mind that the buyer’s agent is usually working for the client, so don’t hesitate to bargain or make counter-offers. We know this is a lot of heavy advice and complex tips to sell your house, but if you go the traditional route, this is really what you’ll need to do.
Traditional Sales Take Extra Time, Effort and Money
A traditional sale could take months if not years. So, to be honest, if you want to know how to sell your house fast, the answer is not a traditional sale. None of the steps above are ‘fast’ at all, and it may cost you a lot more money than you might have, too. There are sometimes ways to try and speed up each step, but when you’re in a serious hurry a traditional sale is simply not going to happen as fast as you need.
There could be any number of reasons why you’re in a hurry to sell. Maybe the taxes and maintenance on your place are too much of a burden anymore and you can’t afford one more thing. Maybe you are moving out of state for a job and need your house sold before you can make a move on a home in the town where you’re moving to. Or maybe you are even facing foreclosure and just want to break even so need to sell it immediately before anything else accrues.
If this sounds like you, then we have some great news…
Here it is: The Best Way to Sell Your House Fast…
Whatever your situation, and whatever condition your house is in, Osborne Homes is here for you. We are ready to buy your home, right away, for all cash — and we close FAST. We are able to close fast because we don’t have to wait for a loan to be approved or processed. We don’t have to wait for you to make any repairs — In fact, we ask that you do not make any repairs at all. We want your house as-is. Our goal is to help you relax and to make this as easy as possible for you, so we handle everything. All you have to do is hold your hand out so we can put cash in it. Contact us today to learn about how to sell your house fast! Just fill out this form and we will sell your house fast, for cash today! We look forward to hearing from you!