Selling your home can be quite demanding and stressful as your home will need to be available to show, presentable, and tidy at almost all times. In certain instances, you may even need your family to evacuate the property at a moment’s notice. Also, when you have pets or children, this same stress is escalated. With that being said, keep in mind that buyers will be most curious and interested in your house the first few weeks it hits the market, so prepare your family ahead of time. As is the case for many sellers, they’d like to sell their home as quickly as possible. Here are a few simple tips on selling your house fast in Norfolk:
- Make your home look great and pay attention to curb appeal:
There’s nothing more important than the first impression. So consider how a potential buyer may feel as he heads to your house for the first time. If an owner has been in a home for a long period of time, it can be hard to observe it objectively, so it’s better to consult with neighbors, friends, or relatives who don’t live in the house to find out ways to make your home look more appealing. Once your home is on the market, it’s crucial that your shrubbery is accurately combed and your lawn is trimmed at all times. Also, the driveway, porches, and exterior walls must also be tidy and neat. Putting money into brushing and cleaning up the outside of your house ensures that buyers are more inclined to take a visit of the inside as well. The curb appeal is something that pulls buyers in, helps to keep interest, and makes your house unique and distinguished from the competition.
- Determine the right asking price:
Most home owners tend to value their own property higher than the market rate; however, if you are looking for a quick sale, you must be realistic and practical. Make certain that you are aware of what similar homes have sold for in your neighborhood and price accordingly. There are so many resources like Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, and more where buyers can go online and see what similar homes in your neighborhood have recently sold for. If your home is priced considerable more, prospective buyers may lose interest very quickly and move on to another property that is priced more competitively. More importantly, be willing to negotiate. You can negotiate the price, closing costs, furniture and other items that you may be willing to include with the sale of your property, and so forth.
- Marketing tools, offline and online listings of the house:
Do offline and online marketing to promote the sale of your house. List the property on for sale by owner websites and use attractive pictures to make your property appealing to the buyers. There are also offline and conventional methods of marketing like posting your home for sale in local newspapers and magazines. For sale by owner and professionally designed yard signs are vital marketing tools that will attract potential buyers to your house. Open houses are another great way to attract buyers to your home. Make your open house fun and exciting with food and light music.
- Negotiations and contract:
After receiving an offer, you should consult with an attorney when negotiating the terms and conditions of the contract. An attorney will help to ensure that your contract does not have any pitfalls or careless mistakes that could put you on the losing end. Make certain that the buyer has a pre-approval letter from a lender.Also and more importantly, keep in mind that working with cash buyers can be extremely beneficial to you as cash buyers do not have to go through the trouble of qualifying and dealing with a lender.
- House inspection, appraisal, and closing duration:
Buyers have the right to hire a home inspector to inspect and access the condition of your property. If you are not sure how a home inspection will turn out, it’s best to consult with your own home inspector to get a better idea of the condition of your house. The appraisal is ordered by the mortgage lender to ensure thatit is not paying more than the property is worth. On the day of closing date, which is typically 30 to 45 days upon the execution of the contract, the buyer makes his way to the house and checks to make sure that your home is in the same condition. The buyer goes to his closing office (an attorney’s office or title/escrow company), signs all closing documents, gets the keys, and the seller’s proceeds are available within one to two business days of closing.