The house was listed on Friday night in the MLS, we didn’t allow the first people to go through until the open house on Sunday and by Monday afternoon we had an offer!! Now, after the offer/counteroffer process we’re entering into the next stage of home selling…THE INSPECTION PHASE.
But how did we do it? How did a home owner with FOUR dogs, TWO cats and a baby get their home ready for sale so quickly and get that 48 hour offer? Well we’ll share what worked for us.
Follow us as I explore each point in more detail.
- FIND AN AWESOME REALTOR-Realtors these days are a dime a dozen. Heck, you probably have a friend, neighbor or relative that will list your house for you “cheap”. And why not, they are family right? Well think again. If you’re going to pay money for anyone, you’ll want to pay the very best you can find. And while that might be Aunt Susie the selling machine, chances are it’s not. We looked for the best we could find.
- MINIMIZE, MINIMIZE, MINIMIZE!-This one is hard for most people (we discovered we are indeed hoarders) and may cost a little money in storage units or can make you some money depending on what you want to do. But minimizing your house will help give people the space to imagine what their belongings will look like in it.
- GET RID OF CLUTTER– That means taking down the knickknacks, picking up the toys and hiding away all of your other home accessories that aren’t a necessity. This also means that some of your family photos may need to make the move to the moving box for a bit.
- De-PET the HOUSE AKA GET RID OF FLUFFY-Okay, so you don’t actually have to get rid of Fluffy, but some people love the discovery of pet hair in a house (OH LOOK HONEY, BY THE COLOR OF THE HAIR THEY MUST HAVE A GOLDEN RETRIEVER!), but most people DON’T.
- NEUTRAL COLORS-If you love bright bold colors, good for you, so do I. But that doesn’t mean everyone does and some people have a hard time getting over it.
- INCREASE CURB APPEAL–The first thing people see when they browse through 100’s of houses online is the front of your house. And what’s the first thing they see when the cruise up with the realtor or are patiently waiting for the realtor to unlock the door? Curb appeal!
- FIX ALL THOSE THINGS YOU’VE BEEN MEANING TO DO-You know what I’m talking about. Those things you said you were going to do when you move in. Or maybe that knick you put in the front door when you moved in.
- WALLPAPER and OTHER SPECIAL TOUCHES-When was the last time you heard someone say, “Oh my gosh honey THIS HOUSE HAS WALLPAPER…I LOVE IT!” Ummm…NEVER.
- KNOW YOUR HOUSE-You need to be able to look at your house like a buyer and if you can’t, find an honest friend that will serve it to you straight.
- CLEAN HOUSE-A clean house is a happy house. And if you’re like most of America you don’t have time to do the cleaning the way it should be done.
BONUS-Join us after we explore the 10 MUST DO’S TO GETTING AN OFFER IN 48 HOURS to explore GETTING YOUR HOUSE READY FOR A SHOWING IN UNDER 2 HOURS