A lot of people make New Year's resolutions, turning over a new leaf and
setting new goals each January. A lot of resolutions also fizzle by February or
March.
If you're a homeowner with a goal of selling your home in 2021, now is a
good time to start preparing, no matter when exactly you'll put it on the
market. If your resolution is a profitable and quick sale this year, January is
the time to start preparing. Also, make sure your efforts don't fizzle by
February or March - selling a home properly can be a year-round process.
Here are some ways home sellers can start that process immediately, no
matter when the home will put up for sale, to make things go more smoothly:
If the colder weather keeps you mostly indoors, the winter is a perfect
time to focus on the interior of a home you're looking to sell. A great first
step is to rid your home of clutter, anything you don't need or haven't used in
a long time. Things you do need or want to keep, but don't use all the time,
should be packed away. The pack-and-purge approach not only gets your home on
the right path to show potential buyers, it will also save time and effort when
you move out of the home.
If a home seller doesn't want to turn off visiting buyers, they must
patch any dinged-up drywall in the home and should also probably paint. The
condition of a home is a major factor in how fast it sells (along with price),
and that condition is easily enhanced with patching and painting, work that
most homeowners can do themselves. Use neutral colors that brighten rooms and
open up living spaces, and even you might be surprised at how fresh and new
your home looks.
You've heard the phrase "You never get a second chance to make a
first impression," right? Well, your house only gets one chance, too. And
that first impression occurs when a buyer pulls up to your house in their car.
Curb appeal is a major factor in attracting buyers. That means that when the
very first blooms of spring start - if not before - home sellers should get
outside and make sure existing landscape is neat and trimmed. Grass should be
cut and watered. To enhance the outside appeal of your home, you can add color
and depth by planting flowers or flowering bushes.
This might sound a bit insidious, but a mistake many home sellers make
is not knowing what they're up against. When you're selling a home, you're
competing for buyers with all the other homes in the neighborhood. That means
if you're planning to sell a home, you should probe the market by visiting all
the homes currently for sale. See how yours stacks up, and plot out any
necessary improvements you can make to beat the competition. Do this before
spending money on improvements you
you need to make, and you could save time and money.
Think about the specific goals around price and timing you have for your
home sale. What do you have to net? When is an absolutely ideal time to move?
When is it most convenient to have open houses or buyer showings? Selling a
home can be stressful, but preparing and planning ahead can help reduce some of
this stress. Knowing exactly when you want to move and how much you want to
make can help your real estate agent look at market data and lay out how to
make it work best for you.
Some of these things might seem obvious, but not everyone gets the ball
rolling far enough ahead of an actual home sale. They are the ones who get into
sticky situations. An experienced real estate agent will help you a great deal
with the process of a home sale. But doing nothing before approaching an agent
only to learn that he or she has a pile of to-dos and recommendations, then
having to rush through getting a home ready to list on the market is a terrible
spot to be in.
