Once you make the decision to sell your home, you really want things to move quickly. After all, you are the one in limbo waiting for the home to sell to make decisions to move and where. If you already have the where, you may be even more eager to get the house sold because you don’t want to get stuck with two mortgages. Here’s how to sell your house fast with a Ventura County agent.
Price to Sell
Of course, you want the most money for your home as you can possibly get. But when a home is priced to sell, it tells sellers you are ready to deal. Just because a home is priced lower than the current market prices doesn’t mean it will sell below the market price. Why?
Because when you price a property to sell, especially in a hot market, you generate a lot of attention for the house. This often means multiple offers bumping up the price of the home above the asking price.
Prepare the Home
Even if you are selling “As Is,” do the work to get the house ready for sale. This means looking at the curb appeal and cleaning up the landscaping. If you don’t have time or funds to do a lot, just make sure the grass is mowed, the weeds are pulled and the bushes are trimmed. Keep driveways and sidewalks clear of leaves and debris. Keep the grass watered and green and maybe put in a few new colorful plants if you can.
In the house, make sure to declutter what you can. Box things up and put them in storage if possible. Leave as few things as possible on counters, shelves, and walls. Give the house a good cleaning so the kitchen and bathrooms sparkle. This invites buyers in.
Do Pre-Inspections
One of the major speed bumps in the buying process is the inspection period. Buyers are unaware of issues until then and a negotiation process starts – or worse, the buyers walk away and you need to start over. If you are concerned about hitting this speed bump in the escrow process, pay to have at least the basic home inspection done prior to listing.
This way you can disclose to all potential buyers any issues found. Of course, a buyer may still opt to have their own inspections, but if you use a reputable inspector and hand them over the report, many buyers will happily save their money, waive inspections and offer a price based on your report without repair demands.
Market Aggressively
Your agent needs to hold not just a grand open house, but aggressively market to other agents in Ventura County. Demand at least one broker’s open house on caravan days. Express your desire to have Saturday and Sunday open houses to the public with proper marketing done for those open houses. Professional photos help the marketing efforts to get eyes on the property. The more eyes on the property, the more likely you are to get at least one offer quickly.
House listing tends to get stale if the house has been on the market for a few weeks. Interest drops and fewer eyes come through. Your agent should be prepared to change things up, perhaps with new photos for new buzz or even a potential price reduction to re-invigorate interest. Keep in close communication with your agent as time goes on to make sure your listing doesn’t get stale.