Selling a home is always challenging, but the process becomes even more challenging when it’s a down housing market. No matter what the state of the housing market is, you can always improve your home’s appeal in order to help it sell quicker. Here are our top 7 tips regarding how to sell your home in a down market:
Get Your Home Inspected.
Your potential buyers will want to know your home has been well maintained throughout your stay. If you hire a home inspector, you will be able to find and fix any major maintenance problems before potential home buyers buy the house. While your buyers will likely perform their own home inspection on your home, it will help the process move quicker if you can show that you already had your home inspected.
Get a Home Appraisal.
You can pay approximately $300 to have a professional appraiser evaluate your home. The appraiser will make an estimate regarding what your home is worth based on similar recent home sales in your area. Your home appraisal report will also give you information with what a home buyer would pay in order to purchase your home with a loan. When you have this information, you can tailor your home marketing better.
Promote Your Home Warranty.
If your home is backed by a home warranty, it will sell much quicker than if it isn’t. This will just be one more reason why home buyers will feel more secure buying your home over another home. Home warranty plans usually cost $300 and cover larger appliances such as refrigerators and dryers.
Give Cash for Home Improvements.
It’s likely your home buyer will want to perform improvements on the home. These improvements could be anything from adding a playground in the backyard to replacing the paint colors in the family room. If you want your home to stand out, you can offer cash as an incentive to perform these improvements. You might be able to sell your home quicker if you do this, and you can recover the cash amount with your asking price.
Pay for the Buyer’s Maintenance.
When your new buyers are moving in to the home, they are going to have a million things to do and worry about. If you offer to pay for their maintenance services such as hiring a lawn care company or a pool cleaner, you will be providing a huge service. This could potentially persuade the borrower to buy your home over another person’s home.
Be Flexible with the Asking Price.
If you’re like most home sellers, you have a minimum price in mind and you don’t want to go below your home’s value. This isn’t a smart tactic, because the few thousand dollars you want to keep might actually be preventing your home from selling. If you receive a lower offer than you anticipated, still consider it in conjunction with the cost of keeping your home on the market.
Visit a Real Estate Auction.
As a seller, you should consider using a real estate auction as a method for selling your home. There are several risks associated with using a real estate auction, but you have the potential of selling your home quickly with an added profit. Auctions usually work very well when there are many home buyers with a small real estate inventory that is available.