Being retired is a great thing in a lot of ways. If you want to sell your house, it means that you have more time to work on it, show it to buyers, and make any needed changes to it, so you can get it sold. Then you can go on to your next adventure, whatever that’s going to be. You may want to move to a senior community, head south to get away from snow, travel the world, or something else entirely. So you can get started, you need to use the right real estate marketing tips. Then you have a better chance to get your home sold quickly and easily.
1). Will showing your home on short notice matter?
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Being available when a buyer wants to see your home can make all the difference in getting it sold. By offering to do showings on short notice, you’re telling the buyer that you’re a serious seller, and that you are willing to work with them, to help them buy your house. That can mean a buyer who is more willing to work with you, so you can get your home sold. It’s not a guarantee, but if there’s no reason not to show on short notice it’s absolutely something you’ll want to consider. It may require you to be very diligent about keeping your home neat and clean, so you can have a buyer come over right away when they contact you, but if you’ve cleaned, staged, and decluttered before you listed, and if you’ve made any needed or planned changes or repairs, you should be able to have buyers come see your home almost any time.
2). Have you moved out of the home already?
In some cases, the home might be vacant. If you’ve already moved out, you can market the home as being empty. That can be a great choice for an investor, or for someone paying cash, because they can close on the home on short notice. Then they can either get moved in, or do whatever they plan to the home, such as using it as a rental. While there’s no reason to move out of your home before it sells, if you have done that you should definitely let buyers know that a quick closing is completely possible. That won’t matter as much to buyers who need a mortgage, because they will generally require a 30-day or even a 45-day closing time, but other buyers may be more interested in your home if they know they don’t have to wait for you to move out, and that they can close faster.
3). Should you hold an open house?
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An open house is one of the very best ways to market your home. People like to come and see houses, and potential buyers can take a look around without having to contact you and set up an appointment time. That can make them feel better about viewing your home, and satisfy their curiosity about your listing. They may also feel like they aren’t as rushed, because they don’t have an agent bringing them to the property or they aren’t meeting the owner to take a tour. While open houses won’t necessarily bring you a buyer, they can definitely give you more opportunities to market your home to people who might be interested. Just make sure you hold your open house on a weekend, and have it going on for several hours. That will give you the maximum number of people coming through, as long as the open house was well advertised.
4). How much difference does staging make?
By looking around your home with a critical eye, you have the opportunity to stage it right and make any needed changes before you list it. Then you have a better chance to sell your home quickly, letting you get on with the next chapter in your life. Staging your house doesn’t have to be difficult, and you can probably use what you already have in most cases. Just make sure you remove any personal touches, like knickknacks or family photos. Neutral decorations and pictures are generally fine, as long as they aren’t too numerous. Remove some of your furniture, too, so the rooms look bigger, and make sure that everything is very clean. It should look like a model home or a quality hotel room, and not have any personal touches that are yours. That helps buyers see themselves in the space.
5). Would you be willing to change your price?
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While it has been said that real estate is all about location, it’s also about price. If you’re asking too much for your home it isn’t going to sell, no matter how well you market it and how much effort you put into staging it and making it look great. Those things are all important, but you also have to ask the right amount. Comparable houses in your area can be used to come up with a price. You can also pay for an appraisal. No matter what you choose, though, be sure that your price is fair. Decide how much you’re willing to negotiate. Then you’ll know what to do when you get a potential buyer, so you can decide whether to take an offer or say no and wait for a better one. With the right price and good marketing, you’ll have the best chance of getting your house sold.
