The real estate market in Northwest Washington is hot, hot, hot! Now is a great time to put your home on the market…but first there are things you should take care of to ensure you get top dollar for your real estate investment.
Here’s our list of the top 10 things to do to get your house sold now.
- Get rid of clutter. Spend a couple of weekends cleaning out the garage, sorting and organizing closets and cupboards and packing away extra items you won’t need for the next few months. Have a yard sale or donate usable items to local nonprofits. The more you downsize and edit now the less you’ll have to pack, move and unpack later. De-cluttered homes show much better when potential buyers stop by.
- Depersonalize your home a bit. Home buyers want to picture themselves living in your home…seeing traces of you everywhere can make that hard. Tuck away all those family photos that are stuck on the fridge, re-paint your daughter’s bright orange bedroom a more neutral color, pack your garden gnome collection.
- Take care of any maintenance items that have been on your to-do list for far too long. Repair window screens, clean gutters, touch up chipped paint, fix caulking in bathrooms, get those carpets cleaned and pressure wash patios, sidewalks and your driveway.
Polish up your home’s curb appeal. Properties that sell for top dollar look fresh inside and out. Prune overgrown trees, shrubs and plants, weed flowerbeds and mow the grass, plant a few flowering annuals along the entry path or near the front door. Clean or re-paint your front door and consider adding a fresh doormat. Consider moving extra vehicles, portable basketball hoops or RV’s to storage while your home is on the market.- Clean, clean, clean. If cleaning is not your thing hire a cleaning company for a day to clean bathrooms and the kitchen. Wash windows and wipe down blinds. Serious buyers will look in closets, drawers and storage areas—make sure what they see is clean, tidy and well-maintained.
- Choose the right real estate agent. Look for one that has listed (and sold) many homes—they will have systems and processes already in place to market and sell your home quickly. They will also be able to counsel you on selecting the perfect listing price.
- Insist on professional photography. The top real estate listing agents in Whatcom County pay for a professional photographer capture all the best features of your home…many now use drones to snap images of your property and surrounding views from above. Make sure the listing agent you choose commits to investing in professional photography so your listing looks polished.
- Take advice from your listing agent about staging your home. Experienced real estate agent have walked with potential buyers through hundreds of homes–they have heard feedback on what buyers like, and what they don’t. Heed their advice with regards to editing furniture pieces to create more visual room, decluttering knick-knacks, removing bulky draperies to highlight views, or staging outdoor sitting areas.
- Ensure access. If you want to sell your home you have to make it available for potential buyers to tour. When buyers agents call for a tour respond quickly and set up a showing as soon as possible—aim for the same day or the next day.
- Negotiate respectfully. Buying and selling a home has to be a win-win situation for both parties. Counsel with your realtor when it comes to negotiating the sales price and any items that come up during the home inspection–aim to be fair and non-emotional. Don’t jeopardize all the hard work you put into preparing your home for sale over a $500 repair request or killing the deal because you and the buyer are $2,000 apart on the sales price. The right listing agent will really help you negotiate in these areas!
There you have it—by choosing the right listing agent, polishing up your home for sale and working towards a win-win deal for yourself and the buyer of your home—you can sell your house quickly in Northwest Washington.
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