How to sell your home fast!
Sometimes life hits you with the unexpected. This can If you find you have to sell your house fast, there are ways to do it wisely. Here’s what to keep in mind.
Slow and steady wins the race, but sometimes you have to sprint. For any number of reasons, be it an illness, job loss, new career opportunity in another city, divorce, or just being ready to move on, selling a house fast may be a priority. You might assume selling always takes a long time, but selling quickly — even while getting a good selling price — is possible if you know how to navigate the process.
If you’re eager to pull out of that driveway for the last time, you’re probably asking, “I need to sell my house fast, what do I do?” We can help you answer that.
How long do most houses stay on the market?
When it comes to real estate, how long a house stays on the market varies, it depends if you’re in a hot market or a soft one. Every housing market is unique, and the time horizon can be impacted by price, condition of the home, and neighborhood, to name a few factors.
As of March of 2023, homes spent an average of 54 days on the market, (the time between when a home is listed on the market and goes under contract with a buyer), according to HomeLight. If you’re in a hurry, that might seem like a lifetime. You have options.
What is the quickest you can sell a house?
The answer varies, but if you go with a cash sale, it may be quicker than you think. Cash is king. With a cash buyer you avoid the time-consuming hoops you would jump over if a lender was involved. Your home sale and even your closing process becomes markedly simpler.
There are fewer steps and paperwork in a cash sale than with buyer financing. You don’t strictly need to do a pre-sale inspection, which can cost a few hundred dollars (though many cash sellers do them anyway, for peace of mind). Either way, you can likely sell your home as-is, avoiding the potential of a buyer backing out if he or she doesn’t like what the report reveals.
You also won’t have to worry about the cost and time to do significant repairs or major renovations. With a cash offer you can sell quickly, potentially changing your address in a week or two, compared to two or three months, or even longer, with a traditionally financed buyer.
How do I get rid of my house fast?
We’ll go into various strategies you can use for selling your house fast below, but before you even choose one, it’s smart to do bit of work to get prepared. Here are some quick and easy steps you can take to make any home-selling process go more smoothly.
Beautify
Although you may not spend the time and resources to do major rehab, do minor repairs and go for spit-polish-sparkle inside and out. Pay attention to details, big and small, like having as much light as possible. Rooms should be bright, airy and feel roomy. Paint inside if needed, a fresh coat does wonders. Deep clean carpets, get rid of pet stains. Depending on the condition of your house and the time you have, it might be worth it to you to hire a professional cleaner. Clean spaces will help appeal to buyers and sell your house quickly.
Understand timing is everything
You have your reasons for wanting to sell fast, but if you have some wiggle room, choose carefully when you want to put your house on the market.
Markets will vary, some will be active a certain time of the year, be it when the weather is ideal or because kids are out of school. If you hit the market at a time when many folks are looking, you can come out ahead. So if you have flexibility, do some research on local market data to determine the best time to sell in your area.
Set the price right
When it comes to setting the price on your home you don’t want to go too high or low. Get it right by doing some research. Look at recent comparable sales of similar homes in your area to come up with the best price that’s attractive to many buyers and make your house sell faster. The local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is a great place to cull that information. A traditional real estate agent can help with this too.
Decide on a strategy to sell quickly
Once you’ve done the prep work and are ready to jump into the home selling process and sell your home quickly, there are several routes to take. Examine the pros and cons of each.
Seek a cash buyer
There’s a lot of upside to cash offers. When you’re dealing with a cash buyer you avoid the lending process. That’s going to save you time and money.
You can also sell as-is, for cash, like Homeinc. The entire process with cash deals is faster than other selling methods. Depending on buyer interest, you could have your money within about ten days or up to a few weeks at most. It’s simpler and more convenient than a traditional sale.
There is one major drawback with cash buyers. When doing a cash deal, it is likely that the selling price you receive may be a bit below market value. But if you’re willing to sacrifice a little profit for the sake of speed and convenience, consider cash buyers.
Credit: Sundae Team
