There are all kinds of advice and tips for selling your house from all kinds of so “experts.” Everyone wants to tell you how to sell your house for top dollar and sell it fast. Sometimes the advice is good, and sometimes it’s pretty bizarre.
But when you break it all down, you get pretty much the same thing across the board… with a few extra twists thrown in, mostly to individualize the content. I started my real estate career in the mid-’90s and I can tell you the basic tactics and strategies for selling a house haven’t really changed all that much over the years. So here are 10 proven tips for selling your house in Roseburg for top dollar.
Setting The Right Listing Price
There are several ingredients to selling a house but the most important of them is setting the right listing price. This tip for selling your house in [market)-city] is one you will see everywhere because it is so important.
Here’s the thing… if you price your house too low, you’ll lose money at the closing table. It might also backfire in the sense that buyers might assume that something is wrong with the house. On the flip side, if you price your listing price too high, your house will sit on the market for a prolonged amount of time, which again may cause buyers to think something is wrong… or even worse, it may not sell at all.
Set the right listing price on day 1… you don’t want to chase the market down!
Setting the right listing price on day 1 is even more important in a stagnant or declining market. You don’t want to chase the market down.
So, do your due diligence, lean on your real estate broker’s experience and expertise, and settle on the right listing price before you list it.
2. Don’t Forget Millennials
Things are different in real estate these days, mostly driven by the Millennial crowd. This new wave of house buyers is serious about becoming homeowners but they have a pretty specific set of needs and wants.
Millennials are in the 20-30 age group and are estimated, by the end of 2018, to make up 43% of home buyers taking out a mortgage. They are, in fact, the largest purchasing group nationwide. But you need to keep in mind that while they are opting for the suburbs, they’re more often looking for smaller turn-key homes that meet but don’t exceed their needs or budget.
3. Work on Curb Appeal
Your house might be amazing on the inside, but if it doesn’t look like that from the street, you’re going to have a hard time getting people through the door to notice. It’s the old saying… “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression,” – so true when selling a house in Roseburg OR.
Improving the curb appeal will make selling your house in Roseburg noticeably easier. When buyers pull up to your house, the first thing they see is your yard the house’s exterior. Take the time, then, to do a little cleanup, landscaping, paint, repair, and pressure wash walkways and patios.
Interestingly enough, preparing a house for the market is the #1 challenge people say they have when getting ready to sell a house. If you need tips on curb appeal or any other aspect of preparing your house for the market, shoot me a message. I’d be happy to help with no obligation.
4. Consider Smart Home Features
It’s smart to consider smart home features. You might or might not care much for these smart home features, but it is becoming a bigger draw when it comes to selling your house in Roseburg.
Many buyers already have the smart home gadgets they want to install, so at least make sure your system is broadly compatible. Got questions?
5. Go for a Pre-inspection
Years ago it was less important to have a pre-inspection done on the house. Many buyers now are seeking move-in ready, turnkey homes… and they buy on emotion. When things are smooth, everything is great, but a few things turn up on the inspection report and some of these sensitive home buyers freak out and pull out of the sale.
A home pre-inspection will do two things.
- It will assure the buyer of the condition of the home they are buying without the surprise of unknown repairs needed.
- It will give you, as the seller, a better idea of what it will take to sell the house… a punch list of things that need attention.
People’s lives are getting increasingly busier, so whatever you can do to make buying your home easier and less confusing will give you a better chance of a smooth transaction. Remember, a confused mind says “no.”
6. Make It Look Its Best
Depending on the local real estate market conditions, sometimes selling your house in Roseburg is easy… and sometimes not, so don’t make it any harder by neglecting your home’s appearance.
In addition to attending to the curb appeal, you’ll want to now move your attention inside the home. This has several broad aspects: de-cluttering, cleaning, and staging. The goal is to make your home as appealing and inviting as possible in order to strike the right emotional chords in buyers. A professional staging company can work wonders with your home. Let me know if you need a staging referral.
7. Depersonalize – Erase Your Personality
And along those lines… in order to make selling your house in Roseburg even easier, be sure to remove anything and everything that imprints your personality on it. I know it’s a hard thing to take down the old wedding photos and pics of the kiddos… but hey, you’re moving and you can always put them back up in your next house!
So, put away all those weird knick-knacks and take down family photos, etc. You want buyers to be able to envision your house as their home.
8. Minor Upgrades Pay Off!
Minor upgrades will make your house far more attractive to buyers, and it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. To get the biggest bang for your buck, focus on the kitchen and the bathroom. these two rooms are definitely the most important.
So you could, for instance, install new countertops in the kitchen or new lighting and plumbing fixtures in the bathroom. Got questions on how to make minor upgrades pay off?
9. Sweeten the Deal
Reciprocity works. So be sure to sweeten the deal with extras and add-ons. A buyer will be more likely to make an offer if he thinks he’s getting something out of the deal as well. You might offer a home warranty, a home, well, or septic pre-inspection, or offer to pay all or a portion of the buyer’s closing costs and lender fees.
10. Market Aggressively
Sure, your agent should market your house, but not all agents do. Here’s hint… pounding a sign in the yard and entering your listing into the local MLS system isn’t marketing. And, just because it shows up on Zillow and the other 100+ real estate websites doesn’t mean the marketing is being done (those sites automatically syndicate from the local MLS anyway)
In addition to asking your agent how they plan to market your home, you should also be involved in marketing your house… it’s a joint effort. You need all the exposure you can get for selling your house in Roseburg at the price you want.
Craigslist, for-sale signs, flyers, online venues, virtual tours, aerial tours, etc. – they all work to some degree, so don’t neglect any of them. Ask me about my professional photography listing package that includes a floor plan with room dimensions!
Selling your house in Roseburg doesn’t have to be an impossibly difficult task if you just keep and implement these tips… and your list with a qualified and experienced listing real estate broker. Still, there’s more you can do to sell your house at a good price. Give me a call or text if you would like to chat.