There are all kinds of advice and tips from lots of “experts” about how to sell your house and sell it fast. Sometimes the advice sounds good, and sometimes it seems pretty bizarre. But when you distill all that advice down to its basic essence, you get pretty much the same thing across the board (with a few new twists thrown in). The basic tactics and strategies haven’t changed all that much over the years. So here are 10 proven tips for selling your house in Northern Kentucky.
1. Price it Correctly
This tip for selling your house in [market)-city] is one you will see everywhere because it is critically important. Price too low, and you’ll lose money and cause many buyers to think something is wrong with the house. Price too high, and your house will languish on the market, again causing buyers to think something is wrong. So get the pricing right before you list it. The best way to price your house correctly, is to have an experienced and knowledgable agent complete a full, market analysis on your property.
A good agent will be able to determine which comparable properties should be used in the analysis, and which ones should be omitted. Keep in mind that your buyer will most likely have an agent who will go through the exact same process BEFORE making an offer on your property. When they see that the comparable line up to support your listing price, there will be much less tendency for buyers to submit lower offers.
Also, unless your buyer is using cash, an appraiser will go through this process as well, so it helps immensely to have the property priced correctly from the start. Not only does it help you as the seller get the maximum amount for your property, it also helps in making the transaction go smoothly, which is an often-overlooked aspect of selling a property, but one that can have a significant impact on your selling experience.
2. Don’t Forget Millennials
There’s a new wave of house buyers out there with pretty specific needs and wants. Millennials are 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 homes that meet but don’t exceed their needs.
3. Work on Curb Appeal
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so get it right. Improving the curb appeal will make selling your house in Northern Kentucky 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 and landscaping, painting and repair.
4. Consider Smart Home Features
These smart home features are now a big draw when it comes to selling your house in Northern Kentucky. Many buyers already have the smart home gadgets they want to install, so at least make sure your system is broadly compatible.
5. Go for a Pre-inspection
Many buyers now are seeking move-in ready, turnkey homes. A pre-inspection will assure them that’s just what they’re getting. People’s lives are getting increasingly busier, so whatever you can do to make buying your home easier will make it more attractive to buyers.
6. Make It Look Its Best
Sometimes, selling your house in Northern Kentucky is no easy task, so don’t make it any harder by neglecting your home’s appearance. 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.
Sellers will often ask me what they should do to their home to get it ready for the market. While every property is unique, and requires an individual analysis, the two best things that sellers can do are almost always to de-clutter and clean. Let me explain.
By de-clutter, I don’t mean simply packing loose items up in boxes and stacking them in a closet. I mean taking as much stuff out of the home as possible (excluding furniture, which is important for staging). If you can move a lot of things out of your home, do it. Put them in storage, or somewhere else, if possible. Otherwise, I recommend packing things up in boxes and staging them in the garage or shed. Your goal is to make the home feel bigger, and allow the potential buyer who visits your home to imagine THEIR stuff in your home.
By cleaning, I mean hiring a professional cleaner to detail your home, the same way you might have your car detailed before selling it. Most sellers are more willing to spend money on replacing vanities in the bathrooms or installing new flooring than they are to spend it on cleaning. I get it…cleaning seems like something we should do ourselves, and perhaps there is a bit of humility involved in admitting that we can use some help in this area. My advice: “get over it and hire a professional.” It makes a world of difference and in my opinion, it is some of the best money you will spend in preparing your house for the market. It will help you sell your Northern Kentucky home quickly!
7. Erase Your Personality
Similarly, to make selling your house in Northern Kentucky even easier, be sure to remove things that imprint your personality on it. You know, like putting away all those weird knick-knacks and taking down family photos. You want buyers to be able to envision your house as their home. I don’t mean that you should remove all wall art or take down religious items such as statues or crucifixes. I would never take those down myself, and I certainly would never ask a client to remove them. But if there is a wall of family photos, it is probably best to go ahead and pack them up. At the least, they can be a distraction to potential buyers.
8. Make Minor Upgrades
Minor upgrades will make your house far more attractive to buyers, and it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money. The kitchen and the bathroom will be the most important areas here. So you could, for instance, install new countertops in the kitchen or new fixtures in the bathroom. I also think that interior painting is an upgrade that almost always not only pays for itself, but actually earns sellers more money than it costs. Flooring is another item that often helps to sell a property for more money and more quickly.
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.
10. Market Aggressively
Sure, your agent will market your house, but you should too. You need all the exposure you can get for selling your house in Northern Kentucky at the price you want. Craigslist, for-sale signs, flyers, online venues, virtual tours – they all work to some degree, so don’t neglect any of them.
Selling your house in Northern Kentucky doesn’t have to be an impossibly difficult task if you just keep in mind and implement these tips. Still, there’s more you can do to sell your house at a good price.