According to a recent study, it takes six months on average to sell a home in the UK. However, there are numerous occasions where properties remain on the market for far longer – even if they appear to be in relatively good shape or condition. As such, it is normal to feel apprehensive when preparing to sell your home, especially if your move is time-sensitive.
Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take that will help to speed up the process, which will make moving to a new home easier!
This is a collaborative post.
Deal with any urgent maintenance issues.
Whether you’re currently in the process of finding the perfect home or have already signed a contract, the chances are you don’t want to invest much money in your current home. After all, this means that you’ll have less money to spend on your new property.
However, there are some cases where investing in your current home before putting it on the market is advisable, such as when dealing with urgent maintenance issues. This is because, if unaddressed, they are typically viewed as a ‘red flag’ by buyers and agents – a sign that they’ll have to spend a considerable amount of money before moving in. As such, they can quickly turn an interested buyer into an uninterested buyer, therefore extending the amount of time your property spends on the market.
As such, this is something you should opt to tackle sooner rather than later. While some good old-fashioned DIY can help in this regard, you should make sure to leave any complicated tasks to the experts. For example, you may need to reach out to a local plumber who can carry out any plumbing tasks on your behalf.
Enhance your curb appeal. While your home’s interior likely carries the most sway when it comes to winning over buyers, there’s no denying that first impressions are often lasting. This means that to sell your home quickly, you must impress them before they’ve even stepped through the door. Fortunately, this can be tackled by working on enhancing your curb appeal.
This can be achieved through:
- Jet Washing walls and driveway
- Cleaning out your gutters/and roof
- Keeping your garden neat and tidy
- Repainting doors, window frames, and fences
While this may seem time-consuming, a study from the National Association of Realtors found that curb appeal can contribute 10% to the overall value of your property while also increasing the number of offers you receive from interested buyers. As such, it’s likely that your time and effort will be fairly compensated!
Stage your home. Whenever a buyer tours your property, it’s important that they are able to picture themselves living within the home. This is difficult to do if it is full of clutter and personal artefacts, many of which can pull attention away from your home’s biggest assets. As such, you should be sure to stage your home effectively ahead of time so that you can capture the attention of buyers right off the bat.
Generally speaking, the easiest way to stage your home for a quick sale is to ensure that it is neat, tidy, and organised. This likely means you’ll need to deep clean and declutter your home. While this can be time-consuming, it does give you a chance to give yourself a headstart when it comes to packing, which many people often leave to the last minute.
You may also want to apply a fresh coat of paint to areas that are looking a little lacklustre or tired. While the chances are the new buyer will redecorate anyway, this can breathe fresh life into your home, making it as visually appealing as possible.
Take quality listing photographs. Before deciding whether or not to view your property in person, interested buyers will spend a considerable amount of time pouring over online property listings. This means that you’re facing a considerable amount of competition from the word go, which means that you need to find a way to stand out from the crowd where possible. One way in which you can achieve this goal is by taking high-quality photographs (and videos) of your property to upload to the site.
In some cases, this may mean you should hire a specialist photographer to gather these images on your behalf. After all, a clear, well-lit, and nicely edited photograph will likely garner much more positive attention than a blurry photograph taken on your phone.
You may also want to be open to conducting video tours (such as over a call) with viewers in place of in-person viewings. This is something that more and more buyers are interested in, as it means they don’t have to spend too much time going to viewings that aren’t the right fit.
Manage your expectations. Managing your expectations when it comes to putting your home on the market won’t speed up the process, but it will reduce your stress, frustration, and anxiety during this time. As such, it can make the entire moving process feel a lot more straightforward, as you’re able to think rationally about why you may be facing delays.
For example, it could simply be that you have fallen victim to an unstable housing market or that there are few buyers looking for properties in your local area. Alternatively, spending more than the expected time on the market could be an indicator that you need to re-invest some time and money into your home, as listed above. Remember, while this does mean that you will incur additional expenses, they often inflate the value of your home. As such, you could be increasing the amount of money you receive quite considerably while also speeding up the sales process.
Working with a trusted, local real estate agent can also come in handy during this time, especially when it comes to managing your expectations. They’ll also be able to guide you through every step of the complicated buying/selling process, making your move as stress-free as possible.