How to Sell a House FAST: 8 Tips

How to Sell a House FAST: 8 Tips | New Home Gurus

Use This Simple Guide to Sell Your Home ASAP

Selling a house can take time, especially if you’re looking for the right buyer or it’s a buyer’s market. But if you can’t wait it out and you need to sell a house FAST, here’s what you can do to: 

  • Make your house as marketable and appealing as possible to prospective buyers
  • Get your home ready to list, show, and sell ASAP

1. Clean & stage your home.

Your home needs to be looking its absolute best in order to attract a buyer quickly. To make that happen, you’ll need to:

  • Clean your house from top to bottom: Every nook and cranny should be tidied, dusted, and/or wiped down. Your home needs to be spotless so that its appealing features can really stand out.
  • Make any necessary repairs: This should include things like covering holes in the wall, replacing burnt out bulbs, and making other small repairs. For larger repairs, consider whether you want to put the time, energy, and money into completing those — or if you would rather knock the asking price down a bit in light of those issues.
  • Depersonalize your home: Remove family photos, religious items, political stuff, or anything that could distract a buyer from the house itself. The only decorations you want are those that will enhance the features and charm of the house.
  • Stage your home: Bring in more lighting, configure furniture to open up the space, and add small touches to make your home as welcoming as possible.

PRO TIP: Hire professionals to both clean and stage your home. Pros can get the job done correctly and efficiently, letting you focus on other steps in the home selling process.

2. Decide how you want to sell your home.

Do you want to do a for-sale-by-owner deal?

Will you hire a Realtor?

Do you want to sell to an individual buyer, a property management company, or a developer?

What about auctioning off your house to the highest bidder?

Those are just some of the potential home selling strategies available when you need to sell a home fast. The best one for you will depend on your situation, your objectives, and how much you may be willing to risk in order to unload a home ASAP.

PRO TIP: Work with an experienced Realtor if you’ve never sold a home before or if you want to take some of the stress and hassle out of the process.

3. Price it right.

Your home needs to be competitively priced in order to sell quickly. In fact, even if you make the mistake of pricing it too high, you’ll probably have to come off of that price eventually, either knocking down the listing price or as you negotiate with lower offers. 

So, think carefully about prices and check out the sell prices for nearby homes that are similar to yours. That can help you dial into the right price range for your house.

PRO TIP: Get an appraisal or, again, work with an experienced Realtor. A real estate pro will know recent sell prices for homes in the area, and (s)he can help you figure out the best price to ask for your home.

4. Get professional photos and/or video of the house.

Pictures and videos can “sell” your home to a prospective buyer online, enticing them to check it out in person. In fact, a survey from Zillow found that 77% of home buyers consider online photos and video of homes “very important” as they’re checking out listings and inventory.

So, you want to have really great photos of your house — and it does help to capture video “tour” footage as well. The more you can show off your home, the better.

PRO TIP: Make sure there’s tons of light for your photos and film footage. While that means opening blinds and curtains and turning on the lights you have in your home, you may want to bring in additional lighting both to stage and photograph your house.

5. Craft a great listing description.

Detail ALL of the appealing features of your home, and be sure to include specifics related to:

  • Bedrooms and the size of the property
  • Appliances, storage, and garage or parking spaces
  • Backyard space and/or outdoor features, like pools or play areas
  • Landscaping and/or views of the city, lake, or great outdoors
  • The neighborhood and school district

PRO TIP: Use keywords to make your listing pop, and check out other listings for verbiage if you get “writer’s block.”

6. Time your listing debut.

The best time to list and sell a house is usually springtime and, more specifically, during late March. That said, there’s never a bad time to sell a house.

Still, it’s important to remember that when you list your house matters. If you put your home on the market in the middle of

  • Summer, you could be competing with more sellers or tons of other inventory
  • Winter, you could be working with fewer available buyers because fewer folks tend to shop for houses around the holidays and new year

PRO TIP: As you list your home, think about when you’re putting it on the market, and factor that into the asking price. If you can hold out for spring, that’s typically the best time to list a house and sell it ASAP.

7. Make your home available for showings.

Try to be as open as you can to showing your home to prospective buyers. If you can make your home available for showings with little notice, you’re going to get more eyes on the house — and you’re going to have much better chances of selling it faster.

PRO TIP: Don’t stick around for showings. Buyers don’t usually feel comfortable checking out a house while the owner is lurking around, so find somewhere else to be whenever it’s time to show your home, if possible (and if you’re not doing a for-sale-by-owner deal).

8. Be flexible with terms of the deal.

If you need to sell a house FAST, the more terms you have and the more rigid those terms are, the harder it can be to make a deal. So, think about what you can give and take on — and be prepared to put those things on the table when buyers submit an offer.

Also, keep in mind that offering to cover things like closing costs can sweeten the deal if you’re on the verge of coming to an agreement and you’re looking for something to really seal the deal.

PRO TIP: Mention your flexibility, dealbreakers, and options for terms in your listing. While those can be appealing for some buyers, they’ll turn off the ones who probably weren’t going to buy the house to begin with.

The Bottom Line on Selling a House Fast

When you need to sell a home quickly, your best bet is to work with professionals from start to finish. Pros can take the reins, handle the tough stuff, and help you get the best deal for your home, even if you need to sell ASAP.

Selling a Home in Texas? Get Cash Back at Closing

If you’re buying or selling a home in Texas, you can get experienced help and cash back at closing when you work with the 5-star Realtors® at New Home Gurus. We can guide you through the process, helping you with offers, negotiations, and closing. Plus, we’ll split our commission with you at closing!

Home sellers who work with New Home Gurus can get back an average of $4,500 to $12,000 at closing.

How Much Cash Can You Get after Closing?

Call (281) 668-8124 or Contact Us to Find Out Now

We are standing by, ready to answer your questions and explain the details of our commission-sharing program.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Share this post with your friends