Archive for August, 2009

Welcome back to another edition of ‘How To Sell Your House Quick! More Top Tips’.
In this edition we’ll be discussing how to sell your house quick, via clear and effective
marketing techniques.

In a seller’s market, good marketing can often bring in more cash per sale. In a seller’s market, it can often mean the difference between a sale and disaster. Good marketing may not complete the deal for you, but it can certainly generate interest - and that’s what you want. Here are some techniques you can keep in mind when marketing your property for sale or for rent on sell-my-house-quick.com.

1. Your Photographs.

Most home buyers these days begin their home search online. Good photographs are essential. Maybe you should get a professional to help you? You should use all 6 photo slots that you are given -whatever you do, don’t list without a photo! People will simply pass you by, and look at more interesting listings. Follow these steps:

Crop out pavements and streets

Remove your vehicle from the front of your property

Shoot a variety of shots of the exterior

Shoot the pictures on a bright day

Clean away any untidyness at the front of the property

Emphasise the space and shoot from distance

Mow your lawn and remove any pets / pet toys etc

2. Take photographs of all interesting rooms.

Make sure and sell all the best features of the property, and what will help sell it. Open curtains, switch on lights, capture nice features like wooden floors, and use plants to liven the place up.

3. Advertising

You can also put up posters in your windows. ‘HOUSE FOR SALE!’ is all you need to say. If someone’s interested, they’ll knock on your door. If your property is on a corner, put up two! Is your neightbour’s home in a better location? Ask if you can put a sign up in their garden! Can you email neighbours and get them to spread the word via email? What about all your friends? Can they email their friends too? Whay not go for it?

4. Print Advertising.

www.sell-my-house-quick.com will reach your online audience - print advertising will reach those who read newspapers. Cover all the angles. People should see your advertisement everywhere! Classified ads in major newspapers, in local newspapers, and in real estate papers are the best angles to cover. You can also try local shops too - some flyers in popular shops would attract a lot of attention. They might even be free.

5. Flyers

Why not print up some flyers you can mail around your neighbourhood? Word of mouth is a powerful thing, and word can spread about your great deal. It works.

6. Open Houses

You can advertise this in the same way as advertising your house for sale - ads in the classifieds, telling all your neighbours, dropping off flyers. It’s a great way to get people to come and see your property - you can write on your flyers: ‘Bring a friend’!

7. Email Flyers

You can also use the power of your email address book! You can also include lots of photgraphs to let people see the great deal you have brought to the market, how it looks, all the rooms and the date for your open day. Alternatively, email everyone you know with the link to your page on www.sell-my-house-quick.com. Spread the word.

To see what marketing techiniques other sellers are using, Click Here to search your local market.

When the property market slows down, inventories will usually increase, and the amount of buyers out there gets smaller. You may have noticed that some properties still sell. What makes them so different?
As most real estate agents will agree, it’s not the property that’s different, but the marketing.

In this edition of ‘How To Sell Your House Quick! More Top Tips, #9′ we investigate the fine line between success and failure. Here are some mistakes that we see over and over again - and how to avoid making them.

Online Listings and Photographs

This is your first impression, so make it count! A picture speaks a thousand words - so why make the first impression the wrong one? This is your first opportunity to create interest, and entice a potential buyer to look into your property in more detail. You should avoid uploading photographs that don’t stimulate the viewer

Avoid pictures that are dark, with little light, or taken on a day with bad weather

Don’t upload pictures that will appear sideways, or upsidedown! (people have done it)

Don’t take pictures of cluttered rooms - it looks dreadful!

Avoind leaving in unnecessary parts of photographs. (You can crop them online)

Keep pets out of the pictures

Don’t upload only one picture, use all 6 available slots

Don’t uploads only lo-res pictures which appear pixellated

It’s all in the Details

When the property market slows down, how do you compete with other properties? Simply listing your address, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms won’t help you. You’ll need to list all the things that make your property different, and all the selling points that make it a great buy.

Ask yourself, ‘why should someone come and see my property?’

What’s special about my offer?

Why did I buy the property originally?

What was it that attracted me to it?

Are there any negative factors that I can use in a positive light?

Negotiations

In this market, sellers who aren’t willing to negotiate on price may have difficulties, so you should remain flexible. Buyers are expecting you to be negotiable. Remember to offer financial incentives to attract buyers. What could you offer?

Money towards buyers lawyer’s fees or closing costs?

Lawn maintenance for a year?

Maybe offer an insurance deal?

A weekend away for two?

Be creative and invent ideas that you would find appealing.

Print Advertising

Advertising your home on sell-my-house-quick.com is a great way to advertise your property - and you can also use more traditional methods. Why not advertise in your local paper? Some people don’t use the internet, so why not cover all the angles? You need to let as many people as possible see your home, and the best way is to advertise as much as possible.

What about your local classified ads? Have a look and see what’s there

Weekly advertising - you may consider using a picture to inspire readers

Leaflet dropping is a great idea - print some cards with a photo, property features and your contact details.

For more information on how to use sell-my-house-quick.com, click here for our FAQ’s.

There are a few techniques you can employ when upgrading your property to appear more saleable to potential buyers. You can also employ ’staging’ companies, who will decorate your home and dress it up for a sale. Staging your home is what you do after you’ve cleaned, tidied and painted. It’s what you do to help sell your house quick!

Staging your home is about creating different moods in your spearate rooms. A feel - an impression - making your house seem bigger, brighter and warmer. It’s adding small details that make your property shine.

You can employ professional stagers to develop your property - but we’re here to save you money, and show you how to do it yourself - and sell your house quick!

Professional staging companies are skilled artists, like any other. They can paint a portrait of your home and inspire people to fall in love. Professional stagers xcan transform you home with ideas you probably you wouldn’t have thought of. How do they do it?  We’ll show you how they do it, give you some ideas and how to appeal to potential buyer’s senses.

Here’s a few ideas to get you thinking…

You can arrange all furniture in small groups of 3 or 4 - creating an atmosphere of meetings, or interactions between people. Around a coffee or dining table, for example.

Use soft and appealing fabrics throughout the house, like silk or lambswool wherever possible.

You can put on display unusual pieces of art of ornamentation in groups of 3 or 5.

Add unique pieces to libraries, shelving or anywhere you have the opporunity to create and place eye-catching pieces.

What kind of articles to stagers use to spruce up interiors?

They use a variety of different tools, and they include:

Interior plants to fill up spaces and add colour

Mirrors to create a sense of larger space

Floor and table lamps to increase the lighting and style in a room

Throws to add colour and interest to flat shapes and spaces

Ottomans to break up floorspace

Lots of pillows on beds to add a luxurious touch

Large and comfortable beds to add appeal to bedrooms

If you have already moved out of your property, and it’s currently vacant, you’ll really need to do work on the property and make it feel warm and lived in. Maybe you’re still living there. In the kitchen especially, you have an opportunity to shine - the kitchen is always seen by people as the heart of the home.

To help add sparkle to the kitchen, you can first of all add lots of cookbooks, bright colourful ones that are fun and playful. You can also fill a bowl with lots of appealing fresh fruit, grapes and apples etc. Keep worktops clean and bright. You can also use greenery - buy in plants and use them to add colour and interest to the kitchen.

Bathroom are important too. They should be open, airy and fresh. You can add baskets filled with spa treatments to give that opulent, fun and relaxing vibe. Try towels tied with ribbons, facial creams, lotions, bubble baths and scented soaps.

Your front and back yards can be staged too. Patios and decking can be a real selling point. Try adding a variety of plants and potted flowers - hanging baskets and ivy can look great too. Perhaps you can talk to a local landscaper and they can gve you some ideas for what you could do with your garden spaces?

Have a look through the other articles on this site to find many more tips and advice on how to make your property fly off the market, with sell your house quick’s ‘Top Tips’.

‘To have a look at your local property market, and what other people are making their homes look like, Click Here.

Welcome back to more top tips on how to sell your house quick. This our volume 7 of our advice and help for people wanting to sell their property as fast as they can in this tough market. Read on for more tips that you can use to entice sellers into falling in love with what you’ve got to sell!

It’s a tough market out there, but despite what you might think, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to transform your home into a desirable property people would love to own. These are tried and tested techniques that you can use to improve your home’s appearance, and increase it’s appeal.

1. Smarten up your exterior. It won’t cost much, but a few nice touches can make the world of a difference. Take great care with the lawn - is it a nice, healthy looking colour? Take care of the landscaping, and keep all greenery, bushes etc trim. Are the front steps and tiling clean? You can also add some exterior plants to give an excellent first impression.

2. Exterior lighting. Do you have any? Maybe you should get some. Why? Because someone who is interested in your property may drive by at night to have a look. Your property can look pretty scary at night if you don’t have any lighting to make the place look secure and welcoming. It’s a cheap addition to your home, and again, can make a huge difference.

3. Exterior door and window frames. Take some time out during the day to examine your exterior paintwork, and look at all the places where there is room for improvement. Door frames, window frames, fences etc all need to look clean, and new. An inexpensive addition, but will brighten up your property.

4. Interior Decor. Do you have any bright, glowing, or simply terrifying colour schemes in your home? Despite what you might think, bright colours are NOT what buyers are looking for. They’re are in fact looking for simple, neautral colours which they can easily adapt. Beige is not a dirty word! Bright colours distract and put off buyers, rather than inspire. You want to appeal to as many people as possible, so using a beige or magnolia paint on your interiors will attract more people to be interested in your home.

5. De-Clutter. When selling your home quickly, you’ll need to de-clutter. Get everything that is not absolutely necessary out of the way - better still - give it to charity! Yes, it’s time to be brutal with all that junk you’ve been collecting for no apparent reason for years. Keep all the rooms super-clean, and junk free. Move all utensils off the kitchen worktop, put away all those cookbooks and take the magnets off the refrigerator. Make it clean, make it spotless!

6. Your front door. Make sure this is immacualte. A new layer of paint, clean, and a shiny new handle. This is essential for a good first impression.

7. Really clean your house. Get down and dirty and make an effort. There’s a lot of dirt and mess in your home that you may have gotten use to - and it’s time to take it to the cleaners! Deep clean all your carpets and so on, and make sure all skirting around the house is fresh and clean. Curtains, walls, furniture - all need to be clean and fresh. You can get rid of any furniture that’s looking old and tired.

8. Do you have a basement? If so, tidy up! You can get rid of all the pieces you don’t need, and keep the good stuff - re-arrange all the remaining articles down there and create a sense of space down there. Basements can be creepy, so lighten it up and make it bright!

9. Buy a pre-home inspection. This can vary from country to country in form, but bascially what you want to do is to hire a professional to come to your home and give you a valuation for your property. In the process of examining your home, they may uncover problems with your property, and this will give you an opportunity to fix them before you have potential buyers come round and find them for themselves!

To look see what is currently on your local market, Click Here.

When people advertise their property, they often skimp to save on costs. The more you advertise, the better your chances of selling your house quickly.

Selling your house quickly, selling commercial property, or letting a room - all it takes is getting your message across - FAST. There is no single aspect that will work wonders. Bottom line: let as many people as possible know what it is your selling.

Your marketing campaign should cover many areas, and be a combination of multiple efforts. You shouldn’t be advertising in only one paper for example - it may transpire that there is a typo in your ad - and your one effort at spreading the word has failed. Consider placing ads under multiple titles - you’ll increase your exposure and your chances. Here’s a few ideas to help generate interest in your property for sale:

Why not print up some simple postcards and mail them to neighbours and houses in your local town? You could use photographs of your property and give them to potential buyers who to view your property.

Advertise at weekends in your local property, and town. Are there any supermarkets or popular shopping malls where there are spaces to advertise?

You can hold open days at your property to let people passing by come in and have a look around - word of mouth can work wonders for you.

Remember to get feedback from buyers who come to see your home. You can ask them what they liked about your home, and things they feel you could improve on, or what they didn’t like. You can take these on board, and make adjustments to the presentation of your home as it is.

You can also upload a video on youtube.com! Why not? You could talk about your home, give people a guided tour of your property and title the video with the address of your property. ‘Home For Sale: 123 Sold.St.’ You can mention the neighbourhood, and the perks of your property, and what it’s like living there.

The Right Price

People usually selling their home are always tempted to start with the highest price they think they might be able to get. ‘We’ll start high, and work our way down, if we need to.’ To sell your house quick, you must price your house correctly. ‘I don’t want to give it away!’  You’re right, but the major mistake most sellers make is that they start to high, and the property stays on the market for an age.

Listings that have been on the market for a while rarely get the asking price. Once you start reducing the price, people will wait and wait for the price to get lower.

To avoid setting your asking price too high, examine comparables in your area. Look at the size of the properties available on the market, and find similar ones to your own. Homes similar to your own, but are in a poor area, or a less desirable layout, should be priced less than yours. You can easily figure out a rough guide for pricing your home from doing some local research - the very same research that professionals do to reach their valuation figures.

Special Features

A home next to a busy street or popular shops is not going to get the same price as a home in a leafy suburbian neighbourhood, and has a great layout. What special features does your home have that give it extra value? What features could you create to ad value to your property?

You can do your research and see why some properties are worth more than others - more bedrooms, more space, larger gardens, more desirable areas etc.

When arranging a property for sale in today’s buyers market, you should be setting your asking price at a minimum of 1.5% below the most recent asking prices that you have found. If you find that price to unpleasant to bear, you should perhaps consider waiting for the market to improve. To sell your house fast in the current market, you must price your property competitively and generate interest. Asking too much for your property is a common mistake, and one that you don’t need to make.

To start your research on your local market, Click Here.

The bulk of registrations we receive are from people looking to sell their homes quickly. Many have had their property on the market from months without ever having received an offer.

In a buyer’s market, which we are in now, it is especially important to pull out all the stops and make an impact on the market, and stand out in the crowd. How to do it? First of all, you need to ask yourself why a buyer would choose your house over another.

The Condition of Your Property

You’ll need to research your local market. If 90% of properties on the market are not selling, you’ll need to find a way of getting into the top 10%. Look at home ‘under offer’ or pending sales - because these are the ones that are moving in the slow market. You could also consider updating your home, or doing any repairs that are required. If that top 10% has new carpeting, or new kitchen units, your property is not going to sell. Try for a magnolia paint job in rooms - something neutral is good. You’ll need to think about curb appeal too - look at the home from the outside and see what you think you can improve upon.

Your Photographs

Listing on our site that have just one photograph will be passed over for other listings. It’s vitally important that you use all 6 photographs - people want to see as much as possible. You can take the photographs yourself, or you can get a professional photographer in to shoot some great looking ones. Maybe you know someone who has a keen eye for photography, or is an amatuer photographer? They’ll make a difference. Wide angles showing as much as possible, with lots of light so the spaces look good. Don’t forget to keep toilet lids closed! Some quick tips for taking photographs:

In terms of bedrooms, you can just shoot the largest one, or the master bedroom.

Don’t put yourself in the picture, or catch yourself in a mirror!

Remember not to photograph anything negative or off putting. If you have a small room don’t include it, a narrow hallway or a room with no windows. Showcase the good stuff!

Show all your interesting features and talking points - nice fireplace? Good views? Beautiful garden?

The kitchen is important, and people want to see it. Make it look as good and clean as possible.

If you have a dining room, you can set the table and prepare it.

Your living room should look spacious, so move out any furniture you think will increase the space.

Include pictures of your gardens, and make them look as attractive as possible.

You have the option to add a line of text to your photographs, and as much text as you like to your listing.

So go for it, and write as much as you can about your property, and sell it to the world!

To see what’s on for sale in your local market, Click here.

When selling your home on the public, you are entering a competitive market - and as such you should view all other homes for sale as competition.

When you are putting your home up for sale, all other homes should be viewed as a potential risk to your home sale - so you’ll need to do your research on your local market.

As a home seller, you’ll want to get as high an offer as possible for your home. Unfortuantely, properties for sale are often placed on the open market for much more than the market is willing to pay. This in turn moves the whole market up, as everyone else is gauging everyone else’s prices! This is where the market can become stagnant, as no-one is willing to pay the asking prices. When a property is correctly priced and sold with complimenting terms (price, financial incentives etc) and property can sell quickly and easily. The answer is simply to give the market what it wants, and what it’s looking for.

The ‘right price’ doesn’t mean accepting less than you want to, or selling for less than the property is worth. The key to selling your property quickly is to have a good understanding of your local market. An experienced agent or realtor can help you with this, but if you are looking to sell your home privately you can search this site for what’s selling in your local market and gauge what will be your initial entry price.

In the current market competition is fierce - so you’ll need to use some techniques to encourage people to see your property in a different light - how can you make it stand out from the rest? One way is to offer incentives of some kind. Think outside the box. If you get it right you can ask for a higher asking price and get your property off the market quicker.

What about offering a year’s worth of garden care? Could be a great incentive. A year’s worth of insurance? Maybe refuse collection paid for a year, if you pay for that in your area. Have a chat with friends for ideas. What would you like to offered? What don’t you like paying for?! There are many different possibilities.

To start your research on your local market, Click Here.

When considering listing your home online, there are some important things to consider before
advertising your property.

With the property market currently in the downward section of its cycle, there are numerous techniques you can make use of to increase the saleability of your property, and help it to stand out from the rest of the market. This will increase your chances of selling quickly, for a price you and your buyer will be happy with.

If you choose to employ the services of an agent, you will need to find the right one. You will also need to make all the necessary repairs to your home - anything that you have been putting off for sometime, or repairs that will deter any potential buyers.

First Impressions

You should also consider your ‘curb appeal’ and look into how the exterior can be approved to encourage the feel good factor when showing your home to buyers. You may also wish to consider ’staging’ your property. If you are not familiar with this process, it’s where you can bring into your property a company that specifically deals with improving the look of your home, to make it more appealing to potential buyers. These companies can dramatically improve the chances of selling your home, and give the house an amazing makeover. Try doing a search online for ‘home staging’ in your area - you may be surprised what they can do for you.

Repairing Problems

You should also be keeping your property immaculate at all times, and move all clutter out of the way. Have you checked your roofing? Is there chipped paint anywhere? Rusty hinges on doors? Go through your property with a fine toothcomb and examine it. Presentation is everything when selling a property - it’s more important than the facts and figures you present to the public. If someone falls in love with your (beautifully clean and immaculately presented) property, then the price acquires less significance if your property can make up the buyer’s mind for them. You know what it feels like when you just have to have something, right? Price can slow down the buying decision, but it rarely stops us.

First Impressions

First impression will make of break your deal, catch their eye, and make them want to see more. Keep exteriors free from clutter, and move your car out of the way, or down the street - it gives an impression of more space. Cut the grass, and make sure the garden, if you have one, is in perfect condition.

Remember to keep paint neutral - post box red on walls can be truly terrifying. Light browns, beiges and magnolia are easy on the eye - and more importantly, can be painted over easily by the new buyers, if need be. Another good idea, if you have a busy household with lots of kids running around, is to start bringing in a housekeeper. Maybe twice a week you can get someone in to tidy up for you, so the property looks good at all times. You need to be on the top of your game.

Selling your house quick in this current market is possible - and you will need to present the property in the best light and make it stand out. You are selling a dream and a vision. When someone steps through your door, they need to be able to picture themselves there - let them walk around on their own and make up their minds and let their imgination wander…

To research your local property market, Click Here.

It’s a buyer’s market right now, so there’s a lot of competition out there. It pays to make your home stand out.

Getting the staging right for your home can dramatically increase the chances of selling your house quick - and up to 100 days faster. Here are some tips to help you sell your house in today’s market.

First Impressions Count

In the first 8 seconds of looking at your home, whether online or in person, a potential buyer will decide if they’re going to buy your home! Incredible, isn’t it? So you have to make a good start, and fast!

Does your front door need a fresh lick of paint? Some potted plants at the front? Could make the property look more welcoming.

Treat the lawn if you have one with some food - nice and green looks great.

Have a fresh look at the garden - maybe a gardener can help you with a fresh look.

Check all creaky door and locks.

Sunshine!

Light is the second most important factor for your home, after the location. So make it bright.

Make sure windows are all cleaned, and the woodwork.

Clean or replace all draperies. Old lamp shades should be replaced too.

Replace light bulbs with high-wattage bulbs.

Trim all shrubs that may be blocking light.

Paint any dark walls inside white.

Place slipcovers over any dark furniture.

Place lights in corners of you major rooms.

Get Rid of Clutter

If you have any, and you probably do, you need to get rid of it.

It may seem strange, but store away all family photos, personal objects and kid’s drawings. People need to imgine living there, and it’s hard with your personality so strongly represented.

Make the closets looks less busy by moving out half your clothes - people might get the subtle impression that your house doesn’t have enough space.

Make all your linen drawers immaculate.

Tidy away electrical cords and wiring.

Buy new plants if they’re looking like their best days are behind them. Try fresh sheets on pillows and some extra pillows.

The pets should take a walk

Sights and smells sell your home. What could be stopping you sell your house quick?

Remove all cat litter, dog beds etc.

Try a few drops of vanilla inside the front door. Fresh coffee is good to for when people come to see your home.

Are you a smoker? Remove all ashtrays and smoke outside from now on!

Before people come to visit, open all your windows if possible, perhaps an hour before they arrive.

Keep your bins, interior and exterior, super clean.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen is an important focal point to your house. Make it look good.

Any broken apppliances? Take a look.

Re-grouting tiles will make a real difference.

Clean the floors thoroughly.

Check all handles are clean and new.

Cabinet fronts looking dirty? Have a look.

If the kitchen doesn’t have a window, you may want to consider fitting one - it can increase the value of your home by 10%.

The Bathroom

Again, a very important room. This has to look like new.

Clean all walls and floors.

Remove personal items and clean or empty shelves.

Re-grout and re-do and caulking that looks dirty.

How about a new shower curtain?

Fresh hand towels would be a nice touch.

Remove old soap.

New Colours

When considering painting some of your property to freshen it up, you may want to think about light, warm colours - yellows etc., make a home look happy and appealing. You can also try this for bed sheets etc. You can also use rugs to give a fresh bright feel to different areas of your home.

An Empty House

Don’t leave your house bare - if you’ve already moved out and there’s nothing there, it will make you seem very desparate! Buyers won’t want to pay for an empty house either, as they want to know they’re getting a good deal - empty rooms look unnatractive too. You can rent or buy furniture if you need to, as this will give the buyer a sense of space, and the furniture will look new and fresh too.

To see what’s on offer in your local market, Click Here.