With a new year on its way, it’s the perfect time to start planning for your best 12 months yet. And, if ‘out with the old, in with the new’, and a major life up-level are on the cards, then you might be considering treating yourself to a gorgeous new luxury home to truly kick things off in style.
The basics of selling a house are always the same, whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market – but when it comes to high-end properties, there are some additional things to consider. If you’re keen to sell your house so you can move onto bigger, better and even more opulent things, then keep in mind that prospective buyers will be most interested in houses in the first few weeks they are on the market – so it’s important to ensure that your abode is sale-ready before jumping the gun and putting it straight on the market to make the entire process quicker.
For luxury home owners, this can require employing a few clever tactics to get ahead of the game, as unlike mid-range homes, the pool of potential buyers is smaller – so you’ll need to pull something special out of the bag to ensure your home stands out from the crowd. Here, we take a look at some simple tips for selling your home fast, leaving you free to get settled into an upgraded version for a 2022 to remember.
1. Are you really ready to sell your house?
It’s easy to get over-excited about the prospect of a move, and once you’ve found your new dream home, you’ll likely want to move in as soon as possible. But it’s always advisable to determine whether you are actually ready to sell your house before looking elsewhere, and before you put it on the market. Should you find yourself in a home-buyer’s chain where you’ve had an offer accepted on a new pad but have yet to come close to selling, things can become both stressful and complicated – so take some time to do a quick audit before you get the ball rolling.
To do so, you’ll want to ask yourself several questions, including whether you have built up sufficient equity in the house to justify selling it. If you owe more than what the house is worth, consider waiting.
If space or functionality are the reasons you want to sell your current home, will buying a new one actually make financial sense? Taking out a loan for renovating your house is sometimes better than taking out a bigger mortgage, so consider whether this could work out to be a better option first.
And finally, ask yourself if you are emotionally prepared to leave your home behind. The reality of leaving can take some homeowners by surprise, particularly if a property holds happy memories – so make sure you are really ready to say goodbye to it before moving ahead with the process.
If you have answered yes to all of these questions, then you are likely ready to sell your house fast, so here’s what to do next.
2. Find an estate agent who is experienced in selling luxury homes
When looking for a real estate agent to work with, search for one who is experienced in selling luxury homes, and doing so quickly. Make sure that your agent of choice has a good understanding of the local housing market – they should know exactly what buyers look for in a house and be capable of ensuring your property attracts potential buyers, by employing tactics like staging to show it off in its very best light and help potential buyers to envisage what their life might look like should they choose to live there.
A good real estate agent will also hire a professional photographer to take pictures of your home for their listings and will always market their properties online, including on various social media platforms, for maximum reach. Undertake thorough research to find the right real estate agent for your needs to avoid wasting any time and get the process going as quickly as possible.
3. Sell at an appropriate time
Homes generally sell faster in the summer and spring months than at any other time of the year, because families with children tend to prefer moving prior to the start of the school year – plus, the nicer weather makes viewings and home inspections easier and shows them off to their full potential thanks to the increase in natural light.
Nevertheless, it’s also important to remember that buyers tend to be pickier during these months due to the increased number of options – so it’s essential to make sure your house stands out.
Also bear in mind that if you are looking for a new house to buy yourself, the most suitable time to sell will depend on when you would like to do so. A real estate agent will help you determine when it is most appropriate to sell your house.
4. Declutter, declutter, declutter
According to eXp Realty, specialists in high end Olive Branch real estate, decluttering is a great way to create more space in your home and will make it easier for potential viewers to see what the possibilities are for styling and furnishing it when they move in. Go through all of your belongings and decide what you’re going to do with them all – you might want to give some of them away, donate them, or dispose of them.
If it’s at all possible to put your belongings in storage – for example, if you have a second home you could move into during the interim – then this will allow for a staging company to come in and start from scratch, optimising space and adding some modern furnishings to create a show-stopping space that is certain to make a big impact.
When it comes to moving yourself, you’ll be grateful you took the time beforehand to declutter, too, as it will make the entire job far smoother, easier, and quicker.
5. Put away personalised items
Once you’ve decluttered, remove any personal items from display – for example, family photos – and box them up. Leaving them in view of prospective buyers has the potential to impact the impression a home makes on them – for example, if you have photos of your children on the walls and the drawings they have done pinned to your fridge, this could turn off couples and empty nesters looking for a more sophisticated adult home, while the same can be said for the opposite.
If a buyer can’t see themselves fitting seamlessly into a home, then they are unlikely to buy, so giving them a blank canvas – with some stylish homely touches – is key.
6. Make small upgrades to the house on sale
Avoid making the mistake of making major upgrades to the home you are selling, as these can take time and you might not make your money back through the sale. Small upgrades that can be done quickly, on the other hand, are a good way to boost the appeal of your home, and could also help you to see a return on your investment.
Walk through the house that you are selling and look for things that require replacing or those in need of a bit more polish. Giving a room a fresh lick of paint and buying some new lamps for it, for example, can make a bigger difference than you might expect, and shouldn’t take more than a couple of days.
Small upgrades such as a shower curtains, some new taps, or some updated light fixtures are some other easy ways to make your house more attractive to potential buyers, and require minimum time and effort.
7. Price it right
Price is of the utmost importance when it comes to selling your home fast. Keep in mind, however, that house pricing is sometimes more of an art than science. Pricing isn’t all about what you need in terms of money – it is also about what the market is capable of handling and the value of the house and neighbourhood. Do thorough research on similar houses in the neighbourhood, and enlist the help of your estate agent to ensure you get it right.
Research the value of other homes in your area, and consider the upgrades that you have made to your house over the years you have been living in it. While it might not always be possible to get a 100 per cent return on the money spent on renovations, the renovations themselves will affect the current value of your home.
8. Boost curb appeal
Boosting the curb appeal of your home is a great way to ensure it makes a great first impression, as the exterior is the first thing prospective buyers will see before they go inside. If it doesn’t look good from the outside, then they can quickly be put off, and this may colour their judgement when viewing the interior.
To make your home feel more welcoming, pressure wash the driveways, pathways, and the house itself as well as painting any external window frames and shutters. You might also consider painting the front door, polishing the front door hardware, cleaning any cobwebs or bird droppings off the front porch and planting flowers near the entryway.
9. Market the house yourself
While your chosen real estate agent will be responsible for marketing your house, there’s no harm in helping them out with the process in order to guarantee a faster sale. Leverage your social media accounts to get the word out and send the listing page to people you know and think might be interested – you never know who might be in the market for a new home themselves.
Spread the word in your neighbourhood by sending the listing to your neighbours or homeowners’ association email list, too, and request them to share it with others. Making sure that others in your affluent neighbourhood are aware could increase your chances of finding a buyer in record time, so while it might seem like a tedious task, it could well be worth the effort.
