The Top 3 Things to Focus on When Selling a Home

Selling a home can sometimes be a long and drawn-out process. Often, a seller can feel helpless when progress isn’t being made, and you could be tempted to change realtors or lower the asking price.

The truth is, there can be many reasons why your house isn’t selling, and it could be that you aren’t focusing on the right areas. Getting the right approach from the beginning could mean the difference between selling a home in weeks or taking months to close the deal.

If you are about to sell your home, you may want to read this brief article to see which areas you should put your energy into. If you are already marketing your home but struggling to sell, you might also find some interest here.

What should you focus on when selling a home?

You could say making the biggest profit possible is where your focus should be, and this would be true for most sellers. But, to get to this desirable position, you will also need to place your focus on other directions.

There may be work to do around the home, and you will also need to decide how to sell this property. There are many reasons to hire a realtor, but is this the route you want to take, or is there a more suitable one? Below are three focus areas that include this aspect of selling and others.

Focus on your selling strategy

Before you can market your home, you need to decide on your selling strategy. Not so long ago, there was only one route a homeowner could take when selling a property, and that was to use a realtor.

Now though, a seller could choose any one of the following options:

• Realtor
• Property auction
• FSBO – for sale by owner
• Cash buyer – home investor
• iBuyer
• Exchange
• Raffle

The last two options are the least useful methods on the list, but some homeowners have straight swapped their home for another, while some have put their property up for raffle to try and make a bigger return.

The other options are all feasible ways to sell a home, and the one you choose should be based on what suits you.

You could take the FSBO route if you are comfortable and confident enough to handle negotiations and marketing. If you want everything handled for you, and time is not a problem, then a realtor could help. But, if you want to sell your home very quickly, you should choose an iBuyer, home investor, or perhaps go to an auction.

iBuyers and home investors can make immediate offers for homes. Your strategy will directly impact the time it takes for the home to sell and how much the proceeds you receive.

Focus on first impressions and curb appeal

When someone pulls up to view your home, their first impressions will count for a lot. Decisions about buying a home can be made on simple things such as this.

Improving your curb appeal can not only help to sell your home quicker, but it can increase the value too. It is said that a high curb appeal can help raise a home’s value by an average of 7% when compared to similar but less visually attractive properties in the same area.

Gardens and landscapes can make a huge difference in curb appeal and significantly affect a home's value. Up to 28% of the total value of your home can come from your gardens. If you are considering renovations, then landscaping should be high on your list. Garden landscaping adds up to 12.7% to the price of a home.

Focus on what your buyers will notice

Walk through your home and try to view it objectively. Potential buyers will notice those scuffs on the walls. That dripping tap? The same.

Unfinished jobs, leaks, peeling paint. These can all point to other possible areas of neglect. Some simple repairs and touch-ups can make a big difference to how a home is viewed. It is recommended by many realtors today that the seller should carry out a professional house inspection prior to marketing.

An inspection will highlight any areas that must be fixed and addressed before the house can be sold. Once these repairs are done, potential buyers should be viewing nothing but a well-maintained home.

Renovations, like repairs, can make a difference to the way a home is viewed. Before carrying out any extensive changes, though, it is worth understanding the return on remodeling costs.

Summary

Many tasks need to be carried out when selling a home, and it is easy to get bogged down in the importance of staging and marketing through different channels.

However, choosing the best selling strategy and ensuring the home is seen in its best light can help the sales process go quicker. Making some changes to the home can speed things up and see the home's value rise too.

Please share any selling a home tips with us below!