We Buy Houses!

This is the first post in a four blog series. For a heads-up on mistakes to avoid while selling a house, visit: Part 2 and Part 3.

Selling a house can be an easy task. It’s the one-size-fits-all approach that could mislead you from doing what’s right for your property. Your property is unique and though you want to gauge your market, your area and your neighborhood, it isn’t always wise to do exactly what every other seller on your street is doing!

Here are some questions that you need to answer to check if you’re doing the right things for your house:

Clear away clutter and depersonalize your home to attract more buyers and sell your house fast.

1. Overestimating the Value

Know what home buyers are looking for. Do your own research. Often sellers look at other houses on their street, and set the home price on structural similarities. A three-bedroom-two-bath home with a hot tub Jacuzzi in the master bathroom and a fully upgraded kitchen is bound to sell for a higher price than a regular three-bedroom-two-bath.

If you decide to sell your house as is, you want to take some of common factors into consideration. Some critical features that buyers have been looking for include: location, neighborhood and community, structural design and size, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, special amenities, availability of schools, privacy and other facilities. Some things are not in your control, but there are areas that can we worked upon.

2. Underestimating the Competition

Your property may be one-of-a-kind, but if a buyer has come to see your house, chances are that they will also check out the other available houses on your street. It’s not a bad idea to go out and investigate all the comparable prices of houses in your area and neighborhood. It’s time well-invested.

How Unique is your House?

Better still; hire an appraiser who would have done your homework for you. They will be able to point out problem areas or asset depreciators that have come in the way of a good sale. Sometimes, just fixing or upgrading a few things in your house could raise its value by a huge amount.

Have you been trying to sell your house for a while now? Think you need professional help to sell yours fast? Express Homebuyers is here for that very reason does just that! In the past five years we’ve sold over 800 homes within the DC metro area. We can help you list your house for sale. If we can’t sell your house in 60 days, we guarantee to buy it from you, no matter what the condition.

Just call us at 877-804-5252 or visit our website to chat with a representative.

This series will be continued. For more insight on what mistakes to avoid while selling your house, continue to read our blogs.

If you have any tips or suggestions that you’d like to share, please feel free to comment on this blog post.

When you go to sell your home, you may very aware of what real estate agents always say:

Fix up your home to get the best price.

The recommendations run the gamut from fresh paint to a new kitchen.  Frontdoor.com suggests that you put up to 15% of your home’s value into improvements.  If you are selling your home to prevent foreclosure or for other financial reasons, putting a lot of money into the place may not be an option for you.  What you will want to do is invest your time and money in the improvements that will do the most good.  Ideally, you should get a home inspection so you know what problems your home might have.  Even if you do not have the resources to fix too much, you can work with your real estate agent to plan two things:

• Your course of action in making repairs with limited resources.
• The best selling price point for your home, given that you are unable to make the type of improvements needed to get the best price.

Need to move but have little cash to prepare your home for moving?

The common wisdom used to be that you could get a home equity loan to finance repairs.  With tightened credit requirements and falling home values, this is no longer good advice.  (Try for it, but it probably won’t work!)

Even if you have minimal funds to work with, there are a few things that will help you sell:

First, freshen up the home to make it look “cared for.” De-clutter all the rooms.  This step can both help your sale and help your moving plans.  If you throw out, sell, or give away what you don’t need or want to take to your new home, you will have less to move.  You can even start packing unused items in boxes, which you neatly stack in the garage or an out of the way place.

If you have lived in your home for a long time, the paint will probably need freshening up.  Repaint the rooms in neutral colors to please most buyers.  If you have wallpapered walls, at least make sure that all the seams and corners are glued down, unless you want to remove the old wallpaper and repaint.  Texture paint can do wonders on damaged walls.

Your carpeting is one thing that the buyers will notice immediately when they walk in. If it’s old, soiled, and rippled, it will deter most buyers.  Replace it if you can.  If you know the floors underneath are good hardwood, then you might want to at least have the carpeting removed.  If not, at least clean what you have.

Minor kitchen and bathroom remodels top the list of what will do the most to sell your home. If you can’t afford projects like this, make sure everything is clean, fix leaky faucets, re-grout tile where needed, and replace outdated light fixtures.

Outside your home, make sure bushes, plants, and lawns are neatly trimmed. Make any needed repairs to sidewalks, steps, railings, and porches.

When you are done, you home may not make it into House Beautiful, but if it is neat and clean, potential buyers are more likely to consider it. If it’s priced right, they are more likely to make an offer.

No money to fix your home? No time to do it?  Then perhaps you should consider the Express Homebuyers solution.  We will buy your home as is for cash.  You can work out most of the details in a phone call, receive a cash advance, and be on your way to your new home within a couple weeks.  Call 1-800-SELL-2-US (1-800-735-5287) or email info@expresshomebuyers.com.  We can answer your questions about a way to leave your troubled financial past behind you and move on to a better life.