Selling Your Home – How to Get a Quick Cash Sale

If you're selling your home on the open market, it's a good idea to make the property appealing to potential buyers, especially if you're hoping for a quick sale. You don't need to spend lots of money, but you need to prepare your home, so spend some time getting it ready before putting it on the market. When selling your property, think of your house as a commodity rather than a home to which you are emotionally attached.

Preparing your home for a quick sale

It's worth the effort taking a little time to prepare your property as a good presentation can mean the difference between a home remaining on the market unsold until you have to lower the asking price and a house that sells fast for the full asking price.

Remember, selling your home is a competition between you and other properties on the market. To win and achieve a quick sale, you need to grab buyers' attention, so the property must be presented well and competitively priced.

A Good Presentation + A Competitive Price = A Quick Sale!

When you're hoping to sell your home fast, it's important to present it as a buyer would wish and not as you would like. It would be best if you showed potential buyers what they're looking for from a house. This means a clean and tidy home, with plenty of light, space, and storage.

8 Steps to selling your home fast

The point of presenting your home well is to obtain a quick sale and sell for the full asking price, giving potential buyers no reason to offer lower. Follow the 8 steps below to give yourself the best chance of achieving this.

1. Clean your home until it's sparkling!.

Make sure you clean your home from top to bottom, and inside as well as out. If carpets need a professional clean or curtains need dry cleaning, it's worth spending the money to do so. Giving your home a thorough clean will need a lot of time and effort, but don't skimp and remember to keep it this way until it sells. Many sellers make a half-hearted attempt at tidying and cleaning so make yours stand out from the rest - you'll sell before they do!

2. Declutter your home.

Removing clutter from your home you'll create lots of space and make your home look much bigger. It will give the impression of a neat, tidy, and well-organized home, which a buyer wants. Decluttering your home is not only a necessity for selling but is therapeutic for the seller too, and is a good way of emotionally preparing yourself to move home.

Decluttering your home will help to:

• Look at your property as a commodity for sale. This is essential for making good business decisions.
• Break emotional ties with your house. In extreme cases, this can impair judgment and prevent a quick sale.
• Concentrate on a new home and new life when you move.

Unless you've experienced moving home, it's easy to underestimate the emotional side of decluttering, and for some, this can be not easy. Do persevere, though, as ultimately, it is worth it. Throw out as much as possible or if it's in reasonable condition, donate it to charity.

When you think you've finished decluttering, have another look in your cupboards and other storage spaces. Are they full? If so, you need to consider getting rid of some more or putting some items into rented storage. Cupboards and storage spaces shouldn't be filled to more than 75%.

Serious potential buyers will open cupboards to have a look inside. If they look cramped, the buyer will assume there isn't enough storage space and decide your house isn't for them. Don't lose out on a potential quick sale because of cluttered cupboards and storage!

3. Complete DIY jobs and perform maintenance.

A well maintained house will always be desirable for any potential buyer. For each unfinished DIY task or problem that needs to be fixed, you'll lose money in any offer you receive. Hire a professional if necessary, and get all projects and maintenance jobs completed to give the best likelihood of a quick sale at the best possible price.

4. First impressions count!

The first view of your house by any potential buyer is important. The inside of your home may look great but if the outside doesn't match, you're reducing your chances of making a quick sale. Have a look at your home from outside and walk from the pavement to your front door. Does everything look well maintained and cared for? Does your home look as well if not better than other properties in your street?

5. Depersonalise your home.

This is a very effective tip for selling your home and is one of the secrets used in show houses by property builders. For a buyer to want to buy your home, he needs to be able to imagine himself living there, and this isn't possible with lots of your family's personal belongings everywhere. This is why show houses never have any personal items or family portraits and are always anonymous.

To achieve this look in your home, pack into storage all family photos, holiday souvenirs, collectibles, children's artwork, trophies, and certificates. Remember, a buyer doesn't want to buy your home - he wants to buy your house and make it his home!

6. Neutralise!

This continues from depersonalizing your home and is a very effective way of achieving a quick sale. Color is a personal taste, and what one person likes another will hate, so don't let your home colour schemes affect your property's sale. Remove color from your home completely by painting the walls a neutral color like magnolia or cream. Repainting bold colors and highly individual interiors to something more neutral is a very cost-effective way of adding value to your home. Rooms will appear larger and brighter - major selling points for any property. By neutralizing color, you're creating a blank canvas that prospective buyers will love. It helps give them positive visions of what their lives could be like living in the property.

7. Define each room.

Sometimes when living in a home, the use of some rooms can be blurred over time. A spare bedroom turns into a storage area, the dining room turns into a children's playroom, or part of the lounge turns into an office.

If this sounds like your home, you should consider converting the rooms back into their original use. It makes sense financially and can improve your chances of selling because certain places are more valuable than others. Bedrooms are worth more than office space, and a dining room is worth more than a playroom.

Use this time as a good opportunity to make your home appear larger. Take out all non-essential furniture and other items and put them into storage. This will gives lots of extra room and add valuable floor space.

Pay a visit to a few showhomes if you can. It will provide great examples of how minimal furniture defines a room's use and can achieve a fast sale. This should be your own goal. Always keep in mind - space sells!

8. Eliminate any odors!

• Smoking
• Cooking
• Pets
• Blocked drains
• Damp

All the things listed above can give off nasty odors around the home - not good when you're showing potential buyers around. Get rid of any smells fast! While your property is on the market, open windows frequently to allow air to circulate and keep your home smelling clean and fresh.

Preparing for a fast sale

Use the eight steps listed above to ensure your property will achieve a quick sale. However, another point worth bearing in mind and just as important is the following concept:

"Buyers are not looking to buy property! What they're looking to buy is a better life. Property just happens to be the way they'll get it".

To attract buyers to your property and entice the highest offers, you need to make the buyer want exactly what you have. Show them a better life and you're guaranteed to make a quick sale!