Sell Your House Quickly

Well, i would watch some of the home staging shows like Secrets that sell or sell your house.

Mainly what I see on those shows is a few guidelines:

1 – Neutralize your decore…if you have decore that is boldly colored or walls that are boldly colored.

2 – Get rid of Knick Nacks, family pictures clutter in the house in general. Perfect time to start packing and then store off site.

3 – If you have to move now and take your furniture with you then Rent a few pieces to give rooms purposes. Also make sure existing furniture looks nice by slip covering ratty or boldly colored or printed fabrics. Also make sure that the rooms have good floorplans and maybe get rid of any oversized furniture…keep furniture to a minimum so that your rooms look nice and big.

4 – Make sure your house has curb appeal…take out any dead flowers and or bushes. Plant maybe a few flowers for color and make sure the front of the house looks nice when walking up to it.

The Fifth one that I have learned from watching these shows is to take a look at comparable properties in your area…homes at the same price range and compare what they are offering versus what you are offering. You may have to reduce your price to make someone want to buy your house. You also need to take into account foreclosures in the area…they are big time competition and often are priced to sell and may be undercutting your property. Again you might have to reduce your price to be more in line with what is going on else where.

I think that tips like these are stuff a good Realtor should know and is a huge reason why you should use a Realtor when selling a property. Realtors are also there to protect you and just another good reason to use them.

In this market nothing may really sell fast and you need to be prepared for it. I have seen houses in my area on the market for 3 to 6 months and have the owners take them off the market with out selling.
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Hi Kia,

While you have already recieved some good answers, it would be misleading to think that a Realtor is the only way to sell a house. If you do want to use and agent, it is best to offer a higher commision than what is costomary for your area (usually 6%). Offering a higher commision to a realtor is like dangling a carrot – they will show the house to there buyers because they will make more money if it sells.
If you are trying to avoid RE agents ( I dont blame you). It would be to your benefit to offer a "unique" selling proposition, such as Owner assisted financing, paying all closing costs or selling on a land contract (get a significant amount down to protect yourself). In our current market situation, one or more of these may just give you the selling edge you need to sell quickly.

Good luck
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President of Michigan Future Investments