Need A Quick Home Sale? Read Up

Regardless of the reason you need your home to sell quickly, there are several things you can do to increase the odds that your home will sell—and sell quickly!

Implement these common-sense strategies, start showing your home, and get ready for the offers to start coming in!

1.First, clear out all the clutter! At the risk of sounding callous, prospective homebuyers don't want to see all your junk, admire your collectibles, or wonder what the house really looks like underneath a bunch of stuff. So clear it all out. If necessary, pack everything into boxes and put them into a rental storage unit!

2.Clean like crazy—or hire a professional cleaner to get your house spic and span! Filth—whether it is an accumulation of dust on baseboards, mildew in the bathroom, or water spots on mirrors—is a huge turnoff and can have potential buyers running away! Eliminate all the dirt and let the true beauty of your home shine through! (And don't overlook cleaning up the basement, the garage, and the front and back yards, too!)

3.If it's broke, fix it! Take a good look around and make a list of everything in or around your home that needs to be repaired. Nails protruding from a step tread? Pound them down. Broken window pane? Replace the glass. Screen with a hole in it? Broken railing? Loose downspout? Repair them. Take care of anything and everything that is in disrepair before you put your house on the market.

4.If it's stained or just plain worn out, replace it! One of the biggest turnoffs to potential homebuyers knowing they will need to replace something as soon as they purchase a home to make it livable and acceptable to them. Most homebuyers don't want the hassle, delays, or added expense of making immediate replacements! So take a look at your home with a "stranger's eye" and replace stained or warn carpets and rust-stained or chipped kitchen or bathroom fixtures.

5.Rethink your décor, stage for a sale, and repaint if necessary! Most people have a very personal taste and decorate their homes to their individual liking. But homebuyers don't want to buy your decorating style. They want to purchase a home they can visualize their things in. So remove any distinctive décor, items that may date your home unfavorably, or furniture and accessories that suggest your home isn't move-in ready for a new owner. Sometimes this will require renting more "current" or stylish furniture and putting your outdated stuff in storage until your home sells. "Stage" your home—rather than "living" in it while it is on the market. Make sure it is always ready for an impromptu showing. Remove personal photos and "extra" stuff from the walls to create visual space, repair screw or nail holes, and repaint the rooms in neutral or more modern colors.

Admittedly, adopting these fast-sale strategies may cost you a few dollars and require some additional work up front, but in addition to helping you make a faster sale, most of these common-sense strategies will also net you a higher selling price!