33 Ways to Sell fast

1. CLEAN UP OIL SPILLS  IN DRIVE-WAYS - First impressions are always critical and your driveway is one of the first things a buyer sees. Here’s a quick tip that may be a solution for your cement driveway. Try Draino or any high-powered liquid drain cleaner and sweep those oil stains away!

2. PAINT WALLS A NEUTRAL COLOR - If your home is decorated in dark or unusual colors, you’re going to scare off potential buyers. It will be worth your time to paint your walls a neutral color, such as off-white. If you’re not up to painting your entire house, at least paint the areas that make the biggest impression, such as the foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen and master bedroom.

3. MAKE A CHECKLIST OF THINGS TO DO - Make a checklist to review any time that someone comes by who is interested in your home. Nothing fancy, just something to remind you to do all the little preparatory tricks we’ve listed.

4. POLISH FIXTURES - Polish all fixtures, brass, chrome, glass, etc. with a high polish. This will add sparkle to your home!

5. CLEAN OR PAINT APPLIANCES - Appliances should be clean at all times. If your kitchen appliances have broken knobs, replace them. If your stove, fridge, dishwasher and trash compactor are all different colors, have a professional come in to paint them in a matching neutral color. This is much less expensive than buying all new appliances. They can spray enamel paint that makes them look like new, and will increase the “saleability” of your kitchen!

6. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE - Make appointments to show your home when possible. Try to avoid surprise-visits. Always have most of your family leave the house, when someone is viewing it with you. If they can’t leave, have them go outside to the backyard for a break, to get out of the way. The buyer will tend to feel less awkward inspecting the house while everyone is around. If someone does catch you with a surprise-visit, then have your family be prepared to be flexible and on their toes.

7. BAKE COOKIES - Keep a package of ready-made cookie dough on hand. Pop a few cookies in the oven just before a hot prospect is expected to arrive. The smell of freshly baked cookies will conjure up a lot of great memories! Try to trigger emotions that will work toward the sale of your house.

8. CLEAN THE CARPETS - When you are ready to list your home, it’s always a good idea to have the carpets cleaned. A clean home will always sell faster, and you should accentuate the fact that you take care of your home. Leave a few pairs of shoes just inside the front door to imply that you are meticulous about the appearance of your house!

9. ORGANIZE THE GARAGE - Do you ever find that you’re having trouble pulling your car into the garage because you have so much stuff in there? Clean it up by storing everything you can at a helpful relative’s home or a rented storage unit. This way, your garage area will appear larger, and when it comes time for you to move, you will be more organized.

10. OFFER TO MAKE PAYMENTS - Offer to make the buyer’s first 3 mortgage payments. This looks very attractive to your advertising. Many people like the idea of having a little grace period after moving into a new home, but usually when it gets down to negotiating, a lower price seems to prevail. Be sure you (or the buyer) are using an experienced lender, since seller concessions seem to confuse many less experienced lenders.

11. PAINT FRONT DOOR AND ENTRY WAY - A fresh coat of paint will always help sell the house faster, but if you can’t afford it, try this instead: paint the front door and, if needed, the entry area around the front door. If you don’t have any matching paint around to use, see if there is a plate fixture or some other item you can remove. Take it to the paint store to match your paint color.

12. CLEAN THE POOL - If you have a pool, it should look like you’re ready to throw a pool party, even if it’s in the dead of winter. You want to be sure to remind the buyer of how much fun a pool really is! This means a clean, uncovered pool with all of the furniture out and looking its best!

13. CARRY BACK A SECOND TRUST DEED - Carrying back a 2nd Trust Deed on your house can help a lot of people qualify who may not have been able to otherwise. (If you need all of the proceeds from the sale of your house, this method may not work for you.) You carry back a Note for, let’s say $40K, but you offer the Note to the buyer for only $35K providing the Note will be paid off within the first month of ownership.

The buyer will now need to get approval for an equity line of credit or 2nd trust deed which can close in as little as 4 days after the buyer takes possession of the home. Have a talented lender assist with this kind of deal, but realize that even though the buyer agrees verbally to this agreement, they aren’t obligated to retire your Note any sooner than the Note itself states. The motivation to retire your Note quickly has to come from the discount incentive, otherwise they pay more (in interest) over the life of the Note. Sounds tricky, but it works.

14. PARK DOWN THE STREET - Extra parking outside your house will give your property a spacious appearance. Park cars down the street so the buyer has the most convenient parking. Also, be sure to remove children’s toys, garbage cans, or any other unnecessary items from your front yard. All the buyer should see is a well-groomed property!

15. LET THERE BE LIGHT - Most people keep curtains, drapes, blinds closed for privacy, but when your house is for sale, be sure to open them all! Your house will look larger and brighter. Make sure that your windows are crystal clear. If your screens are worn out and full of holes, replace them. If you can’t replace tattered screens, take them out entirely to give that clean appearance. Don’t forget to wipe down windowsills.

Now if you have a window that faces an eyesore, you will want to keep the blinds closed to maintain a neat appearance.

16. HAVE A GARAGE SALE - Have that garage sale that you’ve been meaning to have. This is one of the quickest, easiest and most cost effective ways to clear out those items that make your living space look cluttered. Check with your local newspaper to see if they offer a “Garage Sale Kit” including signs if you place a classified ad in this category.

17. PAY DOWN THE PRINCIPAL - Seller concessions can attract buyers faster than just about anything else. Attract buyers by offering to pay 1 to 3 years of the principal on the buyer’s new mortgage (based on a 30 year fixed-rate loan) if the house is purchased by a certain date. Your Realtor or lender can give you precise figures, but a 3-year principal prepayment usually costs about 1.5% to 2.5% of the loan total amount. This is a small price to pay to sell your house quickly, but to the buyer, it’s like getting 3 years of their 30-year mortgage wiped out, with only 27 years remaining! Generally, the buyer will attempt to negotiate a price concession in lieu of a seller’s concession, but this will increase the readership of your advertising and get people to the door!

18. CREATE MORE SPACE - Remember, you’re not selling furniture, you’re selling a house! Keeping this in mind, you may want to remove any large or ornate pieces of furniture. Unless your taste in furniture is the same as the potential buyer’s, large pieces aren’t going to help your house sell. Their absence, however, will make your house appear spacious and inviting and will give them a better imagination for fitting their own furniture in the rooms.

19. HEAD TO THE NURSERY - When your house is up for sale, it’s time to retire those half-dead plants (both in your yard and in your house) that you keep thinking will come back to life some day. They make a mess by dropping leaves, and to put it frankly, having no plant is better than having a dead one. A quick solution is a trip to the nursery for a few fresh new plants!

20. START PACKING - UNCLUTTER - It will take some time to get all your knickknacks packed and ready to move. Why not do it now? Wrapping these little items in newspaper and storing them will make your move easier, and it will help your house show better. Remember, less is more!

21. REPLACE THE GARAGE DOOR - The garage door is one of the largest, most visible elements of your home. If you want to instantly enhance the overall look of your home’s exterior and increase its value, replace your garage door before listing your house. After all, what’s the use of a clean, organized garage if the door itself is warped, cracked, broken or in need of painting?

22. EMPTY THE CLOSETS - Take as many of your personal items as possible out of your closet and store them in an out-of-way place. When your closets are cleaned up, they will look much larger to the potential home buyer! Abundant closet/storage space is a major selling point for most people. Apply this rule to any storage area.

23. CREATE AN EXPERIENCE - Try writing a letter (flyer) telling about some of the features of your home. Talk about the schools, good neighbors, malls and shopping centers in the area., perhaps even a little history about the home or neighborhood. Write it in a very personal way, as if you were writing to a close friend. Try to create images in the potential buyer’s mind of how great it is to live there. Finally type this letter and make copies, but sign each one by hand. Put the letter on nice stationery and leave it out where anyone viewing the house could not miss it.

24. BUY SOME NEW FURNISHINGS - Now is the best time to replace old, worn out items with something new! Use your better judgment as to which items will actually make your current house look better to a perspective buyer.

25. SCOPE OUT NEW DEVELOPMENTS - One of the biggest competitors can be new home development in the area. Visit these developments to size up your competition and get ideas on how to beat them at their own game! Help your home to have the same appeal as the new homes by accenting similar attributes, while pointing out benefits your home may have that the new homes do not. You'll also get a good idea of what the price of your home should be, based on what the new homes are selling for.

26. TAKE THE DOG FOR A WALK - If you own a dog that may be intimidating to the potential buyer, take your dog for a walk whenever the home is being shown. Your dog’s bark may be worse than his bite, but if it’s presence could cause tension for the buyer, it takes away from the overall emotional experience of looking at your home.

27. WATER THE LAWN - Use your sprinklers as much as possible to ensure everything in your yard is green. Turn on your sprinkler’s manual button whenever a potential buyer is coming over. Newly watered landscape has a fresh, clean scent and a shimmer that makes it look much better than when it’s dry. By leaving them on, you can also discourage any backyard exploring in the event you have unsightly areas there.

28. CHECK THE PRICE - Price may be a sensitive issue, but it is the one thing that will sell your house faster than anything else. If you price your house right in line with the market, it’s not likely to sell quickly. That’s because only the 10% or 20% of houses with the best prices are selling each month.

29. TAME WILD JUNGLES - CLEAN UP YARDS - An empty yard sells better than an overgrown yard, probably because an empty yard looks larger! Plus they have a clean palette to do what they want with it. When trimming back your shrubbery and trees as you're getting ready to sell your home, don’t be timid. Trees and shrubbery should not hide the house itself. Less is more!

30. BUY POTTED FLOWERS - Flowers always brighten the appearance of a home, and they add a pleasant odor. Most people do not want to buy fresh-cut flowers or spend money on something they will leave behind. A helpful alternative is to use clay or decorative pots as planters. After they have helped to sell your current home, you can use them to brighten up your new home as well!

31. DON'T LEAVE A MESS - Inspect your house on the way out the door every day to see if there are any messes you have not had time to clean up. Kick clothes under the bed or get a couple large, plastic tubs for emergencies. In short, don’t leave your home a mess if there’s any possibility that a potential buyer may see it. As a final note, be careful not to hide your mess where it will be easily discovered, such as in a closet or cupboard.

32. BRIGHTEN THINGS UP - Add a dramatic appearance to your house with new 100-watt light bulbs! A bright house looks larger, cleaner and more appealing to a potential buyer. This will create an open feeling, similar to the many new homes that are built today with lots of windows and skylights!

33. DOLLARS AND SCENTS - If you’re not already popping something in the oven to fill the house with a pleasant aroma, spray a little vanilla air freshener or light some vanilla candles. This particular scent has a great impact. Potpourri around the house is a good idea too. Remember, we’re trying to appeal to as many senses as possible.

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