What You Can Do To Help Sell Your Home FAST
Dusty Rhodes • February 17, 2020
You're listing your house for sale. You have an appointment with a Real Estate Agent to see what your home is worth right now compared to other houses in your area. A lot of agents will help you in the selling process, but here are some great tips and tricks on how YOU can help YOUR AGENT!
Before Putting Your Home up for Sale
Here are a few items to take care of before listing your home. This can make the sale process quicker and easier in the long run.
- Consider a pre-sale home inspection. An inspector will be able to give you a good indication of the trouble areas that will standout to potential buyers, and you'll be able to make repairs before open houses begin.
- Organize and Clean. Pare down clutter and pack up your least-used items, such as large blenders and other kitchen tools, out-of-season clothes, toys, and seasonal items. Store items off-site or in boxes neatly arranged in the garage or basement. Clean the windows, carpets, walls, lighting fixtures, and baseboards to make the house shine.
- Get replacement estimates. Do you have big-ticket items that will need to be replaced soon? Find out how much it will cost to repair an older roof or replace worn carpeting, even if you don't plan to do so. The figures will help buyers determine if they can afford the home, and they'll be handy when negotiations begin.
- Locate warranties. Gather up the warranties, guarantees, and user manuals for the furnace, washer/dryer, dishwasher, and any other items that will remain with the house. It may seem like this task can be left until closing, but you don't want lost paperwork or last-minute scrambling to cause the deal to fall through.
- Spruce up the curb appeal. Walk out to the front of your home, close your eyes, and pretend you're a prospective buyer seeing the property for the first time. As you approach the front door, what is your impression of the property? Do the lawn and bushes look neatly manicured? Is the address clearly visible? What do you see framing the entrance, if anything? Is the walkway free of cracks and impedements?
How to Add Curb Appeal
- Trim bushes and branches so they don't block windows or architectural details.
- Set a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch or front walkway.
- Install new, matching locks and knobs on your front door.
- Repair any cracks or holes in the driveway/garage, and clean oil spots with degreaser and a steel brush.
- Edge the grass around walkways and trees.
- Stow your garden tools and hoses out of sight, and clear kids' toys from the lawn.
- Buy a new mailbox.
- Updgrade your outdoor lighting.
- Purchase a new doormat for outside your front door.
- Clean your windows, inside AND out.
- Polish or replace your house numbers.
- Mow your lawn. (QUICK TIP: Also, turning on the sprinklers for 30 minutes before the showing will make the whole yard sparkle.)
- Place a seasonal wreath on your door.
Checklist For a Better Home Showing
- Remove clutter. Clear off counters and pack unnecessary decorative items. Put extra furniture in storage, and remove out-of-season items. Don't forget to clean out the garage, too.
- Let it shine. Cleaning windows and screens will help bring more light into your home. Replace burnt bulbs,and consider higher wattage in low light areas. Clean the walls or brush on a fresh coat of bright, neutral paint. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones and showoff your view.
- Keep it clean. A deep clean before listing your home will make upkeep easier. Consider hiring a cleaning service to help.
- Maximize comfort. In summer, shut A/C vents on the first floor so more air will get upstairs. Reverse the process in winter.
- Perform a sniff test. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate odors. Open the windows to air out the house. Consider potpourri or scented candles and diffusers. For quick fixes in the kitchen, cotton balls soaked in vanilla extract or orange juice can instantly make the fridge a nicer-smelling place. Boil lemon juice in your microwave, then add it to your dishwasher to eliminate odors. You can also run lemon rinds through the garbage disposal for a similar effect.
- Take care of minor repairs. Sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking, or a dripping faucet may seem trivial, but they'll give the buyers the impression that the house isn't well maintained.
- Tidy up outdoors. Cut the grass, rake the leaves, add new mulch, trim the bushes, edge the walkways, and clean the gutters. A pot of bright flowers near the entryway adds great curb appeal.
- Set the scene. A bright afghan or new accent pillows easily jazz up a dull room. Pretty dishes or a simple centerpiece on the tables can help buyers picture themselves living there. Try staging a chess game in progress. If you have a fireplace, lay fresh logs or a basket of flowers there.
- Make the bath luxurious. Make sure your personal toiletry items are out of sight, along with old towels and toothbrushes. Add a new shower curtain and fancy guest soaps.
- Send the pets to the neighbors. If that's not possible, crate or confine them to one room, and let the real estate practitioner know where they'll be to eliminate surprises.
- Lock up valuables. Agents can't watch everyone all the time.
- Head out. It can be awkward for everyone if you're home at the time of a showing.
Dusty Rhodes Properties is the Best Realtor in Myrtle Beach! We do everything in our power to help you find the home of your dreams. With experience, expertise, and passion, we are the perfect partner for you in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We love what we do and it shows. With more than 22 years of experience in the field, we know our industry like the back of our hands. There’s no challenge too big or too small, and we dedicate our utmost energy to every project we take on. We search thousands of the active and new listings from Aynor, Carolina Forest, Conway, Garden City Beach, Longs, Loris, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island, and Surfside Beach real estate listings to find the hottest deals just for you!
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NAR says introducing competition into the credit scoring process has the potential to lower costs, improve efficiency and open the door to more qualified home buyers. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are moving forward with updated credit scoring models for all forms of mortgage lending. The announcement was made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William J. Pulte. The FHA followed suit announcing it would accept Vantagescore and a new FICO score beginning in 2027. The move builds on Pulte’s announcement last year that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would begin testing VantageScore 4.0 as part of the mortgage underwriting process. The National Association of REALTORS® welcomed the change, saying a more modern approach to evaluating credit could broaden access to mortgage financing. The updated models may be particularly helpful for consumers with limited traditional credit histories, giving more prospective buyers an opportunity to qualify for a mortgage. “The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement marks an important step forward in modernizing the mortgage marketplace,” says NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn. “For years, the National Association of REALTORS® has advocated for a more competitive and innovative credit scoring system, one that better reflects how consumers manage their financial lives today.” VantageScore 4.0 was created by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and is designed to evaluate credit behavior over time. The model can also incorporate certain payment information that has historically received less consideration in credit scoring, including rental, utility and telecommunications payments. Consumers who consistently make those payments on time could benefit from having that information reflected in their credit profiles. The Fair Isaac Corporation, commonly known as FICO, is working to implement its own modern score. “Introducing competition into the credit scoring process has the potential to lower costs, improve efficiency and open the door to qualified borrowers who may have been overlooked under older models,” McGahn says. “By allowing multiple credit scoring models that consider rent, utility and other payment histories, this policy can provide a fuller picture of a borrower’s creditworthiness and open the door to homeownership for more Americans.” NAR says the availability of additional credit scoring models could increase competition within the credit reporting industry while potentially improving accuracy and reducing costs. NAR will also continue to monitor the mortgage market and the experiences of lenders and consumers as these models are implemented to help ensure they are working as intended. This includes evaluating how the models affect access to credit, accuracy and consistency in mortgage underwriting and the broader homeownership market. For more information, visit fhfa.gov/policy/credit-scores.
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