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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If you’re a homeowner getting ready to move , one question usually comes first: should you buy your next home before you sell, or sell your current house before you start looking? There’s no single right answer. The best call depends on your finances, your local market, and your timeline. And a trusted agent can help you weigh all of it. But in a lot of cases these days, selling first puts you in the stronger spot. The Advantages of Selling First Selling is usually the trickier half of a move today, so getting it done first clears your biggest hurdle. And that’s especially true right now , because there are more homes for sale than there are buyers, which means houses are taking longer to sell than they did a year or two ago. So how does leading with your sale pay off? Let’s start with the money. 1. You Won’t Get Stuck Paying Two Mortgages Buy before you sell, and you could end up carrying two mortgages at once. And especially since houses are staying on the market longer these days, that overlap may drag on for more time than you’d planned. And if unexpected repairs come up, it could get even more expensive. Selling first takes that risk off the table, so you’re not multitasking homeownership. As Ramsey Solutions puts it: “It’s best to sell your old home before buying a new one to avoid unnecessary risks and possible headaches.“ 2. You Can Use Your Equity To Fuel Your Move This is always true, but one of the biggest perks of selling first is that you’ll know exactly how much money you’re walking away with. And one of the big figures that matters in that conversation is how much equity you have in your current place. Equity is basically your house’s value minus what you still owe on your mortgage. And it adds up fast. According to Realtor.com , homeowners who’ve been in their home for 5 years have about $180,000 in equity on average. And those who’ve had their home for 6-10 years? They have over $340,000. After you sell, you can use that money to cover your down payment or even buy your next home in cash. And knowing that profit up front helps you plan your next move. 3. Your Offer Will Be Hard To Pass Up When your house is already sold, you don’t have to make your offer contingent on that sale. In a market where buyers are taking their time, that’s exactly what a seller wants to see. Picture it from the seller’s side. If their house has been sitting for a while, they’ll gravitate toward the offer most likely to close without a snag. That can also give you room to ask for a little more, like repairs, since a motivated seller would rather keep things moving than lose you and wait for another offer to come in. Your agent can help you make the most of your upper hand in that scenario. Is There a Catch? Selling first has its tradeoffs too, and it helps to see the pros and cons side by side before you decide. Here’s a quick breakdown based on information from Zillow (see visual below) :
Online listing photos often shape a buyer’s first impression of a home. They want to understand the home’s setting, the size of the lot, and what makes the property unique before deciding whether it’s worth a visit. That’s one reason real estate drone photography has become a popular addition to many listings. That said, aerial photography isn’t a must-have for every home. Whether you’re selling a home in Houston, TX or listing a rental in Asheville, NC , knowing when to use this style of professional photography can help highlight the features that matter most to buyers. Here are seven situations where real estate drone photography can make a listing more compelling. Key takeaways: Best for homes where the setting is part of the selling point. Shows lot size, layout, and nearby amenities at a glance. Helps buyers visualize features that aren’t visible from the ground. Less valuable for standard homes on small lots. Should be performed by a licensed drone operator following local regulations. 1. The property sits on a large lot or acreage Large properties are difficult to capture from the ground. Aerial photos show the property’s full footprint and help buyers appreciate how much land they’re getting. Bradley Harkey, owner at LuxRE Photos , says drone photography is especially valuable for homes with room to grow. “Drone photography can really be essential when you are selling a home with a lot of land. A view from above can showcase the potential even when it’s not exactly obvious from the ground.” He says buyers often struggle to picture what an undeveloped yard could become. “Oftentimes an unprepped backyard can just look like a bunch of weeds to a potential buyer, but when seen from above, you can visualize where that pool can go, or that basketball hoop, or that go-kart track you always wanted as a kid. Some homes have so much potential, but it’s hard to see between the weeds.” Whether it’s acreage, an equestrian property , or simply a spacious backyard, aerial images help buyers see the property’s potential. 2. The home has waterfront views or scenic surroundings Some of a home’s best features aren’t visible from the front yard. Waterfront access, mountain views, wooded privacy, and distinctive architecture all benefit from an elevated perspective. Doug Smith, principal and founder of Houzpics LLC , explains, “Aerial photography is especially valuable for waterfront or estates with large, feature-rich lots, multi-story architecture, and homes with scenic surroundings. Aerial images help buyers understand the property’s layout and highlight features that traditional ground-level photos may not fully capture.” Rather than focusing only on the home, aerial photography showcases the entire setting.
Some people enjoy the beach. Others seem drawn to it. They choose beach vacations over city breaks. They find excuses to visit the coast whenever they can. They feel calmer the moment they hear waves crashing or catch sight of the ocean on the horizon. Friends and family may joke that they're "obsessed" with the beach, but psychology suggests there may be more happening beneath the surface. For many people, a love of the beach is not simply about sunshine, swimming, or beautiful views. Research suggests that coastal environments may provide something the modern brain desperately needs: a chance to recover from constant mental demands. Attention Restoration Theory may explain the attraction to the beach One of the most influential explanations comes from Attention Restoration Theory, developed by environmental psychologists Rachel Kaplan and Stephen Kaplan. The theory suggests that everyday life requires large amounts of what researchers call directed attention. This is the mental effort people use to focus during meetings, answer emails, ignore distractions, make decisions, navigate traffic, and manage responsibilities. Over time, directed attention becomes fatigued. Natural environments appear to affect the brain differently. The Kaplans proposed that nature creates a state known as soft fascination. Instead of demanding concentration, environments such as beaches gently hold attention without effort. As a result, the brain gets an opportunity to recover from mental fatigue . For frequent beachgoers, this may help explain why a few hours by the ocean often feels more restorative than an entire day spent indoors. Research on blue spaces supports the idea Psychologists and public health researchers often use the term blue spaces to describe environments that contain visible water, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and coastlines. Over the past decade, a growing body of research has linked blue-space exposure to improved psychological well-being . A 2020 research, Blue space, health and well-being: A narrative overview and synthesis of potential benefits, led by environmental psychologist Mathew White has found that people who spend more time near coastal environments often report better mental health and higher life satisfaction. The authors propose that water environments may improve mental health through several connected pathways: Increased physical activity (people walk, swim, or move more near water) Psychological restoration (reduced mental fatigue and stress) Social interaction (waterfronts often encourage gathering and recreation) Environmental effects such as improved air quality and aesthetic satisfaction Importantly, the review also highlights that blue spaces share similarities with green spaces (like parks and forests), but water environments may have unique psychological effects due to their sensory characteristics and emotional associations. Why the ocean feels different from other environments Many people report feeling calmer almost immediately when they arrive at the beach. Psychologists believe part of the reason may be the unique combination of sensory experiences. The sound of waves is rhythmic and predictable. The horizon creates a sense of openness. The movement of water captures attention without overwhelming it. Unlike social media feeds, traffic, news alerts, and crowded urban environments, the beach provides relatively low levels of cognitive demand. In simple terms, the ocean gives the brain less work to do. That reduction in mental effort may help explain why people often describe feeling lighter, calmer, or more clear-headed after spending time near the water. Place Attachment Theory says beaches can become part of identity For some people, the connection goes beyond relaxation. Psychologists study a concept known as place attachment, which refers to the emotional bond people develop with specific locations. Certain places become connected to family memories, childhood experiences, important life events, or feelings of belonging. Over time, the beach may become more than a destination. It becomes part of a person's identity. This may explain why some individuals return to the same stretch of coastline year after year, even when countless other travel options are available.
