Regardless of the current state of the real estate market, there are a few things homeowners can do to sell their property faster. Here are 6 tips to help sell your home fast.

1. Hire a Great Agent. Not all real estate agents are created equal. Before choosing an agent, make sure to check their references, background, and experience. An agent should have knowledge about your neighborhood and its market history. They should also have a clearly defined marketing plan for your property which spells out how they intend to help potential buyers find your home.

2. Set the Right Price. Setting the right price can either make or break the sale of your home. Your real estate agent should be able to suggest an appropriate price for your home based on its location and the current market conditions. If you set your price too high, chances are many qualified buyers will never take a look at it. On the other hand, setting your price too low will most likely leave money on the table. You may want to ask your real estate agent to show you a list of comparable properties that have sold in your area recently.

3. De-Clutter. Before any open houses or private showing, be sure to remove any clutter and tidy up. Pack away items that are not frequently used and remove family photos from walls and shelves. Remember, you want potential buyers to focus on your home, not your recent trip to the beach. Also, make your house look more spacious by getting rid of unnecessary furniture, clearing out cabinets and removing unnecessary items from shelves and table tops.

4. Set the Stage. Home staging is a great way to sell your home fast. The secret to home staging is to neutralize any taste-specific design choices to make it easier for buyers to see themselves living in the space. Updating outdated fixtures and selecting a neutral color palate are inexpensive ways to broaden the appeal of your home.

5. Make Repairs. Fix minor problems like leaky faucets or chipped paint before buyers see your house. The goal is to eliminate as many potential negatives as possible before you put your house on the market. You want buyers to envision themselves moving right in without having to make any repairs first.

6. Get Out of Dodge. When potential home buyers visit your house, it is best not to be there. Buyers may be afraid to freely express their opinions or ask questions if you are present. So jump in your car (with your pets if possible) and find a pleasant way to pass the time until your showing is complete.

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Finding the right real estate agent to sell your home is important if you want to get the best price in the shortest amount of time. Of course, there is a lot more to selling your home than simply placing a “for sale” sign in your yard or posting a listing on the Internet. A professional Realtor will employ many methods to attract potential buyers to your property and will guide you through the complicated legal process of transferring ownership to the new buyer.

Selecting an agent to represent your property can be confusing. However, there are a number of things you can do to increase your chances of finding the best real estate agent to sell your home.

Here Are 6 Tips To Help You Get Started:

1. Conduct Interviews. The best way to get to know potential real estate agents is by talking to them personally. Remember, whoever you choose is going to be handling one of your most important assets – so make sure your feel comfortable with this person! Ask them how your property compares to competing properties in your area and what their marketing plan would be to get it sold in that environment. Also, be clear about what kind of communication you are expecting from them. Then, really listen to their response to determine if they will be able to meet your expectations in that area.

2. Examine Their Qualifications, Work History and Expertise.Before signing a contract, make sure your real estate agent has enough experience and expertise to adequately represent your interests. All professional real estate agents have to meet certain licensing requirements. However, not all agents are created equal and personal experience is not something that can be bought. In addition, the agent you choose should be very familiar with your local real estate market. It is important to work with a real estate agent who understands the competition in your area, your neighborhood’s transaction history, and current price trends. Finally, it may be a good idea to check the State Board of Realtors for any complaints that may have been filed against your potential agent.

3. Ask for Referrals.Ask your friends, family members and work associates for recommendations. Before you accept a referral at face value, be sure to ask the individual making the referral about his or her personal experience with that particular agent. While you are at it, don’t forget to inquire about the agent’s communication style, marketing methods and fees.

4. Learn about Their Approach to Customer Service.Open communication with your real estate agent is important, so you’ll want to make sure they are responsive to your concerns. It is okay if your agent has an assistant who communicates with you, as long as your agent is available to take your calls, reviews all contracts on your behalf, and is present for important transactions. How the agent communicates with you says a lot about how much they value your business and how serious they are about getting your home sold.

5. Attend Open Houses. Attending open houses allows you to see your potential real estate agent in action. This will give you a better feel for how they interact with potential buyers and how actively they promote their listings. Also, keep in mind that not all real estate agents are willing to host open houses at all. However, you want to find an agent who is willing to do whatever it takes to find the right buyer for your home.

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There are several common mistakes many first-time home buyers often make. Here are 4 of the most common real estate pitfalls you may encounter, plus tips on how to avoid them.

1. Lack of Research

Buying a piece of real estate is a big investment, so you’ll want to make sure you do your homework first. Therefore, be sure to ask questions, review disclosures, get a home inspection and check online for recent transactions in your target neighborhood.  A few questions you might want to ask include:

a. Why is the property for sale?
b. Does the property have any significant structural problems that need to be addressed?
c. Are there any existing liens against the property?
d. Are there any proposed changes to the surrounding area or neighborhood?
e. Is the house located in a flood zone or other potential problem area?

2. Not Factoring in Maintenance Costs

Many home buyers make the mistake of over-estimating how much they can actually afford to pay for a property. This happens because they only factor in the purchase price and neglect the other costs associated with improving and maintaining a home or rental property. So don’t forget to budget for monthly utilities, property taxes, insurance, unexpected repairs and ongoing maintenance costs before deciding how much house you can comfortably afford.

3. Becoming Overly Picky

There is nothing wrong with holding out for the house of your dreams.  However, don’t become so focused on finding the “perfect” house that you miss out on the great buy right in front of you. Instead, make a list of all the features you want in your new home and then determine which of those are absolute “must have” items and which ones might not be as important when all is said and done. Also, be realistic in terms of what you expect to find in your targeted price range.

4. Passing on Professional Help

Of course, there is nothing wrong with buying real estate without the help of a real estate agent.  However, you will probably spend a lot more time and energy if you try to do it on your own. Real estate agents have the resources, contacts and tools that can make your search go a lot faster. A good home inspector and insurance agents are also great professional resources to have on your side before you purchase a property.

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It seems the Internet is overrun with information re:  mortgages for bad credit borrowers.


Of course, this isn’t surprising considering the overall economic climate (and the recent real estate meltdown) here in the United States.  With unemployment and foreclosures at or near record levels, there is a genuine need to help those who’ve stumbled financially regain solid economic footing.

As a result, many savvy mortgage companies have come to market with products that promise to make mortgages for bad credit borrowers more available. While these mortgage programs may serve a legitimate need, borrowers still need to make sure they do some due diligence before signing on the dotted line.

In other words, regardless of your current credit rating – you should still thoroughly research any mortgage provider before placing your trust – and financial future – with them.  Comparing interest rates and doing research on the company in question is a good place to start.

Also, don’t be afraid to go with your gut – if someone is offering or promising you something that seems too good to be true – odds are… it is.

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Yesterday, I described how my new storage unit, I mean “apartment,” was piled floor-to-ceiling with boxes after I moved from my larger home into a smaller 6-month rental. The one-car garage that came with my apartment didn’t fare much better. It, too, was crammed full of stuff and I had no idea what was where – not that I would have been able to get to something even if I did know where it was.

Throw in 3 excited and nervous dogs – and the hottest week of the entire year – and you’ve got one miserable moving experience!

For days, I felt like I was bailing out the ocean with a thimble, but thank goodness my teenage niece and sister-in-law were there to help as we tried to create some sense of a functional and livable space. Fortunately, my new apartment was close to a Goodwill donation center, which made the process of freeing up space a little easier. Plus, my niece was about to move into her own apartment, so she laid claim to a bunch of stuff I was only too happy to get rid of at that point. (Nope. I’m not missing the irony that I paid to move all that stuff only to give it away days later). Even so, the next 6 months were pretty stressful as I tried to live around boxes and counted the days until my new place would be ready.

The worst part about this whole miserable, stressful and needlessly expensive process was that it could have been avoided – even though I had less than 10 days from closing on my former home until I had to vacate.

Hindsight being what it is – here is what I would do differently:

• As soon as I got access to my new apartment, I would clean the kitchen and bathrooms so they were move-in ready. I would also measure each room in the rental and write down all the dimensions. Remember, if your items are in larger rooms in your current home, you might not realize how much space they need. Taking detailed notes of your new floor plan will be a huge help when deciding what furniture will comfortably fit in your new space. Trust me, too much furniture in too small a space is something you’ll want to avoid.

• Rent a storage locker. I thought I was saving money by skipping this step. Wrong!

• When evaluating what to put in storage (i.e., what could I absolutely live without for several months?), I would be more ruthless.  I thought I had done this before moving – I really did – but considering the boxes and truck loads of stuff I gave away AFTER I paid to move it – I was wrong. Next time, unless an item has significant sentimental value (such as a gift from someone I love or a family memento), if it hasn’t been used (or thought of ) in the last 6 months to a year, I would donate it.

• Before the movers arrived, I would rent a separate uHaul (or borrow a truck from a friend) and load up all the kitchen and bath items I would definitely use over the next 6 months and get those areas completely set up in advance. I would also stock up the refrigerator with snacks and beverages to make moving day more tolerable.  I would also use this truck to make a trip to the storage locker for all items I wouldn’t need in the future and had survived the “should-it-stay-or-should-it-go” phase. No sense paying a mover to make two stops if you can find someone to help you get this stuff out of the way in advance.

• Pack up valuable, breakable and other personal belongings I don’t want the movers to handle and move them myself the day of the move.

These simple steps might be intuitive to a lot of people, especially if they’ve moved frequently (or recently).  However, as someone who hadn’t moved in a long time, I ended up paying a lot more than I should have in terms of time, frustration and money. Hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes and save yourself some time and money on your next move!

Til Next Time,

P.S. Do you have any great cost-saving moving tips? If so, please share them by clicking on the word “Comments” below!

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I recently wrote about my good fortune when selling my home a couple years ago. I put it on the market on a Friday and had accepted a solid offer by the following Monday. No lengthy sales process with endless open houses or running around to get things in order for a last-minute showing.

That was the good news.

The bad news was that the new owner was in the process of an international move and needed to take possession in about 3 weeks. I had been expecting an 8-9 month sales process – and my new property wouldn’t be move-in ready for at least 6 months…

So, I was left with the unenviable task of finding a short-term rental location willing to take on a renter with 3 dogs – FAST. Because my needs were so specific – immediate occupancy, less than a year lease and open to accepting pets – the options available to me were limited and I was very grateful to find a nice location for a reasonable price that could accommodate those needs.

I did, however, make a couple of major mistakes in the process – and ended up pretty miserable for several months because of it. If you are considering downsizing from a home to a smaller rental property – do an honest appraisal of your belongings BEFORE moving day. I thought I had done this because I had diligently cleaned, organized, threw out and gave away unwanted belongings until I thought I had streamlined my material possessions to the bare minimum.

I was wrong.

Let me stress, I am not a pack rat by any stretch of the imagination. I prefer a simple design style without a lot of clutter or knick-nacky items. Still, I somehow completely underestimated how much stuff I had accumulated until the movers arrived with a very large truck – and still needed to make two trips. I ended up spending twice what I had been quoted for moving – and still had to rent my a uHaul truck to transport remaining items.

Even worse, I had way too much stuff to fit in my new location. After all, I was moving from a 3-bedroom house with a 2-car garage, separate office space and full basement into a 2-bedroom townhouse with no basement, no office space and a single car garage. Because I hadn’t moved in nearly a decade and things were so much more spread out in my former home, I miscalculated how much ‘stuff’ I had. The new apartment and garage looked like  storage units when the movers left and I literally had to clear a path between boxes stacked higher than my head to get through the apartment.

Tomorrow, I will share how I was able to get that mess (somewhat) under control – and what I would do (much) differently next time to save a lot of time, frustration and money.

Til Then,

P.S. If you are about to start apartment hunting yourself, be sure to take a look at our new article,  Money-Saving Apartment Hunting Tips in the Real Estate Guide.

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Maybe you are relocating.  Or getting married. Or you already bought another house and are facing two mortgages. Whatever the reason behind that panicked “I need to sell my house quick!” feeling you have – you will need a solid game plan if you really want to sell your house fast.

I was actually in this position myself a couple of years ago – I needed to sell my home fast in order to buy my dream property.  But, I needed the equity out of my current home to make it happen.

Unfortunately, this occurred right as the bottom was starting to fall out of the real estate market.  Although my real estate agent warned me that it might take up 8 or 9 months (or more) before it sold, I was very lucky in that my house sold in… 3 days.

For almost the full asking price.

While I certainly think luck played a part in this (i.e., the right buyer saw my house at the right time), there were also a couple of more controllable factors that helped my house sell fast, including:

1. Selecting a top-rated real estate agent. I chose the my real estate agent because she had been a top-producer in the area for years and she did a lot of marketing for her listings.  I figured she would do the same for mine. My buyer was one of her clients – my agent had already shown her nearly 40 other houses and knew immediately that my house would be a good fit for her.
2. Cleaning up interior clutter. No need for the whole world to know I like to keep things in piles. ‘Nuff said.
3. Finishing interior projects. This included repainting a couple of rooms, fixing a broken door knob, and replacing some worn window treatments. Simple stuff to do, but helped the home appear “move-in ready.”
4. Focusing on front yard curb appeal. I am an avid gardener, so I really enjoy working in the yard. Before putting the house on the market, I put down fresh mulch, weeded wherever was necessary and added a monochromatic color scheme of annual color to bring it all together.

By themselves, none of these things are that monumental. However, hiring the best sales agent I could find – and polishing my “product” before it went on the market – made a huge difference. That is how I was able to sell my house quick!

Til Next Time,

P.S. For more curb appeal ideas to sell your home fast – check out the Real Estate Guide in the sidebar to the right!

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