Want some tips for selling your home in New England?
Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Our company — Old Harbor Properties — has been operating in the real estate market in New England for quite some time.
Over that time, we’ve learned a thing or two about how to sell a home efficiently and for top dollar.
In this article, we’re going to give you 7 quick tips for doing just that.
Here they are!
1. Consider Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is exactly what it sounds like… it’s the appeal that your home creates from the curb before the potential buyer even walks through the front door.
When they’re driving up to your house and they see it for the first time, are they impressed? Do they immediately think, “This house looks awesome!”?
That’s what you want them to think.
Because first impressions matter a lot.
In fact, a well-landscaped home often fetches 5.5% – 12.7% more than its un-landscaped counterpart, according to Homelight.
So mow the lawn, water your plants, weed the garden, and fix up external paint.
It makes a difference.
2. Stage Your Home
What does a homebuyer want to see when they walk in the door?
They want to see a house that’s move-in ready — they want to be able to imagine living there.
That can be a bit difficult, though, if your stuff is cluttered all around the house.
Professional home stagers can make the inside of your house more appealing to potential buyers by organizing furniture, lighting, and other things.
Sound like a waste of time and money?
Well, you might be surprised to learn that buyers are willing to spend 1% – 5% more on a staged home than on an un-staged one.
3. Make Necessary Repairs
No one wants to buy a project.
Well… not traditional homebuyers anyway.
(We actually love buying project homes at Old Harbor Properties — give us a call at (781) 549-0271 to get your fair cash offer!)
If you’re going to sell your home the traditional route — with a real estate agent through the MLS — then it’s absolutely vital that you fix anything that’s broken.
Most homebuyers get bank loans that require them to purchase a home that’s in good shape.
And remember: the required home inspection is going to find anything in disrepair, and then the seller will probably ask you to fix it anyway. So there’s no pointing in putting this off.
4. Update Appliances
Buyers today care a lot about the appliances of the home they’re buying.
Are the appliances modern? Are they functioning properly? Are they efficient?
Or are they outdated and on the cusp of needing to be replaced?
Again, most buyers don’t want a project… they want a home that feels move-in ready.
So make a list of your appliances (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, etc) and fix anything that needs to be fixed.
This is also something that home inspections are going to catch, so there’s no point in postponing the inevitable.
5. Find a Trustworthy Real Estate Agent
Naturally, you don’t want to work with a real estate agent you can’t trust.
It stinks, but some agents are just in it for the money. They’re trying to make a quick buck and they don’t really care about how fast you sell your home or even how much you get for it.
They get paid either way.
So try and find an agent that will go the extra mile for you.
If they just list your home on the MLS and let it sit… find a new agent. They should get you some great photos, manage open houses, and even do house showings.
When you’re looking for a real estate agent, we recommend calling them and asking some important questions…
- How long have you been a real estate agent?
- What services do you include as a part of being a seller’s agent?
- Can you introduce me to a client you’ve worked with in the past?
Asking these questions will help you vet whether the agent will be a good fit for selling your home.
6. Get Professional Photos
When it comes to selling a home on the MLS, good-looking photos make a big difference.
Because before a buyer even visits your home, they have to be impressed by the photos they’re seeing on your listing.
You don’t want to create a listing that gets easily passed over — you want it to catch the eye and draw people to visit your home.
In fact, let’s put some data behind those claims…
- House listings with high-quality photos sell 32% faster. (Source)
- More photos also help a home sell faster. A home with one photo spends 70 days on the market while a home with 20 photos spends 32 days on the market. (Source)
So don’t skimp. 😉
Good photos are worth it (and if your real estate agent disagrees… find a new agent).
7. Consider Selling As-Is For Cash To a Professional Homebuyer
A lot of people assume that selling through a real estate agent — the traditional route — is the only way to sell a home.
But that isn’t true at all!
In fact, at Old Harbor Properties, we help people sell their homes fast for a fair cash price, as-is, and we even close in as little as two weeks.
You could also sell as for-sale-by-owner.
The point is, you have options.
And you’ll want to do whatever is right for you!
But if you do need to sell your home fast, if you don’t want to worry about making updates and repairs, and if you don’t want to pay an agent 6% commission or worry about closing costs, then give us a call at (781) 549-0271.
We can make you a fair cash offer and close in as little as two weeks. No strings attached. We’ll even pay all closing costs!
Who is Old Harbor Properties?
We are local New England residents that focus on buying properties off-market (with no commissions) for cash. We are not “flippers” or “investors” looking to pay pennies on the dollar. We are local Sox fans with families and we focus on buying rental properties. This allows us to make fair market value offers based on comparable sales and needed repairs. If you want to sell the property where you’re currently living, give us a call at (781) 208-7362 we can make you a fair cash offer, buy as-is, and close in as little as two weeks!
