How to Sell Your Existing Home for Top Dollar

Great Tips for Getting Your Home in Top Form for Selling from The House Designers’ Editorial Team

As you build your new home, you may very well have an existing home you have to sell. Here are some important items to consider as you prepare to put your home on the market to get the most out of your investment.

Make sure your home’s curb appeal is at its best, since first impressions are very important when selling your home! To view additional photographs of this new home, please visit House Plan 5893. Blueprints to build this home start at $1,150.

Determining the Selling Price

It’s the most important detail in selling your house and yet the trickiest. You want to get maximum value for your home, but you want to price to sell.

To find out the true value of your existing home:

See what similar homes in your area have sold for recently. It’s important to make sure the sales are fairly current, since the market fluctuates. Be sure to look at the selling price, not the asking, price. You can ask whatever you want, but it’s what other people think the house is worth that matters in the end.
Hire an appraiser to determine what your house is worth. A professional will be able to give you a number based on the age, size, condition, etc. of the property and back it up with a report that itemizes their findings. With this information, you will have an idea of how much you should be getting from the sale, and you can plan your sales approach accordingly.
Be aware that pricing is an ongoing discussion. If you haven’t gotten any offers, adjusting the asking price might entice more house seekers to consider the listing.

Make sure your home looks good from all angles! Landscaping is very important, so be sure to use greenery that’s easy to maintain and looks great in all seasons. Blueprints to build House Plan 5893 start at $1,150.

Presentation/Home Staging

Make your house look like it’s worth its value by turning it into a place where anybody could imagine living. While you might love unconventional home décor, sticking to more neutral decorating ensures that you don’t impose a personality on the space that potential buyers might not be able to see past.

To present your house in as appealing a way as possible:

Clean up and organize. This will open the space up and prevent people from being distracted as they view your home. A well-organized bookcase is attractive and inspires positive thoughts. Piling all those books and trinkets haphazardly around the room and the picture isn’t so pretty. Other issues like stained carpeting, lingering smells, and even dirty windows should be dealt with, too.
Repaint any unconventional or harsh colors. Unless you intend to hold out for a photography hobbyist who needs a darkroom, black walls aren’t going to impress anybody. Shades of white are neutral and easy for new owners to recolor as they see fit, but don’t be afraid to use colors if they suit the lighting, layout, and the rest of the furnishings in the room. Either way, a new layer of paint is an easy way to freshen tired walls and make them look their best.
Consider buying or renting furniture that really complements the floorplan. You want to present your house as the best possible version of itself, so you should dress it to impress. The same goes for window treatments and fixtures; a little updating can make all the difference in how the house is perceived.
Depersonalize the home. Your family photos probably aren’t going to inspire others to move in. Opt to decorate with neutral artwork—landscapes, floral studies, abstracts—instead. At the same time, hide away toys, report cards, and anything else that shows signs of the house’s current residents.
Maintain the exterior of the property. Maximize curb appeal by keeping the lawn neat, pruning hedges, whacking away the weeds, and dressing up the property with perennials that are in season. Clean up siding if it’s dirty and replace any broken shingles. Remember that first impressions count and that people need to traverse your yard before they even get to see how beautiful the house’s interior is.

Home staging is very important! Be sure to minimize clutter in each living space so the prospective buyer can envision themselves living in the home. House Plan 2288 features beautiful photographs and ideas to decorate your home for selling.

Finding the Best Time to Sell

With the market always in flux, it can be in your best interest to put your house on the market at a certain time. When this time is varies by location and year, but there are trends that you should know.

To decide when to sell, understand that:

Spring is the biggest season for home buying. Whether this works for or against you is based on how desirable your house is at the time. If you have four bedrooms in an area great for families with children, you could have multiple bids placed during the buying frenzy. A cute little bungalow in the same town might be entirely overlooked despite the active market.
Selling during the off season can have perks. If your property could suit retirees or other people who aren’t concerned with school or business calendars, you might be in for a quicker sale without the competition.
Waiting to sell until the market improves is an option. So long as you can afford the duel expenses of trying to recoup on your investment and make a profit.

Make sure your home is inviting to visitors. House Plan 2288 features beautiful photographs and ideas to decorate your home for selling.

Find a Realtor That’s Right for You

A good realtor can help sell your house, but a great one will make the process seamless. What makes a realtor perfect for you is personal, so make sure you’re comfortable with their approach and selling techniques.

To find the perfect realtor:

Ask around. If any friends have sold a home, their reviews and connections can help you find a capable realtor more quickly. Best of all, a realtor who has been involved in your area before will be better able to assist you.
Crash open houses to see realtors in action. You can meet potentials and watch them work to find out their approaches and see how effective they are.
Know which questions to ask. How many houses a realtor has sold, how long each house was on the market, how long he or she has been in the business—all these and more can help you get a feel for your options.
Verify their license and check for any complaints. Your state keeps records about real estate agents, and you can find this information online. Any glaring problems can be found in just a few minutes.
Don’t settle. Since you’ll be in close communication with this person for an indeterminable amount of time, you want to make sure you pick somebody you can work with. Choose a realtor who makes you feel comfortable, because a competent and confident realtor will have your financial interests in mind as he or she works to sell your house.

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Christine Cooney

Editor in Chief at The House Designers

Christine has over a decade of experience as a house plan and floor plan expert. Outside of providing her expertise to customers to help them find and build their dream homes, her passion and knowledge of the home building industry allows Christine to guide families and builders through all of the important steps from finding plans to building custom homes that meet the expectations of today’s new home owner. Christine’s years of knowledge of the diverse trends and needs of the modern homeowner has made her into an authoritative and trusted voice in the online house plan community.

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