Hiring an experienced Realtor is the way to get your home sold for the right price in the time frame you need with the least amount of stress. Selling a house isn’t easy. In fact, it’s something that many families dread. Chances are that you’ve heard horror stories about houses that sat on the market for a long time without selling, gradually decreasing in price. If you’ve been thinking about selling your home and you want to sell your house as quickly as possible, there are a few ways that you can help your house sell fast. There are some factors you can’t control, like location or messy neighbors. Fortunately, there are seven important things you can do to give your house the best shot at selling.

1. Fix what’s broken

Buyers are always looking for the perfect move-in-ready home, so fixing your home is key. If your house needs a lot of help, focus on the major problems in your home. Need a new roof? Buy one. A new owner will not want to put a new roof on the house unless you’re offering the home at a serious discount. Remember that most families want something they can move into right away without spending months working on it. If there are problems with the home that you can easily fix, whether it be chipping paint or a broken fence post, try to fix them before you list your house. 

2. Update your appliances

It’s important to remember that homebuyers have specific items they look for in a home. For many buyers great appliances are number one on their wish list for a home. That’s where you come in. While you probably can’t afford to update every one of your home’s appliances, take a hard look at what your current setup looks like. Is the stove outdated? Is the fridge about to die? Dropping a few hundred dollars on a new fridge, dishwasher or oven might not be the way you want to spend your money, but it could help you sell your house. If someone sees an old stove sitting in the middle of the kitchen that looks like it’s about to break, they may wonder what else is going to break if they buy the house. 

3. breathtaking pictures

You probably know that you need to have pictures of your house. Pictures are one of the most important ways that you can draw in potential buyers. If someone is looking for a new home, they’ll typically take a look at real estate websites before setting up showings. Because so many shoppers look online before they decide to explore a house in person, it’s important that your pictures look great. Consider hiring a professional real estate photographer to really showcase your home. Make sure that they take pictures of both the home’s interior and exterior. If you have a large yard, try to showcase that. If you just planted roses, take a few pictures. If your master bathroom is enormous, take a picture. Highlight the best areas of your home and skip the ones that are less attractive to buyers. 

4. CLEAR your clutter

Clearing out junk is easier said than done, but if you want to sell your house quickly, you need to clear out your clutter. Get rid of extra papers, magazines or memorabilia that are sitting around your house. Clean out beneath your beds. Get rid of that pile of clothes next to your dresser. When people walk through your house, they want to imagine what it will be like to live in the home. Even if you can’t get rid of all of your home’s clutter, try to at least minimize the amount of things you have on shelves and on counters to present a clean, neat appearance to buyers. 

5. MAKE YOUR HOME shine

Change all the light bulbs in your house to the highest level of brightness allowed and turn them on for all showings even if it's sunny outside. A bright atmosphere is a cheery one.  Make potential buyers feel good when they first walk through the door. Remember first impressions last! Polish all fixtures so they shine, and wash all your windows inside and out. It shows how well you take care of your home. 

6. Price fairly

You’ve spent years developing memories in your house, so it’s normal to want to attach a price tag to those. Unfortunately, the reality is that you should never ask too much for your house. Remember that buyers are looking for a fair price. They want to know that they’re getting their money’s worth but not overspending. You also need to make sure your home will appraise out. If it doesn't, the buyers won't get loan approval, and you won't go to a closing. Your Realtor will perform an in-depth comparable market analysis on your home by looking at what other houses have recently sold for and ones that are currently selling in your area. They will recommend a fair price for you sell your home. Note, pricing too high will only help your competetion sell their homes that are like yours first.

7. Look at all offers objectively

When you receive an offer its important to take the emotion out of it and stay obejective. It's easy to say this but very important to do. Remember, your goal is to sell so you can move on. One mistake that many sellers make is to turn down offers because they don’t like the buyer. Perhaps you don't like a buyer because they are talking about tearing down walls, and it makes you feel like bad because of all the work you put into making it "just right" for you. But the reality is, all buyers will change something in your home to make it "theirs." When you have an offer in hand that meets your financial goals and time frame, accept it so you can move forward.