Now that you are all set to start the home sale process, it is time to consider making some smart financial decisions. If you adhere to cost-effective ways, then you will be able to save a lot of money on the home sale and use that amount to improve the aesthetics of the new home you are going to reside in.

Most home sellers dream of conducting a smooth house sale in which they can easily list their house, find a pool of buyers, compare and counteroffers, get a fair market value of their home, furnish the property documents to the buyer, and do a quick house sale. However, the home sale is not that simple as it involves several aspects. You are required to dedicate significant efforts and time to close the sale. 

When the competition is high and the supply is low, then it is possible that you sell your house faster and also ask for a higher price. But when the home sale market is cool, then you will have to work a bit harder and make smarter decisions to attract the right buyer. Due to the current growth in the housing market, the market has been favoring the sellers. With low levels of inventory, the mortgage rates are increasing and so is the commission. Though, as per the experts, home prices are going to stabilize soon.

So, you need to be prepared as a seller and try to drive the factors in your favor to ensure a lucrative sale. You need to make careful decisions such as hiring a real estate agent, marketing your home to enhance its online appeal, and more. Let us know the key steps to selling your home successfully and economically.

Hire a discount agent

The first thing you need to stick to is to hire reduced commission realtors for a cost-effective sale. The discount agent charges a lesser commission compared to the traditional full-service agent. Since we are fortunate to be living in the world of the internet, it is simple to find low-commission real estate agents, read their reviews, view the sales done by them in the past, and take a peep into their professional degrees and experience, to choose the right person.

Usually, the agent’s profiles are available online. This makes it easier for us to know how long they have been in the business, how many sales they have conducted in the past, which clients they have worked with, and more. Ensure to pay attention to whether they put your home on the local MLS listings and whether they syndicate the same on other popular real estate websites or not. You can also check whether they help you with professional photos or not.

The homeowners who are tempted to save on the commission and are confident to carry out the home sale themselves can hire reduced commission realtors. This way, you get the best of both worlds- FSBO as well as the agent services. The mammoth amount the sellers end up saving on the fees by hiring the low-fee realtor helps them maximize the total sale price.

However, a discounted agent just exposes your house to a broad audience but may not help you with comprehensive support services. Since they attend to a big volume of sellers, you cannot expect personalized treatment and high-level responsiveness from them. So, you may have to do several things on your own like marketing, negotiating, staging, etc.

To find one, search for discount real estate brokers near me

Before putting the home on MLS

Selling a house is a big challenge. But if you manage things well, you will not take much time to sell the home and ensure a hassle-free transaction too. The moment you decide to sell the home, take some time to prepare your home.

Get a pre-sale home inspection done to start with. This will help you find the problem areas in the home. Using the report, fix the structural or mechanical issues that the home has. You must schedule all the needed repairs before listing your house on the MLS.

In the next phase, start considering staging and cleaning the house. This is what needs to be done:

Declutter the home and remove the extra items to a storage area.

Deep clean the house to ensure neatness in all the nooks and corners of the home. Cleaning of all the rooms such as living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom needs to be done. To facilitate this, you can also consider calling a professional cleaning company. They help you with cleaning the fans, doors, window panes, bathroom sinks and flushes, shower area, etc.

Stage the house. Here also, you can call a professional stager to make your home look drool-worthy.

Get all the minor repairs done. Be cautious to not waste time and money on expensive and not-needed upgrades. If you spend a lot of money on expensive upgrades, then you might not get a high return on investment and feel disappointed. Generally, the In updates sone to the kitchen and bathrooms area offers the best return on investment. So, you can consider replacing the old cabinet, doors, hardware, etc.

Professional photos

In the next phase get professional photos of the home. This will make your listing more interesting and inviting. Most buyers filter the homes based on these pictures. If your home looks spacious and alluring in the pictures, they will surely make an offer to visit your home.

You can work along with your real estate agent and find a photographer who can click captivating photos of the home. Clicking high-resolution images are critical. It will augment your home’s appeal and lead to a quick sale. Some real estate agents or professional photographers get virtual online tours also done as a part of their services. The charges of the professional photographer will depend upon the size of your home, locality, time taken to shoot the home, etc.

A professional photographer has the skills to make the rooms look bigger and brighter. They also make the outdoor area such as lawns, etc. look appealing.

Close the deal

When your home hits the market and you get offers from the buyers, you will have to start negotiating.  Either accept the offer or make a counteroffer. In the counteroffer, you can negotiate on terms as well as the asking price of the home. Let everything be in writing.