InvestorLoft Real Estate Investing Blog

You hold the key to selling your properties

So – you’ve decided to sell your investmene property or home. Well, there’s one thing for sure right now: the buyers have the upper hand and you’re likely to have some stiff competition. That means you need to do all the little things that make the property you’re selling more attractive to the largest percentage of buyers.

Once you’ve decided to sell, the house should no longer be about your comfort, it should become a showplace for potential buyers. There are a few things you can do to help the selling process along, and some of them will involve sacrifices and inconveniences for you. But if you want to have the best shot at moving your property in a buyer’s market, you’re going to have to do a few things. Following is a list to get you started.

Update, Update, Update
You’re used to those cabinet pulls in the kitchen that lost their fake brass finish years ago. People seeing the house for the first time are not. If you’re going to get top dollar for any property you’re selling, replace everything that is dated. Spend a few hundred dollars to make a few thousand. Ceiling fans with tulip lights went out of style years ago. Replace it with a modern light fixture. You may not want to replace outdated cabinets, but replacing the pulls often helps tremendously. Replacing outdated kitchen appliances isn’t out of the question, depending on the value of your home. You may think, “Oh, they’ll take care of that.” Well they’re thinking, “I don’t want to have to take care of that. I’ll just move on to the next house.”

Same goes for popcorn acoustic ceilings, fake wood paneling and wallpaper. Today’s buyers don’t want a dated house that hasn’t been updated since the Nixon administration. Removing the popcorn ceiling is a mess, but worth it. The wallpaper is your wallpaper style (or one your rental property inherited from the previous owner), not theirs. Take a weekend before you list the house and take it all down. If you can’t remove that dark paneling in the den, at least paint it. And speaking of painting, that is one of the best and most inexpensive ways you can update. That pink bedroom for your six-year-old daughter may be a bedroom for a 14-year-old boy. Pick neutral colors and repaint the whole house.

Declutter, Declutter, Declutter
You’re like going to have to get rid of a lot of stuff, or at least get it out of the house. You may need to rent a storage unit, but this is important because the people buying have more than likely outgrown their own house. If your property is stuffed to the gills with, well, stuff, it’s going to feel like there isn’t enough room.

This is especially important if you are selling a rental property with a tenant in place. Sit down with your tenant and have a quick conversation about keeping the property clean and in show-ready condition. If you need to, incentivize your tenant with $100 off next month’s rent or something of the sort! A turnkey rental property is the ideal purchase for many buyers, and one that’s clean, well-maintained and with a cooperative tenant moves up even higher on the list of possiblities.

Your closets should have racks that have clothing spread apart and nothing on the floor. If you’ve got 100 framed photos of your kids from birth to present covering the wall, take them down and leave some of the impersonal art at eye level. Some experts recommend getting rid of all items that identify your family, because buyers want to picture themselves living there. Bookshelves, bakers racks, kitchen cabinets and the like should all be half filled. If you haven’t had room to pull a car into the garage for a decade, now is the time to remedy that. Look at it this way: when you sell, you’re going to have to move out if it’s your primary residence. Think of it as packing half your stuff up in advance.

Clean, Clean, Clean
You need to clean for the eyes and clean for the nose. The absolute, number one reason buyers pass on houses is because they felt like the house was dirty. Your house needs to be the cleanest it has been since the day it was built. Bathrooms and kitchens should sparkle. Shower curtains should be replaced. Carpets should be removed, or if there isn’t something like hardwood floors underneath, professionally cleaned. And don’t underestimate the power of odors. Don’t make any strong smelling meals like fish or fried food while your house is on the market. If at all possible, get rid of your pet. Well, you don’t have to give fluffy away, but if there is a friend or relative who can pet sit during the selling process that would be ideal. At the very least, when you have an appointment to show, take all traces of your pets and your animals themselves out of the house. Some people are allergic to cats. Some people don’t believe dogs belong in a house. Seeing a litter box or dog bowl can lose a potential sale.

Get Out, Get Out, Get Out
So you’re a people person. Or you’re in sales yourself. It doesn’t matter, when there is an appointment to show the house, you need to get out. There is nothing a realtor likes less than the owner greeting the showing party at the door. You may want to brag about how you built the deck yourself. They don’t care. It’s just that simple. It’s the realtor’s job to brag about the property.

Following these steps can really give you a leg up on the competition when it comes to selling your property. Remember, you may still own it, but once you put it on the market, it’s not your house anymore. It belongs to the person that’s buying it.