Thinking of selling up and moving on to the next chapter in your life? But have you also thought about what you should do before putting your home on the market?
Stress is such a normal part of life these days, it seems natural. Whether it’s getting the kids to school on a morning or figuring out how to deal with Las Vegas summers, One of the most stressful things, however, is selling your house.
Surveys show that selling a house is more stressful than having a baby or getting divorced. In fact, some of the top Google searches related to selling a house include things like house selling stress and the poignantly accurate selling house is a nightmare. It’s stressful. Period.
There’s also the matter of where you’re selling to take into account. What you’ll need to do in the Henderson market, for example, is going to be a lot different to Portland or San Diego. People are looking for different things, which makes the selling process feel out of our control.
Yet, there are things you can do to make selling your house in Las Vegas less of a nightmare.
You just have to put on your realtor hat first.
Home Selling Tips in Las Vegas
According to Opendoor, a huge part of their Las Vegas customers moved in 2018 because they were sizing-up. The majority of the market wants bigger. That might even be why you’re thinking of selling your own home, too.
Information like this is essential to have on your side. Knowing what a buyer is looking for means you can deliver that when you put your home on the market. But how?
Research the Local Housing Market
As evidenced above, knowing your local housing market is key to securing a home sale. It doesn’t matter how much work you’ve put into your home. If you don’t know what people are looking for or willing to pay, you’ll be sitting on the market for a long while.
The average number of days for a Las Vegas home to stay on the market is 77. That’s three months of not really knowing whether you’re going to get a sale or not. Imagine your stress levels then.
A few things you can research before selling your home are:
- COST: How much are homes selling for in your area? For you, that’s Henderson. You can check online companies such as Zillow or Trulia for this as well as local real estate listings. A home is rarely going to sell if its value is lower than its listing cost.
- BUYERS: What are people looking for in a new home? If they’re looking for something bigger, you can then make steps to making your own home bigger. Do they have attractive yards or landscaping? Are they looking for bigger kitchens and family rooms? Look at recently sold properties and see what they have in common.
Assess Your Home
Once you know your market, you can assess your home. Is it actually ready to be sold? Do you know what you need to do before selling it? Have you done any house maintenance recently? There are dozens of questions you can ask yourself. The answer to all of them is the same: Check everything.
- REPAIRS: Have you checked the appliances lately? The housing market sees a stronger interest in homes with new appliances, carpets, and paint jobs. How viable are your appliances? When was the last time you checked your air conditioner?
- PLUMBING: Check your pipes and your plumbing for all leaks and cracks. If a buyer gets someone in to evaluate the home and finds the potential for a water leak, it’s going to either turn them off or knock a lot off the price.
- PAINT: When was the last time you painted the exterior of your home? How about the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms? What sort of paint colors do you have? Neutrals will always sell better than bold.
- LANDSCAPING: Is your lawn up to scratch? Are there any cracks in the patio boards or pavement? In a lot of cases, your garden is a potential buyer’s introduction to your house. It’s worth making sure everything is in order.
- PROFESSIONAL EVALUATIONS: No matter how long you spend assessing your own home, there are things you can miss. It’s worth bringing in some professionals to make sure everything is good for you. That way, they can also vouch for the home.
These few quick fixes you can make in lieu of selling your house or bringing in professionals will go a long way.
- MAKE IT SPACIOUS: If buyers are looking for bigger, make your home look as spacious as possible. This can easily be done with a declutter, the addition of mirrors, and light and neutral paint tones. You’ll be surprised at the difference just the decluttering makes.
- MAKE IT FLAWLESS: When you’re giving your home the once over, look out for small cosmetic things, as well. Look for chipped tiles, holes in walls or plaster, cracks in wood floors, or marks on the carpet. In a buyer’s market, people can choose to be picky. That coffee stain you forgot about? It might be the first thing they see.
- PAINT IT ALL: Paint the exterior, paint the interior, paint the fences. A new paint job is simple, easy, and anyone can do it.
In Conclusion …
There’s never going to be a time when selling your house is stress-free. But with a little preparation and a plan, you can make the process a lot easier.
Just remember: You’re not in this alone. It might be a buyer’s market, but every buyer’s had to sell first.