Sell My House Fast: The Ultimate Home Seller Checklist

Are you thinking about selling your home? Do you have bigger and better things in your future? Or maybe it’s time to downsize?

Regardless, you’re probably thinking the same thing as most other homeowners, “I want to sell my house fast.” 

While there are no guarantees in real estate, there are certainly some things you can do to make your home more appealing to buyers. In this way, you can improve your chances of making a quick sale, and earn more money. 

We can help. Keep reading for a complete home seller checklist to get your house sold as quickly as possible.

1. Depersonalize and Declutter

First, understand that moving forward, everything on our home seller checklist is going to be much easier if you have less stuff cluttering up your home. If you already have a new home lined up, begin moving some of your possessions to your new place. Alternatively, ask a friend if you can borrow some of their storage space until you’re able to move into your new home. 

If all else fails, you can rent a temporary storage unit for a few months. Aside from making your life easier when it comes to renovating, making repairs, cleaning, and showing the house, there are other benefits to decluttering your home. It will feel cleaner, more spacious, and more welcoming to potential buyers.

2. Get a Home Inspection and Appraisal

If you really want to “sell my house fast,” you need to uncover its strengths and weaknesses. This means understanding its condition. Any surprise issues or damages can delay or completely derail a potential sale. 

We recommend getting a home inspection sooner rather than later. Based on the results, you can decide what to do moving forward. Keep in mind, however, that deciding to make repairs will increase your costs and the amount of time the house selling process takes. 

3. Decide What Repairs and Updates You Want to Complete

Let’s look a little closer at repairs and renovations. This is an important step in our home seller checklist because it affects so much of the process. For example, did you know that the average homeowner spends almost $21,000 preparing their house for the market?

That being said, making certain repairs and renovations can increase the value of your home and spark more interest in the listing. But if you don’t have the luxury of time or money, you can choose to sell your house as-is.

In fact, it’s possible to sell a house for cash, regardless of its condition. You just need to find a cash home buyer, like us, who will give you a cash offer. 

4. Identify the Value of Your Home

Whether you’re making repairs or have decided to sell the house as-is, you need to determine its fair market value. There are several things that affect the value of a home. This includes:

• The current real estate market
• Location
• Property size
• Square footage
• Features
• Number of rooms
• Recent updates
• Etc. 

We recommend conducting a comparative market analysis, also referred to as “comps.” Here, you will look at the homes that have sold recently (the last few months) in your immediate area. 

Then, compare and contrast your home to the ones that sold to determine a rough estimate of your home’s value. However, note that many buyers will have lenders that require an official appraisal from the bank. It might be beneficial to skip ahead to this method of our home seller checklist. 

5. Deep Clean the House

Whether you’re using a realtor or have your house listed for sale by owner, you need to present your home in a way that motivates buyers to place an offer. This means taking the time to deep clean the house from top to bottom. 

This typically includes:

• Sweeping, mopping, and scrubbing hard floors
• Vacuuming and steam cleaning carpets
• Scrubbing all surfaces and removing scuffs
• Cleaning and sanitizing bathrooms and kitchens
• Getting rid of stains, odors, and other off-putting issues
• And more

If you don’t have the time, ability, or desire to complete the cleaning on your own, hire a residential cleaning crew. Cleanliness greatly impacts the impression buyers get of your home. A dirty, smelly, or messy home has the potential to turn many buyers away.

6. Boost Your Curb Appeal

Next on our home seller checklist, let’s take a look at the exterior of your home. Curb appeal is huge in real estate. The outside of your home must invite and encourage buyers to take a look inside. 

If you’re curb appeal is lacking, you’ll lose a lot of buyers who will judge your home too quickly. They won’t give your home a chance to wow them from the inside. 

You can improve your curb appeal by keeping the vegetation neat and manicured. Additionally, ensure that there is no trash or debris lingering on the property.

Finally, clear all driveways and walkways. It also never hurts to pressure wash these areas and the exterior of your house. 

7. Market Your Listing

One of the most important steps on our home selling checklist is getting the word out about your listing. You can opt for a realtor here, but it isn’t essential. Many homeowners choose to forego a realtor to save on realtor fees, which can add up to over $10,000.

You can market your home on free home-listing sites, social media, the local newspaper, and more. Be creative and remember to put up a “for sale” sign in your yard. This will attract drive-by buyers who may not have seen your listing yet. 

8. Consider Your Other Options

Finally, if you’re thinking “I want to sell my house today,” there’s an attractive option available to you. You don’t have to go through the tedious steps of selling your home traditionally. You can sell it exactly how it is, without making repairs, renovations, or even cleaning the home. 

Consider selling your home to a cash home buyer. This option is ideal for people who can’t afford repairs or simply need to sell the house as soon as possible. 

A cash home buyer will give you an offer on your home, usually within a day or two. If you accept their offer, you can choose the closing date, which can be as soon as one or two weeks. 

Did You Enjoy Our Home Seller Checklist?

Did you find all the information you needed on our home seller checklist. If not, don’t worry, we have a lot more information for you. Check out our blog to find more real estate tips, home selling advice, and more. 

And if you want to sell your home fast, contact us today to get your free cash offer. Of course, you will be under no obligation, but we would love to buy your home from you.