Selling Your Home in the Fall

So I know that everything that you will read and hear from every real estate guide online, agent, broker, or even just the average guy who knows a little bit about real estate, will tell you that if you want to sell your house, do it in the Spring and Summer.

But what if that timing, for some reason, doesn't work out for your situation? Over the next couple weeks I will put together a guide for how to sell your home based on the season that you're selling. 

Up today..

FALL

So you've decided to sell your home in the Fall. Want to know how to get top dollar for your home? I will do my best to help guide you through how to get that done.

1. We all know how gorgeous Fall is with the leaves falling and the different colors throughout nature, but don't we all hate it when we have to go outside and rake the leaves to make the yard look more presentable? That should be your very first step when getting ready to sell your house in the fall. CLEAN UP THE YARD. Prepare your yard for pictures or visitors by cleaning up all of the leaves that have fallen, plant some newer colorful flowers in the garden, anything to make the yard look clean and alive and well taken care of. Nothing is going to scream "Curb Appeal" more than a yard and home that looks clean and taken care of and alive and colorful.

2. The next step is inside and outside. The sun is starting to set earlier and earlier and those windows aren't getting as much bright light through them as they did in the summer. CLEAN UP THE WINDOWS. Let's face it, we may have gotten the windows cleaned at the start of the Summer in order to utilize the sunlight and make sure that as much light as possible was coming through, but now that you're putting your house up for sale, do it again. There is nothing better (in my own opinion) as a house with a lot of natural light coming through. Potential buyers will be thrilled at how you've taken care of the place and how much natural light is coming through even in the Fall. Even though you may have just gotten them done a few months earlier, they will still be very dirty by the time the summer is done and every little step up helps when selling!

3. When buyers are coming through, or pictures are being taken of the inside of your home, TURN ON ALL THE LIGHTS. This is playing off of the above topic, but the more light the merrier. It will only accentuate the amount of light that is coming in naturally, and it is a common practice of the best photographers to go into a house and turn on all the lights. If they are doing it to get the best images possible of your house, then why not do it yourself when somebody is coming through?

4. Now that we have completely moved inside, lets start by saying that your house needs to smell nice. There is not a thing that is more off-putting than walking into a house that you are potentially going to buy and wanting to walk right out because of the smell. I understand that not every house smells like a sewage drain has burst or like it hasn't been opened in months, but even just living in a house gives it a smell. Step one to accomplish this is to get your filter changed on your furnace. You would not believe the amount of times that I have gone into a house and the filter hasn't been changed in months and months. Once you get that changed, you get rid of that old dusty/musty smell running through your HVAC system. Light some candles! How much do we all love the smell of a good holiday candle? Light a few that will remind the potential buyers of the wonderful time of year it is and let their noses do the thinking for them. 

5. Now this one seems like a gimme, but trust me, it isn't. CLEAN THE INSIDE OF YOUR HOME. Make it seem like somebody is living there, but please please please vacuum and or mop before a potential client comes through. The first impression is going to be how the house looks all cleaned up and ready to live in. That impression will be gathered as soon as the potential buyer walks in. If they see a dirty house with clothes everywhere or toys or food they will be turned off immediately. 

6. The final piece of advice I can give on how to sell a house in the Fall is to find a combination of things. One would be to find a Realtor who knows the market and can suggest and work with you on how to advertise, price, and describe your home. If you run into an agent who is not able to accurately price your house at a competitive number, then you will get zero traffic through your home. People first look at price, then pictures and descriptions. If your house is priced even $10,000.00 higher than it should be, people will not want to go through. They will think it is a waste of time. So sit down with your agent and talk with them and go through with them your thoughts and their thoughts on how a home should be priced and described online or in ads. You both being open about your opinions will only benefit you in the long run. 

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. If you have any questions or thoughts feel free to leave me a comment or send me an email. I will be more than happy to answer everybody that I can. Thank you have a great day. 

#makeadifferencetoday