How to Sell My House Fast

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Selling a home can be stressful, but if you are under a serious time crunch, it can be even more nerve-wracking. Whether you need to sell quickly for a new job, for financial reasons or because of a personal situation, there are a few tactics you can use to increase your home’s marketability, decrease your time on the market and attract strong offers. Here’s how to sell a house fast.

1. Clean and declutter

There are many strategies for selling a house fast, but when you’re short on time, one definite must is making your home’s interior appeal to as many buyers as possible.

• Get a storage unit and pack away any extra belongings or large furnishings that are making rooms look crowded, small or messy.
• Organize the closets. Buyers are looking for storage space, so they’re definitely going to peek in closets, storage areas and pantries. Don’t cram extra belongings into closets — leave enough open space to give the impression that the home has plenty of storage. After all, 64 percent of buyers surveyed for the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2018 said that ample storage was extremely or very important.
• Personal belongings, like family photos, keepsakes and religious items, distract buyers and prevent them from picturing themselves living in the home.
• Do a deep clean on every room of the house, including baseboards, kitchen cabinets, bathroom tile and carpets. Since you’re short on time, consider calling in some professionals.

2. Pick a selling strategy

When deciding how to list your home, there are two conventional sales options — selling for sale by owner (FSBO) or with a real estate agent — and a few alternatives.

Sell FSBO

One of the big benefits to selling on your own is that you save on the commission (you’ll save the 3 percent you’d pay your own agent, but you’ll still have to pay 3 percent to the buyer’s agent). But if you want to sell fast on your own, you’ll have to be prepared to negotiate like a pro.

Be ready to negotiate escrow timelines, juggle contract paperwork, and consult an attorney to make sure all forms are filled out correctly. Knowing the ins and outs of the process is especially important if you need to sell your house fast.

Hire an agent

The upside to hiring a professional real estate agent is that they know what it takes to get a house sold quickly in your area. They’ll streamline things like contract prep work, negotiations, signing and closing. Of course, you’ll have to pay them a 3 percent commission for their services.

Alternative ways to sell your house fast

If you want to completely bypass the preparation it takes to sell your house in a hurry, consider these alternative strategies:

• Sell to an investor who plans to flip the home. You will sell quickly but may get less than market value.
• Sell to a developer. This is usually only an option if your home is a teardown and/or on a large lot.
• Sell at an auction. You can sell quickly by auctioning off your home, but you are likely to sell for a lower price than on the local market.
• Sell to Zillow Offers. When you sell directly to Zillow, we’ll buy your house for cash, if it’s eligible, and you’ll never have to go through the listing process. If you like our offer, you can pick a quick closing date that fits your schedule. Read Zillow Offers testimonials to understand the experience of selling fast with Zillow.

“I got to pick the closing date — we closed two weeks later, and we were out!”
—Tania, Zillow Offers review in Glendale, Arizona

3. Price to sell

According to the Zillow Group Report, 21 percent of sellers said that their biggest challenge was selling within their desired time frame. Even if you’re selling in a sellers market, where there are many buyers competing for fewer homes, selling your house fast isn’t a guarantee.

One thing that can really speed your selling process is pricing your home competitively. Overpricing will lead to more time on the market, and ultimately, you may end up selling at that lower price anyway — it’ll just take you longer to get there.

You may even want to price your home a little lower than comparable homes in your area to drum up interest and cause a bidding war. The effectiveness of this strategy depends on the state of your local real estate market and how homes are selling in your area.

When setting a price, you also may want to consider the price points that the majority of buyers search for within in your area. For example, if you list your home for $399,000, it’ll show up in search results for anyone that’s looking for homes under $400,000. But price it at just $405,000, and it’ll never show up in their search results.

Set a timeline for a price reduction

Before you list, take a hard look at your timeline and decide on a day to lower your price if you haven’t received any offers. The amount you discount can be decided later, because it might change based on feedback you receive from home tours, but you should at least have a date in mind. And if that time comes, it’s best to act quickly. The longer your home is on the market, the lower your odds are of selling it for listing price.

Consider sales incentives

If you know your home is going to be a tough sale, either because of some unusual feature or because you’re selling in a slow market, it can sometimes be worth offering incentives to potential buyers to sweeten the deal. Examples include upfront repair or improvement credits, paying the buyer’s closing costs, or offering to include things like appliances, which aren’t always included in a sale.

4. Handle any quick repairs

While you don’t have time for major renovations, it’s still important to take care of any easy fixes that might deter potential buyers:

• Patch up spots where paint is peeled or scratched.
• Fix loose tiles.
• Repair loose door handles.
• Tighten leaky faucets.

You may also want to invest in a few minor upgrades that will make your home show better:

• Apply a fresh coat of paint inside.
• Install new hardware on kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
• Swap out old or outdated light fixtures.
• Purchase matching (newer) appliances.

5. Stage and add curb appeal

No matter your timeline, every seller can benefit from a weekend spent sprucing up their home’s interior and exterior. After all, making a good first impression with buyers is crucial. According to the Zillow Group Report, 48 percent of recent buyers said having the home staged is extremely, very or somewhat important to their home-buying decision. And 29 percent of sellers said that landscaping their yard was one of their pre-listing activities.

Pack up and hire a stager

Staging is a common tactic in real estate sales, especially if you’re looking for ways to sell your house fast. Staging helps define spaces and makes rooms look larger. If you want to speed up this process, you’ll want to put all of your belongings in storage. A professional stager will bring their own furniture and decor,arranging it in a way that highlights your home’s best features and makes it feel warm and welcoming.

Create curb appeal

Your home’s exterior is the first in-person glimpse potential buyers will have of your home, so it’s important that it looks welcoming, well-maintained and tidy. Here are some tips to make your house sell faster with good curb appeal. And when speed is key, consider hiring a professional landscaper to make quick work of these tasks:

• Trim hedges, shrubs and overgrown tree branches.
• Clear walkways and paths.
• Clean windows and doorknobs.
• Sweep away spiderwebs and debris from the front porch.
• Replace broken lights or mailboxes.
• Paint the front door.
• Plant flowers.

6. Hire a professional photographer

It may seem faster (and cheaper) to snap a few pictures of your house on your phone, but poor listing photos could make your home sit on the market longer. In fact, a whopping 77 percent of recent buyers said that viewing professional photos was extremely, very or somewhat important to their home-buying decision, according to the Zillow Group Report.

Professional real estate photos only cost a few hundred dollars, and if you’re using a full-service real estate agent, they may even include the photos as part of their services. Check to see if your agent or photographer offers a 3D virtual house tour. They are quick to capture and improve listing page views on Zillow.

Before images are taken, make sure your home has plenty of light. Open the blinds, replace old lightbulbs or update fixtures, and let in as much natural light as possible. This is also a best practice for listing appointments!

7. Write a great listing description

Once you have chosen a listing price and your house is in order, you’ll want to create a listing description that will help you sell your house faster. This is especially important if you’re selling on your own. If you are using an agent, they will probably write the description for you, but it’s still important to know what makes a good listing description.

• Highlight your home’s best features in the listing description, using effective keywords that’ll stand out to buyers.
• Include anything that makes your neighborhood desirable, like the school district, proximity to public transportation, or local restaurants and parks.
• Include a sense of urgency: “All offers must be submitted by [DATE],” for example.
• Use your professional photos.

Where to post your listing

If you’re selling FSBO, you can upload your own listing to Zillow. Sites like Zillow also allow you to post 3D tours or virtual walkthroughs, which can give buyers a good sense for the layout of your property. If you’re using an agent, they’ll post to your local MLS, which will get pulled into all of the major real estate search websites.

If you don’t have an agent, you can pay a flat fee to an agent to upload your home to the local MLS on your behalf. In this case, you’ll be listed as the point of contact for all inquiries.

Additionally, whether you’re listing your home with an agent or going the FSBO route, you can post your listing on social media (via friends and family or with paid placements), as well as place flyers and signs around your neighborhood.

8. Time your sale right

According to Zillow, the best time to list your home is in the first half of May on a Saturday. Homes listed during this time frame sold six days faster than average and for an average of $1,600 more.

The peak selling time varies a bit based on your local real estate market, so check out info for your local area if you need to sell your house fast.

9. Be flexible with showings

When selling your home quickly is the goal, it’s important to be as accommodating as possible with showing requests. Yes, last-minute showings can cause a scheduling scramble, but nobody can buy your home if they can’t see it for themselves! If you aren’t willing to accommodate buyers’ schedules, your home is at risk of sitting on the market for a long time.

Hold an open house

A well-timed weekend open house is a must for selling your house quickly. It’s the easiest way to get multiple buyers through the door. Make sure to prepare accordingly — clean the home, arrange fresh flowers, offer a few treats, and prepare flyers that buyers can take with them after their tour.

Private showings

Buyers requesting a private showing may have never seen your home before, or they could have attended your open house and are returning for a closer look. As mentioned earlier, it’s important to be as accommodating as possible in showing your home, even if it means keeping your house tour-ready around the clock.

If you’re listing your house FSBO, be prepared to host your own tours. If you’re working with an agent, they should either do a tour for you or leave a lockbox for the buyer and their agent. If at all possible, the seller should avoid attending the showing — it can make buyers uncomfortable.

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House Windows

Sometimes we don’t notice progressive deterioration before it’s too late. One day you take a good look at your house windows and realise that they are looking worn and very sorry for themselves. Do they need replacing? How much will it cost? Is condensation a really bad sign? Find out by reading on…

How much do house windows cost?

For domestic uses, windows can cost anywhere from £150 to £900 depending on the size, style, material and installation costs involved. A single window costs on average £400. The most common material that house windows are made of is uPVC, and is also the cheapest.

For some more examples of how much you could expect to pay for uPVC windows according to house type and number of windows, you can see our helpful table below.

Cost of uPVC Windows (materials + installation)

Type of home Number of Bedrooms Windows needed Expected cost of Casement style uPVC Windows Expected cost of Sash style uPVC Windows Flat 2 4 windows £1,450 — £1,700 £2,400 — £3,200 Terraced 2 5 windows £1,800 — £2,250 £3,000 — £4,350 Semi-detached 2 7 windows £2,500 — £2,800 £3,700 — £5,200 Semi-detached 3 9 windows £3,200 — £3,500 £4,400 — £6,600 Detached 3 12 windows £4,200 — £4,700 £6,200 — £7,550 Detached 4 15 windows £5,300 — £5,800 £7,200 — £9,400

You can also read more articles to find out about uPVC windows, window styles and window glass. All of these affect the price differently so be sure to check them out to inform yourself! Wooden windows and aluminium windows are more expensive, and you can find out more about them by reading our articles on the subject.

However, it is important to know what factors influence the final price of your window. For a comprehensive guide on window prices, you can see our dedicated window prices article. You will find all of the information you need categorised according to size, material, style and glazing. It is important to know that actual prices can vary a lot since window companies can set their own prices.

How can you save money on house windows?

Making a purchase without doing research about what you can expect in terms of service and price is a surefire way to pay more than you need. Don’t miss out on the best price! Take your time and compare lots of local house window companies before you decide. By entering some information via our portal, you can do just that. Get up to 4 quotes from trusted professionals and compare these with no obligation. Customers have saved up to 40%, and so could you!

When should you replace house windows?

It can be tricky to know when your house windows need replacing. However, here is a helpful table to show you what you can do for specific window problems if you don’t want to replace them. If the problems can’t be resolved through these means, you probably need to replace them!

Problem	Possible solutions
My window won’t open fully or properly	Casement windows: Look into buying replacement parts such as the sash support system or the window operator (handle mechanism). Sometimes the moving parts just need cleaning or lubricating.

Sash windows: If the window has swollen due to heat you can sand or plane the wood panes down to make them slide more easily My window lets in a chilly draught Install a draught excluder or replace a faulty one

If you see small cracks, fill them with nail polish The latches on my window are broken, making me feel unsafe Buy replacements online and install them yourself or ask a handyman The glass in my window is foggy If you are able to remove your window sash, take it to a hardware shop to have the glass or insulated seal replaced The outside window sill is rotten The sill can be replaced by itself if the rot has not spread — cut back the rotten wood and replace it with new wood that you can measure from your original cut One or more panes of glass are broken You can remove the glass yourself but always wear extensive protective gear and tape the glass to remove it safely

Glass replacement is cheaper than window replacement

For inspiration on different kinds of windows to brighten up your world, this is a wonderful resource we like to use!

How to install house windows?

Doing home improvement projects DIY style is all the rage these days, and for good reason! You save considerable amounts of money in labor costs and potentially in materials too when you find a good supplier. However there are also significant risks involved with doing home improvement ourselves, and this also applies to windows. They can be easily damaged by a lack of expertise and proper knowledge. While it is possible to install your own house windows, proceed with caution!

For a guide on how you can do this (specifically with relation to uPVC or plastic windows), you can read our article about plastic windows. This short explanation will show you how it’s done, though we recommend doing a lot more research if you’re serious about installing your own windows.

Why is there condensation or fogging on your windows?

Condensation forms when warm damp air meets cooler, drier air. A good example of this is a shower in the bathroom. The difference in temperature makes the warm water in the air condense into liquid on the cold surface. The same thing happens with house windows – if it is warm and humid inside the room, the moisture can condense on a cold window pane.

How can you prevent your house windows from fogging up?

Normally this is avoided by having double glazing, preventing the interior pane of glass from becoming too cold. However with old or damaged windows, the gas between the two panes can leak, allowing cold air in from the outside. This can cause condensation to form (especially in bedrooms at night) on the interior of your window.

Condensation forming on the inside of the window can be avoided by ventilating your room well, avoiding interior humidity. With condensation between the double glazing, you should think of replacing your windows.

Explore your options and talk to professionals

Information about windows can be difficult to find online, and big national companies can sometimes pressure customers into a sale. However local companies will understand your requirements and worries better than most, and will give you the best information for your situation. Gain peace of mind and arm yourself with knowledge by submitting some information to our obligation-free online form. This way you will compare quotes from trusted local providers, up to 4 in your inbox within a couple of days!