Sell A House ASAP in Cleveland: 5 Tips For Success

Considering selling your house and want to do it as quickly as possible? Of course! Everyone does. As a real estate investment company it is literally our job to buy and sell sell houses quickly.  We have experimented over the years and picked up some proven tips and best practices on how to sell a house asap. Even though we do it in Cleveland these strategies, tips and tricks work in any real estate market. So read on to improve your ability to sell faster.

We use these strategies every time we sell a house we’ve fixed up or one of our rental properties.

Because Cleveland is a competitive market we are constantly forced to find ways to compete and get houses sold. If you don’t know what you are doing it is not easy and your house can sit for months or longer.

In this article we pass on our hard-earned but proven lessons to you so that you can  sell your house fast in Cleveland or anywhere else.

1. In Order to Sell a House ASAP The Price Needs to Be Right

We quickly noticed that the single biggest factor in getting a house to sell asap in any market is the price. Your asking price plays a huge role in being able to get eyes on your property and offers in your hands right out of the gate.

Consider this from the point of view of buyers looking to buy a house in your neighborhood or area. They are likely going through dozens or even hundreds of listings that are most likely sorted by price.

Everybody wants a bargain. At the least no one wants to pay more than they have to. They are judging your house and its price against what your neighbors are asking for a similar house.

Quick Tips for Pricing if You Want to Sell a House ASAP

Pricing a house is not the easiest thing to do in the world. Here we provide some quick tips to help you determine a price that will get people interested and the house sold asap:

1. Check comps: Find out what other similar houses are selling for and how fast they are selling. The houses should be located within 1/2 – 1 mile from your house. They should have also sold within the last 3-6 months. They should be similar (similar bedrooms, bathrooms, condition, features, etc.). Take the closest matches from these that sold quickly and then average the selling prices. This is what buyers most likely expect to pay for a house in its location and condition.
2. Make sure you understand how your home compares! If you are working with an agent, you can have them show you pictures of the houses you are using from step 1. If you aren’t working with an agent, many times you can see pictures of houses that sold on Zillow.com or Realtor.com. Compare the fixtures and finishes to what you have in your house and adjust your price up or down based on what you find. Always be considering this from the buyers’ perspective. Be subjective and realistic vs. optimistic and biased. If a buyer looked at your house and one of the ones that sold, would they say they are similar enough to pay the same price? It’s very important to be objective here. If you overprice your house it is almost a guarantee that it will sit on the market, even if it is in immaculate condition.
3. Have friends give their opinionsSometimes we as homeowners are seeing things through a different lens. We need to get unbiased opinions from friends or family that are completely objective. Show them your list of comps and see what they think.

For more great tips on pricing your house for sale, check out this article on Zillow.

2. Get an Offer from a Cash Home Buyer

Not everybody is aware there are people who buy houses for cash that will make you a cash offer to buy your house.

They buy houses for investment purposes and usually have the cash to close faster than a traditional buyer using a mortgage. If you sell to a cash buyer it allows you to sell your house without even putting it on the market. This, as you can imagine is faster and more convenient than listing on the market with an agent.

What’s the catch with cash house buying companies? They usually don’t pay full market value. This might be an issue if you need to sell for top dollar.

Of course, this option doesn’t make sense for all home sellers. It makes the most sense for people that don’t have the time or energy to deal with getting their house fixed up and put on the market. This is also a good solution for sellers that don’t like the idea of having dozens of complete strangers going through their house, looking at all of their stuff.

In full disclosure, we buy homes in Cleveland Ohio and would love to talk with you about your options and make an offer on your house.

3. Market Your House Everywhere

Like with trying to sell anything the more people that look at your house the better chance you will have to sell it. So the quickest way to sell a house is to get as many eyes on it as possible. You need to make sure everybody knows the home is for sale. If you are selling without an agent don’t just put a for sale sign in the front yard and call it a day.

Get an ad in the local newspaper or online classifieds

If you want to sell a house asap, you might consider putting an ad in the local newspaper, their website and online classifieds sites.

Use a Listing Agent

Real estate agents can list your house on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) which will help you get exposure.

Put up a for sale sign in the front yard

If you decide to sell your house without an agent, you can get a ‘For Sale By Owner’ sign from HomeDepot or Lowe’s and stick it in your front yard. I highly recommend you get the directional signs as well. This will allow you to point people driving around your area to your house that is for sale. Do be warned that this method might result in some shady individuals as well as real estate agents knocking on your door or calling your phone.  You might also get some offers from cash buyers who see your signs.

Use Social Media

Take lots of pictures of your house and also do a video walk through. Its a not a bad idea to do some quick research on real estate photography and videography and buy some inexpensive camera equipment like a tripod and a gimbal stabilizer. You can post these on Facebook and Youtube.

One social media platform is perfect for pictures: Instagram. Give it a try.

Tell everybody you know

Tell everybody you know that your house is for sale. Ask everybody you talk to if they know of anyone looking to buy a house in your area. Ask your neighbors if they have family looking to move near by them. You never know who might be looking for a house just like yours. This may certainly help you sell a house asap.

4. Concessions Can Help You Sell a House ASAP

There are lots of ways to entice buyers to give your house a little extra attention.

Here are some of our favorite ways to sell a house asap by using concessions:

Agent bonus

Reward agents for finding you a buyer. We’ve given bonuses of $1,000 or more for buyers’ agents that gave our properties a bit more priority or even sold their buyers on our houses. You can do the same. Most people are motivated by incentives so this can be a great way to get agents to help make your house a priority.

There are agents that look for listings of houses for sale where these bonuses are available and start showing their clients these houses first. Get yourself on the top of potential buyers’ must-see lists (thanks to the agent) with this tip.

When buyers see your house first, they may just fall in love with it and make you an offer. If they are on the fence the incentivized agent may be able to help push them over the fence in your direction.

The simple jist of it is that offering an agent bonus has allowed us to sell a lot of houses faster over the years.

Try it!

Closing cost assistance

Not all buyers need assistance with their closing costs…but most do! And let’s be real who isn’t going to be enticed by free money?

If you offer to help pay closing costs for buyers, they will be much more likely to buy your house over others on the market.

In order to sell a house asap, you should consider offering buyers this assistance. Be sure to write into the description of your listing your willingness to pay some closing cost assistance. It really does go a long way in persuading buyers to give your house more consideration. This may be the one thing that pushes a buyer to pick your house over their other favorite(s).

Home warranty

Want buyers? Make them feel comfortable and confident in their decision to buy YOUR house. Providing a home warranty gives buyers a peace of mind.

Put yourself in the buyers’ shoes. Buying a house is a huge purchase. They are probably nervous that they are overextending themselves and that they might be house poor. They will likely feel better knowing that if something goes wrong, they have a warranty that will cover it. After all, without a warranty the buyer will have to pay repairs out of pocket.

American Home Shield and other companies offer home warranty products that are pretty comprehensive.

Offering a home warranty gives your home a competitive advantage that will allow you to sell your house quicker.

If you want to shop around and find the perfect home warranty, check out these reviews from consumer affairs.

5. Make Your House Unique – Be Different

When we sell a house we make it a point to find economical ways of setting our houses apart so that they sell much faster.

The secret is spending some time to see what houses are for sale that your home will be competing with. Then, make note of the similarities between the houses.

• Do they all have beige walls with white trim?
• Do they all have formica counters?
• Do they all have oak cabinets?
• Do they all have brown exterior paint?

What you want to do now is find some things to do that will make your house stand out and better because it doesn’t just match all the others that are for sale.

You sell a house asap by not only pricing it right and giving concessions but also because it stands out and is unforgettable to buyers.

Great websites to get cheap design tips are Houzz.com and Pinterest.

Final Thoughts About How to Sell A House ASAP

Whether your situation dictates you sell a house asap or not, you can follow these 5 tips we’ve outlined to pretty much guarantee a quick sale.

If you feel you’ve benefited from this article, please share it!

We’d also love to hear any tips you might have for selling a house asap. If you have some tips, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments below.

If You Need To Sell a House in Ohio ASAP Then…

We want to talk to you. Sesa Properties is a local, trusted cash house buying investor operating in Ohio. As a company we are dedicated to making the selling process as expedient and painless as possible for those who need to sell a house. We buy houses for cash, as-is and aim to make the entire process as fast and easy as possible. If you are ready to find out what we can offer for your house click here to get your confidential, obligation free offer started.