You need money quickly. You have a lot of money, but it’s tied up in your home.

Rather than having to take out a loan and pay all the fees and expenses that go along with it, you could sell your home. But can you get your hands on the money fast enough for your needs?

That’s a risk you may have to take. However, you can maximize the chances of your home selling quickly by following these simple tips.

1. Clean Up the Yard

It doesn’t matter how many cute and cliche sayings we come up with about not judging a book by its cover. Human nature is to base your first impression on what you see. Plus, no matter how off-base they may be, first impressions are hard to change later.

The same is true when you’re trying to sell a home. The buyer’s first impression is gold. If a buyer doesn’t have a favorable first impression of your home, you’ve most likely already lost the sale.

So if you want to sell your house fast, clean up the yard! The outside is the first thing a buyer will see when they arrive at your house.

This doesn’t mean that you have to spend a bundle on professional landscaping (although that would help). But don’t leave toys, and certainly not trash, lying around on the lawn.

Clean up any presents left by your (or the neighbor’s) pets and rake up leaves and other yard debris. Sweep off the driveway and try not to have any cars parked there when a potential buyer is scheduled to arrive.

2. Clean It

The same goes for the inside. When the buyer enters your home, you want them to be stunned by how great it looks. The sun streaming in through dirty windows or a strange, albeit faint, unpleasant aroma doesn’t leave the impression that you want.

Thus, you need to clean it thoroughly. We’re not talking about your average spring cleaning. Your house needs to shine.

There shouldn’t be a speck of dust anywhere, not even hidden on top of your ceiling fan. Scrub the windows so there is lots of daylight pouring in. If you’re still living in your home, clutter and everyday dirt will pile up. Be sure to straighten all that up and do a quick once-over (the floor especially) to ensure everything is clean for the showing.

You also don’t want your house to smell too strongly of cleaning products, that could seem like you’re covering something up. If possible, leave the windows open to air it out.

If it’s too cold out, you could try lighting a few candles, but keep it light. A strong candle scent may be overpowering to some people and can also seem like you’re trying to cover something.

3. Stage It

When a buyer walks into your home, they’re trying to imagine what it would be like to live there. Make it easier on them by staging your home in a tasteful way.

Do you like psychedelic paintings? Take those down for the showings. Not everybody likes those and it can shatter their mental image of living in your home.

Stick with just a few neutral decorations here and there. Set the furniture up in a pleasing way. You can even set the table for dinner to make it look more like a home.

Whatever you do, don’t leave clutter lying around.

4. Add Some Color

A few bouquets of fresh flowers go a long way.

First, flowers are a pleasing decoration and most everyone agrees on that. It’s a nice way to add color without overwhelming.

Plus, the light floral scent in the air is perfect for making your home smell clean and fresh-but not like chemicals.

5. Hire a Professional Photographer

Now you’re ready for buyers to look at your house. But how do you get them to come?

That’s where photography comes in handy. If you’re really on a tight budget you can try to do it with your smartphone. But if you really want to sell your house fast you need to hire a professional photographer. Analyses show that homes with professional photography sell about 32% faster!

There is so much more to photography than clicking a button. A professional photographer knows how to show your home in the best light. When buyer’s see awesome photos, they’ll be inspired to come to take a look at the real thing!

6. Price It Competitively

You also need to take care with how you price your home. You want to maximize the investment you made, so underpricing your home isn’t ideal.

But if you overprice it, you will have trouble selling it quickly. No matter how gorgeous you make your home look, it’s unlikely anyone will want to pay more than it’s really worth.

If you’re selling it yourself, you’ll have to do a bit of market research to see how much comparable homes in your area are selling for currently. Paying for an appraisal can also be helpful and may be required by the buyer’s lender anyway.

If you’re working with a real estate agent, they will do the legwork and give you a price recommendation.

7. Find a Cash Buyer

Of course, you can go to all this work to get your house ready, but there’s no guarantee it will sell as quickly as you want it to. If you really want to sell your house fast, the best way is to find a cash buyer.

There are companies advertising that “We Buy Any House“. Some even say that you can have the cash in your bank account in as little as 4 days. You can’t beat that!

More Home Selling Tips

If you need to sell your house fast, following these home selling tips is the way to do it. Whether you go the traditional route or sell it to a cash buyer, you should spruce it up as we’ve suggested in order to get the best price you can.

For more information about selling your home, feel free to check out our other real estate articles.