I Need to Sell My House, Now What?

Many people find themselves in the position of needing to unload their home, but aren`t sure how to go about it. If you aren`t accustomed to the real estate market, you might be wondering just how to go about selling your house.

There are several reasons why someone would need to sell their home. The reasons aren`t particularly important, what you need is to turn your home into money. By the time you`re thinking "I NEED to sell my house", chances are, you want to sell it as fast as possible. So, where do you go from here?

In the declining economy, it will be necessary to look for ways to market a property that are beyond the traditional "list high and wait for an offer" method used by most real estate agents.

In many neighborhoods dozens of homes are for sale and the few buyers that are shopping can be very choosey. Therefore you are in competition with the other sellers on the block. In a slow market selling a house is about out-doing you neighbors.

It's like the story of a couple of campers in the woods who have a bear stumble upon their campsite. As the bear is growling and looking at them one camper begins putting on his running shoes. Noticing this, the other camper whispers " what are you doing? You can't outrun a bear? They can run 35 miles per hour!" Finishing lacing up his shoe and standing the first camper explains " I don't have to outrun the bear.... I just have to out run YOU!"

Selling in a slow market is exactly the same. To be successful you just need to be better at marketing and selling a house than your neighbors. The number of houses being sold is way down, but the best houses DO SELL.

To be successful you need a house that "shows well" and a unique marketing message.

Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

Preparing a house for sale isn`t necessarily a big job, depending on the current state of your home. In most cases, some paint to freshen things up will go a long way toward making your home sell faster. You don`t want to spend much money at this point, but a few buckets of paint certainly won`t break the bank and it can really help the entire home look better.

Start with making the house look good on the outside. This is called "curb appeal". If it looks like a dump from the outside, nobody will want to see the inside. Plus, by keeping everything neat and tidy, you will find that people will automatically assume that you have taken great care of the house, as well.

Have a Unique Marketing Message

The other way to get noticed is to have a unique marketing approach. So what's working now? A time tested and proven marketing system that drives hundreds of people to an open house and once there compels them to make offers on the spot.

A marketing message that is the exact opposite of what most real estates professionals do! Instead of listing high and being talked down, start LOW, and let the market bid the price UP! That's right what works best now is a do-it-yourself-auction-style-sale.

Instead of "Home for Sale" advertise "Home for Auction!". And instead of just listing in the newspaper get the word out on the street. Literally. Get road side signs, with your phone number and put them at busy intersections around your neighborhood. This will get your phone to ring off the hook.

Tell the callers you will be holding an open house on Saturday and Sunday and all those that are interested can throw their name into the hat. Then on Sunday night let them compete in an auction style sale. You will get a quick sale and get the highest price possible.