Do You Need To Sell A Vacant Home?
In an ideal situation, your old home will sell before you make the move to the new home. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. When it does, your old home could be vacant for weeks or even months. Selling a vacant home is more challenging. Buyers might be reluctant to buy the home if they believe it has been empty too long. If your old home is vacant, here is what you need to know about selling it.
What Should You Not Do?
Before you focus on what you can do to sell the home, you need to make sure you are not making any mistakes that could put your chances of attracting a buyer at risk. For instance, not obtaining an appraisal right away could be a mistake. The appraisal could help you convince buyers that the home is worth the investment.
You should also avoid turning off the utilities, if possible. When the utilities are off, the home is more vulnerable to vandalism and theft. Having the utilities on also helps to prevent damage from the home not being used, such as cracked plumbing.
Another mistake you could make is moving into the new home and forgetting to secure the old home. If the old home is left unsecured, you could have problems with squatters, weather, and pests.
What Should You Do?
Since your home is vacant, you need to find ways to make it attractive to buyers. One of the most beneficial steps you can take is to have the home staged. Staging the home helps buyers envision living in the home and helps to define each space. It also can be a deterrent for squatters and other trespassers. The furnishings could be enough to convince them the home is not vacant.
You also need to take steps to protect your home. If the home is not equipped with an alarm, consider having one installed. You can make the alarm a selling point for buyers. You can also monitor the home from your new home using mobile apps.
Another step you can take is make sure the home is clean and ready to show. A layer of dust in the home could give the impression that the home has been neglected, which could impact the impression that buyers have of it.
Talk to your real estate agent to learn other ways to sell your home once it has been vacated.