A handy checklist for selling a house in Seattle
How can you compete in the Seattle housing market?
The housing market in Seattle is highly competitive, but with the right planning and preparation, you can improve your chances of having a profitable house sale. In this article, we’ll explore various selling options and provide you with a thorough checklist for selling your house.
A checklist: How to prepare for selling your house in Seattle
When selling a house, there’s a lot to remember, so we’ve come up with this laundry list of things you can do when preparing your house for sale. You can reference this list to be sure you aren’t overlooking anything.
- Curb appeal matters: Keep your yard tidy and mown, trim shrubs, and plant flowers to make your house look welcoming.
- Clean the inside of your house: Get rid of clutter and clean everything. Polish floors and plumbing hardware, scour sinks and bathroom fixtures, clean the inside and outside of all the windows, and dispose of old, out-of-date, or faded window treatments. Air out the house thoroughly. Don’t forget to clean the closets, as prospective buyers will be checking them out.
- Make repairs: Fix leaky faucets and oil squeaky door hinges. Replace old cabinet hardware or dented mailboxes. Make your house look well-kept and cared for.
- Slap on a new coat of paint: Fresh paint makes a huge difference to the look of the house. Choose a neutral color so that potential buyers can imagine themselves living there.
- Arrange furniture: Rearrange furniture or pay to have the house staged by a professional. According to Manta, “…the 2024 average cost that homeowners paid for home staging in King County is between $121.00 and $1,228.00.” Architectural Digest also states that “Professionally staged homes sell for an average of $40,000 over the list price, based on a 2021 market survey.”
- Turn on the lights: When showing your house, turn on the lights and be sure to change any lightbulbs that have burned out. You want your house lit up for the visitor’s approach to make it look welcoming and well-lit when potential buyers are inside.
- Get good photographs: Hiring a professional photographer to take the photographs needed for listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is advised. These photographers have special lenses for interior photos, plus good lighting equipment. They also know the right angles to shoot to show off your property.
- Pre-sale property inspection: It’s advisable to hire a professional inspector to thoroughly check out your property before putting it on the market. This ensures that there will be no surprises when a potential buyer does an inspection.
This checklist for selling a house covers some of the major considerations when it comes to how to prepare your house for sale.
Options to sell a house in Seattle
In Seattle, homeowners have several options when it comes to selling their house. To gain the most exposure to potential buyers, list your house on the MLS. This is usually done by your real estate agent, but if you sell the house yourself, you can still list it for a flat fee.
Real estate agent: Selling a house via a real estate agent is the most common route in Seattle. Agents are familiar with the local housing market and can help you with paperwork, marketing, advice, and negotiations, as well as pricing your house.
FSBO (for sale by owner): If you don’t want to pay a real estate agent commission, you can sell your house FSBO. Selling FSBO means you do all the work that a real estate agent would typically do. About 10% of home sales in the United States are FSBO, but a sizable percentage of those sales are to friends, relatives, and neighbors. According to the National Association of Realtors®, these are the most difficult tasks for FSBO sellers: fixing up the home for sale, understanding and properly completing paperwork, and selling within their targeted timeline. You can find a lot of tips for selling FSBO online.
Selling “as is” to a real estate investor or an off-market house buyer: Perhaps the easiest and quickest way to sell a house is to sell to one of the companies that buy houses. They typically buy houses in their current condition, so you can skip making repairs. They also tend to close faster and have straightforward transactions.
Consider these facts when choosing the approach to selling your house.
Several questions should be considered when deciding how to sell your house in Seattle.
- What is your reason for selling?
- Are you in a rush to sell?
- Will your Seattle house need a lot of repairs to sell the traditional way?
- Do you value having control over the sale, or would you like more support and guidance?
- Do you think paying a commission is a good investment, or would you prefer not to pay it?
- Would you like to skip the hassles of a traditional sale?
Sell your house in Seattle “as is” and don’t pay commissions!
There is a way to sell your house without making any repairs or paying commissions. If you sell your house with We Buy Ugly Houses®, you will enjoy these benefits! We buy houses in “as is” condition and charge no hidden fees or commissions. We also pay typical closing costs. Our offers are usually below market value in exchange for speed and convenience.
Simply contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation at your house. A friendly Seattle property buyer will tour your property, answer your questions, and can sometimes provide an offer on the spot. If you accept the offer, the deal can potentially close in as little as 3 weeks, or longer if you need the time.
We Buy Ugly Houses is a well-known and highly rated Seattle house buyer with a nationwide 95%* customer satisfaction rating from sellers who responded to our post-sale survey, as well as excellent reviews. Contact us to see if we’d be a good fit for your house-selling needs.
This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice.
