Get Fast Offers on Your House – 5 Tips Every Georgia Seller Needs

Real estate transactions can take a long time, and if you are a Georgia seller with a house sitting on the market, that can be a bad thing. Often, the longer you wait for an offer on your property, the worse your chances are of finding the perfect buyer and selling for the highest price. Given how expensive and time consuming the homeselling process can be (even in a great real estate market like Georgia’s), it is important that sellers think about how to speed up the process, get a fast offer, and maximize their returns. To help Georgia homeowners, we have compiled five tips to get a fast offer within a shorter timeframe.

1 – Make Sure the Price is Right

Your listing price strategy can make or break how quickly you get an offer on your house. While overpricing your home can very obviously deter many potential buyers from even considering your house, keep in mind that underpricing can have an equally negative effect: it may raise suspicion about hidden problems with the property and potentially lead to lowball offers. Georgia’s real estate market has gotten increasingly competitive, and there are a lot of resources available to buyers who want to evaluate your property and the climate of your local market to ensure they make the right investment. This means that it is crucial for you and your listing agent decide on the fairest price possible in order to draw in more buyers. The sooner you do this, the better your chances will be at getting a fast offer.

2 – Don’t Skip Staging

Staging is a practice that involves purposeful decoration and furnishing that allows buyers to envision themselves living in the home, which often leads to a greater likelihood of offers. Homeowners can hire professional stagers to arrange the home to be as appealing as possible to a wide range of buyers, which can cost anywhere from $600 to $2,000. Staging can often be overlooked by sellers because it can require an investment of time and money. However, top Georgia listing agents stand by the proven effectiveness of staging, and this practice is definitely a good way to ensure more fast offers, as well as higher offers. An NAR survey even found that offers increase from 1%-5% for homes that were staged as opposed to homes that were not staged.

If you are in a situation where your Georgia property needs extensive repairs or professional staging is not a viable option, no worries! You can work with what you have. Try to ensure that your property is more desirable by deep cleaning, decluttering, and depersonalizing the home as much as you can. Depending on the condition and location of your property within Georgia, this can be enough to secure a fast offer.

3 – Marketing is Key

Marketing your property will usually be your agent’s responsibility, but it’s also up to you to approve their strategy. In order to get a fast offer after listing, you need to make sure that your agent’s marketing plan prioritizes high-quality listing photos and a good listing description. Remember that most Georgia home buyers begin their search for properties online, so it is crucial for your online listing to be effective if you want a fast offer. Make sure that the listing highlights the best parts of the property (spacious backyard, good location, updated kitchen, etc.) while also noting any of the the property’s potential drawbacks (fixer-upper, unfinished basement, no garage, etc.).

Also ask your agent how they plan to ensure that your listing is seen by the right audience. For example, if you are selling a two-story home with four bedrooms, then you probably don’t want to target Georgia buyers who are looking for starter homes. Make sure that your agent presents a clear plan for letting the right people know about your property with signs, flyers, social media posts, and open houses.

4 – Handle Showings Like a Pro

Once you have drawn buyers in with your fantastic online listing, you need to make sure they also have a good experience at their showing. The biggest thing you want to keep in mind in offering buyers flexibility for scheduling. The more quickly you can get buyers in to see your house, the easier it will be for more buyers to make fast offers. It’s also smart for you, the seller, to leave the house while it is being shown. Buyers don’t like to be watched while they examine your house and talk about the aspects that they do and do not like, and they also want to take their time, which they can’t do if they feel like they are invading your space. And if you want a fast offer, you want prospective buyers to be thinking about the house, not about you or your presence. All that staging you paid for to make them feel at home was for nothing if you are lurking somewhere in the background! The best thing you can do to secure fast offers is stay prepared to exit the house and have a plan in place for any children and pets in case of any last-minute showings.

5 – Direct Sale to a Cash House Buyer

The quickest way to get a fast offer on your Georgia property is to request one from a professional house buyer. Local companies like We Buy Houses in West Georgia can provide fair cash offers on properties within a few days. All you have to do is provide a bit of information about your property, schedule a showing with the buyer, and get your fast offer. This allows you to skip listing with a realtor altogether, and you can usually close on your home within as little as 2 weeks.

This is often an attractive option for sellers who are dealing with inherited properties or damaged homes because cash buyers usually purchase Georgia properties as-is. This means that you can bypass making repairs, getting your house market-ready, and dealing with all of those other steps that you would usually need to draw buyers in. Instead of dealing with all that hassle, you can get a fast offer by directly approaching your chosen buyer. However, keep in mind that this fast offer will likely come at the expense of a higher selling price: you won’t be investing in the repairs that are necessary to bring your house to its highest market value, so the offer you receive will reflect your property’s condition. BUT, if a fast offer is the most important thing to you, then it makes sense to trade a higher a selling price for the speed and convenience of a direct sale.

However, one thing to be aware of if you opt for a direct sale are scams. If you are looking to complete a direct sale with a local real estate investor or homebuying company, it’s important that you ensure they are reputable. Look at reviews from the buyer’s past clients, examine their policies, contact them directly to ask questions about their process, and see if they are an accredited business. This will help ensure that you aren’t scammed by an illegitimate company.

Summary

Selling a house can be a long and stressful process, but getting a fast offer can be simple if you follow the right steps. Ensuring that you handle the responsibilities of a seller by appropriately pricing, staging, and marketing your Georgia home is the best way to get fast offers from buyers. And if you want to completely skip the hassle of selling, then you can always seek out a professional house buyer and get a fast offer and cash for your home without dealing with a long selling process.