Discover proven strategies to get more money for your house. Learn how smart improvements and selling tactics can maximize your profits.
Selling a home isn’t just a step toward moving onto your next house—it’s a key part of safeguarding and building wealth for your family. Many homeowners work with real estate professionals to help maximize their profit, as realtors bring valuable expertise to the table. When everything goes right, homeowners can walk away with a fully paid off mortgage and money in the bank.
As with any major sales transaction, however, the best outcome requires knowledge, preparation, and footwork. There are many variables when it comes to home sales, and while you can’t control big-picture influences like interest rates and housing supply and demand, there are many decisions that you do have control over.
Let’s examine 10 steps that will teach you how to get more money for your house.
Choosing a knowledgeable and experienced realtor can make all the difference in selling your home for top dollar. Realtors bring a wealth of expertise, from understanding local market trends to effectively marketing and staging your home. They guide you through each step, helping with strategic decisions that maximize value and simplify the selling process.
Most realtors charge a commission fee, typically around 5-6% of the sale price, which is usually split between the buyer’s and seller’s agents. This fee covers the comprehensive support, market insights, and negotiation skills a realtor provides, helping you avoid common pitfalls that can reduce profit or delay the sale.
A skilled realtor can also offer insights into the best timing for your listing and advise on minor improvements that yield high returns, helping you set up your sale for success from the start.
Your home is one of a kind, and its actual value is what a home buyer pays for it. But well before the sale, you need to know how external factors affect market value, whether you can mitigate any of those, and how your home’s value is determined.
Market value influences include:
You can’t control these factors, but you may be able to address some through efforts such as:
Working with your realtor, you’ll start with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that considers recent sales and current listings of similar properties. This analysis helps you set a competitive price that attracts offers without undervaluing your home.
Setting the right price is crucial: pricing too high might turn buyers away, while pricing too low could mean leaving money on the table. With a solid understanding of your home’s market value and the guidance of your realtor, you’ll be well-positioned to price your home strategically and maximize your return.
Not every home improvement pays off at a sale—in fact, most don’t. Many experts recommend sticking with minor repairs and upgrades instead of major projects to increase a home’s value.
However, there are a few that pay off in profit. According to Remodeling’s Cost vs Value report, you’ll make bank with these projects1:
Note that these are based on national averages. Check the report to drill down to your region and view the profit potential of other common renovations.
Avoid major kitchen and bath upgrades before selling. Instead, start with minor improvements. Repair any leaks, scuffs, or squeaks, and then consider:
First impressions matter, and curb appeal is what potential buyers will see before they step foot inside. You don’t have to invest in radical landscaping, but a combination of clean-up and low-dollar upgrades is well worth it:
Remember, improving curb appeal isn’t just about attracting someone with a tidy lawn or pretty gardening. It’s a sign to today’s buyers that you’re a solid caretaker of the property, and it can sway how they evaluate other aspects of your home.
Energy efficiency is an excellent hook in marketing a home. Showcase materials, features, and upgrades such as:
Start by identifying what’s already present or completed in your home, and then take on any quick fixes you can handle prior to the sale. You could also include:
Most of today’s buyers seek a move-in ready home. Follow a home staging checklist so they want to stay after a viewing:
If you’ve searched “how to get more money for my house,” you may have seen pros and cons of getting a pre-sale inspection. Sellers are often advised that it’s better not to know about anything that pops up on an inspection. That’s because most states’ real estate laws require homeowners to disclose all defects and issues that they know about—so, no inspection, nothing new you have to share.
The downside is that home buyers are always advised to have their own inspection done as an offer contingency. This means that they’ll have a chance to reduce their final offer once an inspector gives them a heads-up. But the upsides can be higher.
Having your own inspection done will often uncover details that can be fixed with minor repairs—anything from replacing a dryer vent to fixing a loose screw.
You’ll come away from an inspection with a written report that includes top-to-bottom repair and replacement needs. Some of these fixes after a home inspection are mandatory, but you can decide to:
An inspection will ensure you’re not surprised during an offer negotiation by a larger issue that could potentially drop your home price. Instead, you can:
A marketing plan that includes specific steps, efforts, and a timeline is a must. Consider:
Before you jump into a contract with a listing agent or real estate professional, consider all of your options. One avenue that many homeowners aren’t familiar with is a sell-and-stay arrangement. If you’re selling your property in order to downsize or cash out your home equity, move right away, it may be a solution for you.
With Truehold's sell-and-stay transaction, you can bring together two housing steps into one smooth process: a property sale and a lease to rent your current home. When you sell your home to us, you’ll get an all-cash offer for your home. Instead of turning around and investing your profit immediately into new living quarters, you’ll have the opportunity to remain in your current home and neighborhood.*
Preparing for a traditional sale is exhausting, time-consuming, and often includes upfront costs. There’s deep cleaning, repairs and upgrades, home staging, marketing, open houses, viewings, hoping your real estate agent’s predictions come true while you wait for an offer, and sometimes starting from scratch after an offer falls through.
When you work with Truehold, you can eliminate the hassles of listing your home and streamline the process. We'll hire a local, licensed, third-party inspector, and make you a firm offer based on competitive, data-driven pricing.
There are many ways to make the most of selling your home, from DIY upgrades to sophisticated marketing techniques. The first and most important step, however, is knowledge. Homeowners don’t always realize how many factors they can influence or what options exist outside of a standard listing sale.
To achieve a successful sale, you need to identify upfront and hidden costs of selling a home, understand what factors affect the sale price, and make an intentional plan that recognizes both time and money before you dive into a home sale. And, of course, remember the mistakes to avoid when selling your home to ensure you walk away with the most profit possible.
There’s no cost or obligation to get an all-cash offer from Truehold. When you’re ready, call us today and a Truehold representative will reach out to review the process and answer your questions, so you can decide if a sell-and-stay transaction is the right way for you to unlock your equity without leaving your home.
Disclaimer*: After the home sale, you must comply with the terms of your lease to continue living in the home. This includes making timely payments on your rent for your minimum lease term (which ranges from 6 – 24 months).
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