I think it’s fair to say that every person who is ready to sell his or her home wants top dollar in a short amount of time.

In today’s market with prices going up and a lot of folks are listing their houses, which means more competition for the home seller. I have experience in selling homes and getting top dollar. I am a real estate flipper and we sell 20-25 houses per year, and lease another 40-50, and of course, I want top dollar; that’s my business and that’s how my kids eat.

In this article, I am going to explain five steps that I take to get top dollar in the shortest amount of time on my properties. I have chosen the five easiest and cheapest ways so you don’t have to commit to a large monetary or time commitment.

Keep Paint Colors and Decor Neutral

You want the paint to be either a neutral grey or neutral tan color. If you have bright or bold colors in your house, it may be a turnoff to certain buyers. We want everyone to see your house for what it is and not be distracted by your personal preferences.

This also goes for décor. Make sure to change out your rubber ducky shower curtain for something more subtle. The pink flamingo picture frame in the living room — maybe put that in storage during showings. You get my point.

Keep it neutral and you will get more people walking through your house and probably higher offers.

Simple landscaping
This is something most people can do themselves. For every property that I sell, we pull the weeds, cut new mulch beds (this just means using a shovel and creating a sharp line on the outside of the mulch bed), and laying some fresh mulch down. It is amazing how much better the property looks in pictures with fresh mulch around the house!

Hire a motivated real estate agent
The best way to find a good agent is to ask around. Ask family and friends who they have had good luck with in the past. Most people know a realtor but not everyone knows a GOOD realtor. Also, keep in mind that many people will recommend their brother, cousin, daughter, etc. Just because they are related to a realtor doesn’t make them the best fit.

A good and motivated realtor will do everything they can to sell your house at your price. Good realtors will do as many open houses as necessary, they will follow up with showing agents about the property and they have a good rapport with other realtors.

Professional pictures
Having a professional photographer take pictures of your home can make all the difference. If you are selling in a competitive market your pictures will stand out (in a good way) against someone who’s agent took their pics with an iPhone or low quality point and shoot. Not only do photographers have experience and knowledge of real estate photography, but also they have expensive lenses and editing software that makes the pictures come out great!

Sometimes your realtor will agree to pay for the pictures as part of their services, but if they don’t, I would highly recommend the $100-200 for the professional pictures. This small price could snag you an extra $10,000 or more at the closing table.

Staging your home
We typically only stage houses that are above the median price range for our city. Staging a house can really give the potential buyers an idea of how versatile spaces can be in your home.

We especially stage if we have a room that could have multiple uses. For example, if you have small bedrooms, you may want to remove that queen bed and setup a smaller twin up against the wall and a small dresser to make the room appear to have more space.

There are lot of different routes you can take when you’re trying to sell your home quicker. However, these five steps have been the most successful and effective in the years I’ve been flipping real estate. If you’re looking to sell your home fast in Central Ohio, give me a call at (614) 382-4972 or leave me a message here on my website!