Owning a house has become a privilege. The statistics in home ownership, especially in large cities is showing this to be the norm over anything else. But when it comes to home ownership in suburban towns and villages, the case is a little different.

Yet there could be a time when having to sell your home fast or at short notice could be something you may never have contemplated. Life unfortunately, doesn’t always follow a script.

We’ve seen this plenty of times. It could be that your job has moved across the country, that you may be going through a separation or that you have lost a loved one. These aren’t the easiest circumstances, and the thought of having to manage a house and the associated bills can be overwhelming. That is why in some cases, like the ones listed, people look to sell their property fast and use the cash for a smaller property or go and rent for a period of time.

Whatever your circumstance however, selling your house at short notice needs to also work for you. If you’re looking to get the most value from your home, in the shortest timescale possible, then we have some advice in how to achieve this.

Here is our brief guide to making your house sale work for you.

How much will it cost?
A lot of consideration goes into selling the house, but not a lot goes into how much it will cost to sell. This can cause a few issues as the unexpected costs can start to pile up. From realtor fees to legal costs you can be anywhere around the 15% of your home value sale once sold.

These are precisely the kinds of things you need to get your mind around before selling your home. You may want to speak to your realtor (see next point) about fees, what is negotiable and what you can do with regards to lowering fees after a period of non sale. I.e. reduction of 3% to 1.5% if the house hasn’t sold after 4 weeks.

Figure out who you want to sell your home
Choosing your realtor is going to be the big decision here. You could sell your house fast for cash, which has advantages, especially if you need to leave within a 10 day window, or if you have a little more time to afford, then you want to shop around.

We, for example look to get your house sold within a 90 day window, that includes marketing the property, getting your legal documentation complete as well as providing the kind of service you would take with other realtors.

You want a team that knows how to turn properties around quickly. For example we have a database of international investors as well as local property experts always looking for another home to purchase. We can piece together the right deals and packages to ensure that you stand the best chance of selling your home, fast, for the right price.

Set the price right
A cash sale offering can be as low as 70% of your house market value. A traditional realtor will look to sell your house for the maximum possible value and take a longer period to do this. It makes sense that they would be more sensitive to a price fluctuation as anyone else.

The key to consider is, what is your home worth – how much would you accept for your home when it is sold. This is the key number that you want to play with. You do this by looking at the market place – is it a buyers or sellers market, understanding home value sales and then working from there.

Get your property ready
Does your home need a few essential repairs? A lick of paint? A spring clean? If it is any of the above, do this first, do it quickly.

However, don’t overspend. Be careful with the money you need to invest into the property and what are overly cosmetic things. Homes have been lived in, you don’t want to go and spend money where it isn’t needed and where you can get more value for your dollar in investing in marketing your property.

Market your property
Your realtor or FSBO agent should be marketing your property but you want to know how they’re doing it and what effort is being made to sell your property fast. Go with an agent that can multiple list your property sale, get people that can spend the time and effort ensuring that you will get the best possible value for your house by getting it in front of as many people as possible.

Also, a property staging is another great way to get people into your home, looking around the property and getting an idea if they could live there. A house staging places the buyer in your home with an intent to buy on the day, especially if your home is well presented.