Selling your home in the winter is better! Here are 6 Tips for Selling Your Seattle Home in the Winter for More Money
So many people think that selling a home in Seattle in the spring is the best time. What if we told you that you can actually make more money if you listed your home for sale BEFORE spring?
Many sellers think that spring is the best time to put their home on the market because there are usually more buyers out that time of year. What they don’t often consider is that every other homeowner is thinking the exact same thing, which means there will be more competition in the spring.
The #1 reason to list your home in the winter is there’s less competition. Inventory is usually at its lowest point in the winter, so buyers’ options are limited.
When spring rolls around, temperatures aren’t the only thing that rises. So do the number of listings. DON’T WAIT for all of your competition to show up before you decide to put your home on the market.
There is an added bonus to selling your house during the Winter. The buyers who are out looking in the cold tend to be very motivated and serious, so you’ll be much less likely to be inconvenienced by those casually looking or just wanting to get decorating ideas for their own homes. You might be surprised how often that actually happens in the more active markets. In the winter, the lookie-loos are staying home and being warm and browsing for homes online.
Selling your home in the winter comes with less competition, but that doesn’t mean you get a free pass – there are still a few important things to do in preparation for cold weather. In our video, we go over our 6 Tips for Winterizing Your Home for Sale.
We created a handy PDF that covers these tips as well. You can download that here or click the picture below.
6 TIPS FOR WINTERIZING YOUR SEATTLE HOME FOR SALE
#1: CLEAN ROOF & GUTTERS
Cleaning your gutters and clearing your roof of branches, leaves, and debris are simple things that protect the house in the winter and help demonstrate to prospective buyers that you have cared for the home. You can hire a service to do this for you, or you can do it yourself. If you do decide to clean your roof yourself though, we recommend NOT pressure washing it. Pressure washing your roof can lower the lifespan of your roof. Instead use a brush to remove the any moss build up, and then just a simple solution of liquid chlorine bleach and water.
#2: KEEP THE HEAT ON
The goal is to have a prospective Buyer in your home for as long as possible. The more comfortable they are, the longer they will want to stay and hopefully form an emotional bond with the home. If the house is so cold that you can see your breath, they are not going to want to stay! We recommend keeping the thermostat set to at above 65°. Ideally around a cozy 68°.
#3: GET YOUR HVAC SYSTEM SERVICED
Speaking of cold homes, make sure your heating system is running effectively and efficiently. Not only will buyers be partial to a home that has been properly maintained, but the home inspector will be checking the HVAC system, too. You can SAVE MONEY on costly repair requests by having the system in tip-top shape prior to going on the market. The more you know about ahead of time, the better prepared you can be.
#4: WRAP PIPES
In the winter, your pipes can be especially vulnerable to freezing, or worse, bursting. Make sure to wrap your pipes to avoid an unfortunate surprises. Products to insulate pipes, such as a pipe sleeve and electrical heat tape, can be purchased and placed around pipes to prevent them from freezing.
#5: WINTERIZE OUTDOOR FAUCETS
Make sure exterior faucets are shut off. Disconnect and drain hoses. Insulate the faucets with faucet covers. This includes your sprinkler system, too. The last thing you need when showing your home for sale is a plumbing problem.
#6: SERVICE THE CHIMNEY & FIREPLACE AND THEN LIGHT IT!
If you’ve got it, flaunt it! Having a fire burning is a great way to set the mood in your home. Buyers will instantly feel nice and comfortable and probably stay awhile. Keeping that fire in the fireplace is very important though. We suggest getting your fireplace & chimney serviced every 5 years. This is something that most homeowners avoid getting done and it can be a major problem if anything goes wrong.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠, 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙/𝑡𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒! 𝑊𝑒’𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝!
📲𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆
(c) 𝟮𝟬𝟲-𝟮𝟳𝟭-𝟳𝟭𝟬𝟬
