Aloha, friends. Listing a home for sale on the market in Hawaii often requires a fair amount of money to do it right. Even if you skip the services of a local real estate agent to save on the fees, it can be expensive to effectively prepare your property to attract buyers who today mostly seek move-in ready homes (is yours?).
However, if you can’t perform commonly requested renovations or make other improvements to maximize your efforts, don’t despair; it may still be possible to list on a budget.
But first — the MARKETING. It’s not enough anymore to just stick a ‘For Sale By Owner’ sign in your front yard and wait for traffic to generate your pool of interested buyers. We live in a digital age — home shoppers now start their search online, so you need to be there and you need to stand out from the crowd (other competing homes for sale).
So read on as we dive into four tips for selling your Hawaii house on a budget.
Pricing
Properly pricing your Hawaii home on your own takes a fair amount of knowledge (and some luck). As professional home buyers, we at Oahu Home Buyers can tell you that one of the most important aspects of a quick sale is to price the home effectively, perhaps even a bit under market value — the first of our tips for selling your Hawaii house on a budget.
You can save yourself quite a bit of time by simply not overpricing your home — a common mistake, even if the market is so-called “hot”. You’ll probably lose a lot of money in holding costs (mortgage, insurance, utilities, property taxes, HOA, etc.) if you’re overpriced — buyers will just move on to your competition. Meanwhile, you’ll be left holding onto the property for weeks or months.
However, don’t make the mistake of swinging too far in the other direction as buyers might think you’re selling a problem property (unless you are). Unfortunately, being off the mark in either direction can be costly because homes that linger on the Hawaii real estate market for any reason tend to sit longer and become flagged as a troubled listing.
Preparation
Our next tip for selling your Hawaii house on a budget involves taking care of minor repair issues that can easily — and relatively inexpensively — improve your property’s overall appeal. First, you’ll want to at least take care of any obvious damage like holes in the walls (bad tenants, anyone?), missing appliances, broken lanai railing, or a leaky roof (hint: those yellow circle on your ceiling are a sign).
Next, add a fresh coat of paint for the interior and exterior (include any lanais and fences if you can), and keep the landscaping clean (yard cut, bushes trimmed, no weeds, etc.), especially if they obstruct any ocean views. Powerwashing your driveway and sidewalks (get rid of that red dirt) can go a long way in making that first visual impression a strong one.
Finally, ensure the garage or carport and any storage spaces are free of clutter, organized, and only half full. You may want to consider using a self-storage facility temporarily to make the area look open and inviting. There are many options in Hawaii for storing items.
Showings
Another tip for selling your Hawaii house on a budget is to make the property readily available for showings. If buyers that suddenly show up can’t see your home (or even know which one it is!), they’ll move along to the next one on their shopping list, so be ready on short notice, as inconvenient as it can often be.
PETS: It’s helpful to have a plan in place for removing any signs of pets (and chickens!) from view and arranging for them to stay with family or friends.
You’ll want to have to-go bags ready for any kids and/ro pets as well as snacks and any other essentials to keep your family happy while they wait for the showing to wrap up. For many, showings are one of the most frustrating and stressful aspects of selling a home, but you can turn them into quality family time if you’re prepared.
Negotiating
One more free tip for selling your Hawaii house on a budget is to keep your emotions in check during negotiations. Remember, buyers aren’t factoring in your years (or decades) of memories into their offer price; they want to build their own.
It’s also helpful to remember the buyers you attract are trying to get the best deal possible and don’t mean to insult you with their offer, even if it’s much lower than you feel is fair or were expecting. But, again, running your own comparables on the market for your property can help you establish what a fair price would be.
Oahu Home Buyers
The professional home buyers here at Oahu Home Buyers can provide you with all of the tips available for selling your Hawaii house on a budget; our job is to help you sell your home to us in a fair and stress-free way, not worrying about repairs, agents, or uncertain closing days. Working with Oahu Home Buyers means you could be walking away from the closing table with cash in hand in a just a couple of weeks or possibly less! Ready to learn more? Contact Oahu Home Buyers at (808) 333-3677.