When you are in the business of fix a flip, you have some obvious reasons why you need to sell quickly. For one, you probably have a hard money loan or other private money financing the project, and they have a deadline for getting that money back. The longer you hold the property, the more carry-costs you are going to make, which will take a big bite out of your potential profit. In the worst case scenario, you can end up holding for too long and go negative!
So how does one go about selling a fix/flip fast?
- Stage it. When you stage a property, you are showing the potential new homeowner the possibilities of how nice the layout flows. They can see themselves living there. When you don't stage, people walking through can't always envision it as a finished product. They see a blank room that's "too small", or they have some other personal issue with the room. Better yet, you can offer to sell the furnishings with the home. If the buyer opts out, you can take it with you for your next staging.
- Schedule open houses. You don't want to simply have a single open house and pray for an offer. If you haven't received an offer after 10 days, why not have another open house? The people that came originally were at the right place, at the right time. Perhaps your end-buyer wasn't available at the time you first showed the property.
- Don't be greedy. We know you want the maximum possible price for your flip. But do what the market supports. Sometimes that means not listing at the highest market price. If you want a quick profitable flip, settle with $20,000 instead of $30,000 profit. You may think you have room to negotiate down, but in reality you are simply turning away potential buyers.
- Push the neighborhood perks. If the property is close to great schools, make it a feature. Parks nearby? Great! Low crime? Even better. People want to be coddled into their new home. Help them see why they should choose your house in that neighborhood rather than the other guy up a few blocks.
- Advertise everywhere. As an experienced internet marketer with 2+ decades of experience, I can tell you how important it is to flood the web with your offering. Just because you have a sign in the yard doesn't mean everyone will see it. You need to post flyers on the boards at gas stations. Get out there and put your property in front of as many eyes as possible. Even if it's listed on the MLS, you should be helping your realtor push it. Post it on internet classifieds. Social networks. Do what you have to do.