We sold our Pittsburgh home! If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you already know this. In fact, I’ve already shared the house hunt journey for our next house and already shared which house we got! It’s just that I never got to update my blog and thought I’d share it here along with tips on selling a house too.

But first, why did we sell our home?

Why Did We Sell Our House?

When we started doing short term rentals at the lake house, we have been driving back and forth almost every weekend. We were exhausted. I was exhausted. So we toyed with the idea of moving closer to the lake house – be that somewhere north of Pittsburgh or in Conneaut Lake and surrounding areas.

Location Options

Since summer of 2021, we have been looking at houses on Zillow.com on a regular basis.

Sometimes that search even led us to a totally opposite direction – towards North Carolina, South Carolina, and even back to Texas! Haha! I mean, having a beach property or moving back closer to friends and some family would be great, right? While we were undecided on the location, one thing was clear – we have to sell our Pittsburgh home to be one step closer to that plan!

Sold Our Pittsburgh Home in A Weekend!

We waited until our last few renters of 2021 before we listed.

That way, when the Pittsburgh house sells, we can stay at the lake house while we look for our next house. Thank goodness we waited until the last few renters because our Pittsburgh home sold in a weekend! We didn’t anticipate this given there were 5 other houses for sale on the same street! Plus, our house was listed on Thanksgiving night!

We didn’t think people would be viewing the house until after Thanksgiving weekend – thinking people are busy with the holidays and Black Friday shopping.

But Friday and Saturday were packed with viewing requests. And by Sunday, we had multiple offers. We didn’t even get to do an open house anymore. But the best part was that all of this was happening while we were on a vacation in Florida.

So we didn’t even have to go through cleaning up and leaving the house every time someone wants to see the house or before doing an open house. That was something I was dreading to experience. So I was glad we didn’t have to go through that.

Tips on House Selling

So how did we sell quickly while there were other houses for sale on the same street? You can say it was probably just because of the real estate boom why our house sold fast.

And while in part that’s true – a lot of people were looking to buy houses because of the record low mortgage rates, it was ultimately because of the house and what we did. See, we sold quick! And on top of that, the house sold OVER our asking price! But the other houses did not.

Some even sat for months and had several price cuts. I checked them just now to make sure I’m giving you facts.

So what did we do? What tips can I offer to help you sell your home quickly or to prepare you for selling your home in the future? I’m listing them down below.

1. Be Smart About Your Updates – if you’re going to do an update in your house and you know you’re going to sell the house in the future, make sure it’s something that most people or buyers would appreciate.

   What do I mean? It should be something useful or valuable to most homeowners and not just an aesthetic update that might be too “personalized” or reflect your personal style (that can be different from a potential buyer’s). For example, we spent money on our fence that proved to be one of our best selling features. Everyone who viewed our house appreciated the fenced-in yard.

   Not only does it offer privacy, it’s also perfect for keeping kids and pets safe and secure. In contrast, say the update you want to do is to build a waterfall feature with a koi pond in your backyard – sure it might be pretty and relaxing. But some might not like the extra maintenance. A family with a toddler might not even want to consider that because of the safety risk.

   Instead of spending money on that, maybe update your bathroom or kitchen fixtures instead. Use the same concept when painting a room. If you plan to sell anyway, go with more neutral colors that more people will be okay with than a bold color choice. You can always incorporate your favorite color through fabrics and decor – something you bring with you when you move.

   Now if you’re planning to sell right away, I don’t recommend doing any more updates. Instead, just do paint touch-ups, fill holes from hanging wall art, repair what needs to be repaired! Basically you want the house to look as clean and as move-in ready as possible!

2. Don’t Overprice – first, ask yourself if you are the one buying your house, are you willing to pay that price for that house? If NO even crossed your mind, then it’s probably too high.

   You have to be objective about this. Don’t let emotions decide the price. Don’t think, “well, I spent XX amount for this and for that”. This is why I told you in the first tip that you need to be smart about your updates.

   If you’re spending a lot of money on an update/renovation project, make sure that it actually adds value to the house. Otherwise, it could be money lost. Look at the houses in the area in that price range you’re thinking and see how your house compares. Be honest to yourself!

   If their house is better overall, then your price should be lower than theirs. Another thing when you overprice your house, you are risking potential buyers to NOT SEE your house. Some buyers actually use the price range filters. And you might think not everyone does that.

   I thought the same! But it happened to a friend – their house was sitting in the market for months at $142k. But when they lowered it to $138k, it only took 2 days for someone to buy it at that asking price! Look, it’s only a $4k difference from asking price.

   If the buyer saw it before, they could have tried making an offer for $3-$5k less than asking (a normal, decent offer). Which tells me, the buyer might not have seen it at $142k if they had their filters turned on showing only houses that are $140k and below. Plus, you don’t want to risk your house sitting in the market for months. When new buyers see that, it can easily be a turn off.

   They start to wonder what’s wrong with the house. So if I were you, start with a fair price. If you’ve maintained your house well and it’s got all the updates, go a little high, but not too high that it’s way too much for the neighborhood. It’s better to get multiple offers that can start a bidding war (eventually bumping up the price) than get no interest at all.

3. Staging Is Important – I get it!

   Who has the time to stage when you are busy packing? And unless it’s a million dollar house, who wants to spend more to have a house staged? Well, you can do this. You just need guidance!

   That’s why I’m here. In fact, if you need help, just DM me on my Instagram and I’d be happy to help! You can also follow me there because I regularly share tips on home decor and trends… even tips on selling your house too! Here’s the thing, you don’t have to stage your house if you don’t want to – especially if the house speaks for itself.

   Maybe it’s huge and you can instantly see there’s enough space for everything. Maybe it’s got brand new kitchen appliances and cabinets with tons and tons of countertop space. The bathrooms are newly updated with modern fixtures and double vanities, and so on. So yeah, even if you remove all the furniture, the house can sell itself.

   But if your house is not selling? If your house maybe has some weird layout or maybe a small living space that potential buyers can’t visualize, then you need to stage! If they’re having a hard time seeing the potential or layout, or maybe they can’t get past an outdated fixture or maybe a dated fireplace, you need to stage! We’re not talking about updating or doing any renos here.

   Maybe you just have to show how a couch can actually fit in the space, or how you position a bed in a smaller room. And if it’s an outdated fireplace? Sometimes it’s all about dressing it up! Put a pretty mirror on top, add modern candle holders and a vase with some flowers or eucalyptus, add a modern fireplace cover, and then put a basket with cozy blankets on the side to give that feeling of warmth!

   In the kitchen, remove as much small appliances as you can. Leave only a coffee maker and stage it with two mugs for that welcoming touch! The more counter space they see, the better! In the bathroom, clear out everything except for some towels and a hand soap!

   For the bedroom, a made bed and nightstands are all you need. Leave a lamp and maybe flowers or a candle for that cozy feel.

4. Keep It Clutter-Free – if you’re still living in the house while selling, it can get tricky. But the most important thing is that all personal decor should be removed, and packed or boxed already. So make sure to remove frames, photos, or personalized wall art/decor.

   If you have so much stuff, best to pack some of them up so the house doesn’t feel cramped. Allot a space in the basement, garage or attic for those boxes so they don’t take up space in the main living areas when you have people viewing the house. If you have stuff to donate, get to it. If you have stuff you want to sell, start listing.

   I have some tips on selling on Facebook Marketplace in this Instagram Reel video. Start packing up your seasonal clothing. And of course, keep your house clutter-free especially before you take photos for your listing. No one wants to see a mound of laundry or clutter on the floor.

   It may not be a big deal if the house looks new and well-maintained. But if the house is old, outdated and has some obvious signs of wear and tear, the clutter will add on to that and can scare buyers! Who knows what’s hiding behind boxes of clutter? We don’t wanna know!

5. Complete Any Unfinished Project – you want your house to look complete and finished!

   Most buyers don’t want projects! Not everyone has the time, money or DIY skills. And even if they are willing to do some work, most would prefer it to be updates that don’t need urgency – meaning something that they can live with until they’re ready to get it done. Say you ripped out your carpet but never had the chance to put in new floors.

   The plywood or subfloor is the only thing showing. That’s a turn off for buyers! They see that and immediately think that’s not move-in ready! At the very least, put in new carpet.

   That’s a cheaper route, but that’s better than not getting any interest! Maybe you removed your kitchen cabinet doors to do some DIY project that you never got around to doing. Best to just put them back and have some doors than nothing at all!

Some of our actual Listing Photos

Leaving you with some of the actual listing photos to give you an idea of how I staged our house while we were still living there. Wish we could have listed sooner or at least took listing photos before the leaves have fallen and it wasn’t raining non stop.

You’ll see that the outdoor pics are a little gloomy. But anyway, our house is not perfect. And we still had a lot of upgrades lined up for it. But like I said, staging helps so much!

Take a look!

This has been a very long post already and I can still go on and share more photos, but I don’t want to bore you or overwhelm you! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below or DM me on Instagram! Hope these tips help!

The post We Sold Our Pittsburgh Home: Tips on Selling appeared first on STYLEANTHROPY.