What Do I Need To Do To Sell My House
Ready to sell your Pittsburgh home for top dollar? Let’s make it happen!
But “What do I need to do to sell my house in Pittsburgh“?
Here are some tips on how to get your home ready to sell if you’re looking for top dollar that the market will bear:
Note: If you’re aiming to get full retail value for your home, follow the steps below. But if you’d rather skip the time, effort, or cost involved, you can still sell your Pittsburgh house quickly—for a fair price—in a win-win deal that saves you both time and hassle.
1) Clean, clean and clean.
Even empty homes collect dust—so stay on top of the cleaning! Buyers expect spotless, and anything less can turn them off fast. If cleaning isn’t your thing, hire a pro who can keep it sparkling and showroom-ready until it sells.
Not exactly neat and tidy? It might be worth staying elsewhere during showings. Heck, maybe your cleanest friend will swap places for a bit (pizza bribes work wonders). A fresh, clean, well-maintained home helps buyers feel at ease—and that’s what sells. Nothing kills a sale faster than a space that feels dirty, cluttered, or neglected.
2) Cultivate a cohesive, neutral style.
You don’t have to stick with bland off-white walls. In fact, the right subtle colors can completely transform how buyers perceive a space. A soft yellow can brighten up a dark kitchen, while deep blues or greens can make a sunlit bedroom feel calm, cozy, and restful. Just be careful—darker colors can also make rooms feel smaller than they actually are.
It’s worth investing in high-quality paint and professional help. Crisp lines and the perfect shades subconsciously signal quality—people will often pay more for a home that simply “feels” well-built, even if it’s just the paint doing the heavy lifting.
Optical illusions in home design are very real—psychologists even study this stuff! It’s fascinating how certain design choices can make a space appear larger or more inviting. Seriously, look it up! And remember, balance is key. Don’t just focus on upgrading the interior while ignoring the exterior—buyers notice everything. First impressions matter, and the exterior of your home is the very first thing they’ll see.
3) Fix or replace anything that’s broken.
Yeah, it might feel like a waste of money to spend an extra couple hundred bucks on a dishwasher that someone else might just pull out and replace anyway. But the truth is, many buyers will schedule a home inspection and use anything they find as leverage to negotiate with you. As the seller, you’ll often end up paying much more if you try to hide neglected maintenance or overlook basic repairs—and of course, no one wants to risk being guilty of fraud, even unintentionally.
Make sure you stay in full compliance with all local, state, and federal real estate laws.
It’s often a smart investment to hire a home inspector before putting your property on the market. If you ask ahead of time, they may offer a discounted rate to return after you’ve made minor repairs and provide an updated report. Prospective buyers love seeing a clean, third-party inspection—it gives them peace of mind, builds trust, and often helps your home sell faster and for more money.
4) Make only necessary improvements.
The biggest mistake people make when getting their house ready to sell is over-improving it unnecessarily. They often spend too much money on customized frills and personal upgrades that can’t be recovered in the final sale price.
Paint is about the only safe investment – it’s easy to overspend on almost everything else, and it’s easy to get ripped off by unscrupulous contractors.
It’s important to know what improvements will produce a solid return on investment to avoid wasting money and ensure you’re making smart financial decisions for the future.
5) Get expert opinions.
It’s a smart move to connect with a few experienced real estate brokers who can help you accurately price your property for the market. Be upfront about your intentions—if you plan to sell the home yourself, say so. There’s no need to burn bridges by misleading anyone. The best brokers are worth their weight in gold; while they may take a commission, they often help sellers earn significantly more than they would on their own. Building good relationships can open doors and provide valuable insights, even if you go the for-sale-by-owner route.
6) Have a really great marketing plan.
Great brokers truly earn their commission by handling the heavy lifting—marketing your home effectively and spreading advertising costs across multiple listings. Doing it all yourself can be both expensive and incredibly time-consuming, especially if you’re starting from scratch without experience. If you’re asking yourself, ‘What do I need to do to sell my house?’ the answer may involve a lot more than just creating a listing. But if you’re already a marketing pro or have strong sales instincts, you’re definitely ahead of the game and may find success going solo. Just be prepared for the work involved—it’s more than just putting up a listing.
If you’re not, spend the time listening to what the best brokers do to sell houses in Pittsburgh – just to educate yourself on the options.
7) Get a cash offer.
We buy houses all over the Pittsburgh area, and we do all the work so you don’t have to deal with any of this stuff.
Want to Sell Your Pittsburgh, PA House Fast—Without Doing All the Work Yourself?
While everyone wants to get the most they can from selling their house, not everyone is willing or able to do the things required to sell it at full market value to an end buyer. If you’re asking yourself, ‘What do I need to do to sell my house?’ you might be realizing that the process can involve costly repairs, extensive staging, and a lengthy listing period—things that not everyone has the time, budget, or energy to commit to.
Doing the repairs, cleaning the property up, upgrading the property, marketing the property… those all take money and can take lots of time.
If you have the funds to do these improvements… AND you can wait the 3-9 months it typically takes to sell houses in today’s market… then you’ll likely be better off financially making those upgrades before listing your property on the MLS (the primary property listing service used by real estate agents).
If you don’t have the funds to do these things... AND can’t wait months to sell your house… then you may be a perfect fit for our local Pittsburgh house buying service. You’ll submit basic info about your house over here on our website, we’ll evaluate your house, we’ll make you a fair all-cash offer on your house, and you can decide if it’s a fit for you.
Need to Sell Fast? We Can Close in As Little As 7 Days!
Why deal with the time, cost, and hassle of fixing up your home? Take a moment to compare what we’ll pay you for your property as-is versus the effort of doing it yourself.
If you’re asking yourself, “What do I need to do to sell my house in Pittsburgh?”—now you have two great options:
- Fix it up, follow all the steps, and sell at top dollar.
- Let us handle everything: We’ll make you a fair cash offer for your house in its current condition—no repairs, no stress, just a fast and easy sale.
If you’re ready to sell your property near Pittsburgh, we’re here to help.
We buy homes just like yours from homeowners who need to sell quickly.
