I Want to Sell My House Urgently: What to Do First

I Want to Sell My House Urgently: What to Do First

September 18, 2025 | Selling
Share This Post:

In a perfect world, there’s always plenty of time to prepare for a move. Selling and then buying a house is a big project. The more advanced notice you have, the less stressful the transition tends to be. However, life is unpredictable, and it’s not uncommon to need a quick move. A new job, a relocation, or a family dynamic can arise, which puts the entire timeline on overdrive. In this post, we’ll talk about what to if you find yourself saying: I want to sell my house urgently! Here’s our guide for what to do to get your house sold fast.

A comprehensive “to-do list” all in one place can help you stay organized for a quick sale. Start by downloading our free Seller’s Checklist.

I Need to Sell My House Fast: What Now?

When everything is happening all at once, it can be tempting to jump right into the process. This is essentially survival mode rather than planning mode. As counterintuitive as it may seem when you’re in a rush, the best first step is to take a moment and really think through what you want to achieve.

If you need to sell your house urgently, the quickest way to sell a house is typically as-is and at a lower price point than you may earn otherwise. Is that really the only option available to you? If you take this path, it might actually take longer to sell since many buyers will be searching for a house that is move-in ready.

Upon reflection, you may realize that you can still do all the steps, just faster, so you get better results from the sale. Alternatively, you may zero in on only the highest value projects to maximize your return with the limited time that you have.


A local real estate agent to help you strategize for a fast sale without sacrificing the results you need. The posts below can help you choose the right expert:


Align Your Expectations With the Market

It’s one thing to want or need to urgently sell a house. However, you must keep in mind that some markets are more cooperative than others. If buyer activity is slow or other economic factors arise, it can affect your timeline.

You and your real estate agent can do everything right, but realistic expectations are still essential when listing your home. If moving for family reasons or for a new career, you might explore other options in the meantime, such as renting out your property or selling from out of town. With the right support and expertise, you might be surprised at what becomes possible.


Are you facing other challenging circumstances when selling your home? The related reading below can help you get through it unfazed:


How to Sell a House Fast

Tips for how to sell your house fast include streamlining the presentation to appeal to potential buyers. Cleaning, painting, decluttering, and performing renovations and upgrades all take time. When you’re in a crunch, you’ll have some critical decisions to make over what is truly necessary to get your house on the market.

Extensive home improvements may be out unless they can be done quickly and have an excellent chance to improve your bottom line. Nevertheless, you can still do what you can to make a great first impression.

Start now by decluttering all unnecessary items. We realize this is easier said than done, as it’s often one of the most time-consuming steps. Your real estate agent can likely recommend a professional cleaning service to help. At the very least, store your items off-site so you can present an attractive and well-organized home.

  • Clean your house thoroughly from top to bottom. Buyers will appreciate the effort even if you do nothing else.
  • If you can, make a series of minor repairs to elevate the appearance of your home. You will be amazed at what you can do with a fresh coat of paint.
  • Work with a real estate team that offers complimentary staging services. If necessary, we can also help with the cleaning and decluttering, which means you’ll be ready for the market faster.

Do you want more tips for selling a house? Check out the related reading below:


Set a Compelling Price Point

Pricing is often known as one of the three Ps, as in Presentation, Pricing, and Promotion. It’s one of the most critical components at the best of times, and is even more so when you need to sell a house quickly.

Even if you want to sell your house urgently, this does not mean that you should undervalue your property. Not only would this result in a lower price than you deserve, but it can also have the opposite effect. Instead of attracting interested buyers, a price that’s too low can repel them because they might think there’s a problem. In the best-case scenario, a buyer agent might sense your motivation to sell, which gives them the upper hand in negotiating.

For your best chance at a fast sale and a fair price, start by getting an accurate evaluation of what your home is worth. Above all, remember that selling your house is a team effort, especially when the situation is urgent.

Trying to do it all on your own is a recipe for frustration whereas a team of experts can make the entire home selling process relatively stress free. When all of the pieces fall into place, we could potentially find a buyer very soon.

Do you need specialized guidance to help you through your home sale? Our Peterborough real estate agents are a full-service team that will support you completely from start to finish. Reach out to team@jeffandkatie.ca or call 705-243-9797 to learn more.

Let Us Guide Your Journey

Curious about your real estate options? Relocating to the Peterborough area? Our experts are ready to help.

Book a Meeting

Read More Posts

Become A Market Insider

Keep up with what’s happening with Peterborough real estate when you sign up for our information-packed newsletter.