Smooth selling 4 tips to prep your home for sale
Selling your home doesn't just mean hiring a realtor to stick a sign out front. Your real estate agent has many tools to help you succeed in the sale, but there are responsibilities you have as a seller to help ensure success. There are a lot of preparations you should make to ensure you get the best offer possible in the shortest time. Here are four tips to help you prepare your home for sale.
1 - Repair
Just because you’ve gotten used to the cracks in the walls and the rattles in the radiators doesn’t mean a buyer will too. You have become “home blind” to your house issues. Look to get an unbiased opinion from friends and family on the condition of your home. Have a realtor walk through and have them point out potential obstacles to buyers.
Buyers like to snoop around, so be sure to fix any sticky doors or drawers as well. Figure out the opportunity cost of updating parts of your home. Some updates can be costly and the new buyer could potentially tear it all out for their own preferences. Other updates can be done fairly cheaply and easily. Finally, don’t forget to address any issues with the exterior—fences, shingles, sidewalks, etc. After all, without curb appeal, some buyers may never get to see the inside.
2- Neutralize
You want buyers to see themselves in your home. If your living room has stained carpet, wood-paneled walls, and all your personal photographs, this will be much harder for them to do. Try replacing any bold color choices in your floors and walls with something more neutral—beiges, tans, and whites. Repainting and re-flooring will make everything look fresh and new, and help prospective buyers imagine all the possibilities.
Remove all your personal photographs and replace them with more neutral choices like outdoor landscape photographs. You might consider renting a storage unit for your valuables and extra stuff in your home. You want your home to be a blank canvas for buyers to dream in. And it will help make the house appear cleaner and more move-in ready for the buyer.
3- Stage
Once your house is clean and updated, it’s time to play dress up. Home stagers can add small details and décor touches that will bring out the possibilities in the various spaces in your home. Lamps, mirrors, throw rugs, pillows, and flowers can spruce up your living areas. Including decorative soaps and towels can elevate your bathrooms. And patio furniture can make your outdoor space more inviting. A stager can provide all these details, creating a cohesive and modern look.
Home staging can be particularly useful if your home is especially old or if the exterior looks dated. Staging isn’t for everyone, but it can make a big difference in the amount of time the house is on the market. Your real estate agent can help connect you with local home stagers.
4- Keep it tidy
The last tip is to make sure your house is kept clean! Showings can happen suddenly and you might not have much time to vacate the property. So, while your house is on the market keep it tidy.
And this includes your yard. Make sure your lawn is cut, the bushes are trimmed, and the leaves have been raked. Your yard is the first impression of the house, so keep it neat and presentable as well.
Good luck
Combining these four tips with the expertise of your real estate agent, you are ready to put your best foot forward in the home selling process. It will be smooth selling for you!
