Preparation for Selling Your Home
Careful planning and using professional resources will help you sell your home.
Placing your house up on the market for sale can be stressful, time-consuming and complex, but keep in mind with the following tips that will assist you when you are selling your house.
The following steps teach you how to prep a house and turn it into a home that is marketable.
- Pricing of your House
Understand the worth of your house then shave off 15-20% of that price. By doing so will attract many buyers with plenty of bids and even during a tough market, you will receive multiple offers that are over the listing price. It definitely takes courage and most sellers prefer not to go with this risk but this is one of the best tactics to sell a home in today’s current market.
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Half-empty closets
Space and storage are always something that every buyer is looking for. It is best if you can take at least half of your belongings out of your closet and neatly organize the remaining items in there. Knowing how to be organized and tidy will give you an advantage. Remember, buyers will snoop so be sure to keep your closets and cabinets clean and tidy.
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Light it Up
Lighting is everything. Maximize the lighting your house which means taking down the drapes, cleaning the windows, changing the lampshades, increasing the wattage of your light bulbs, opening or pulling up the blinds, and even cutting bushes outside to let in some sunshine. Do anything possible to make your house bright and cheery and of course more sellable!
- Play the Agent Field
- Conceal the Critters
- Don’t Over-Upgrade
- Take the Home Out of Your House
- Kitchen Comes First
- Always Ready to Show
- First Impression
Make sure you have a broker who is completely informed. Someone who must constantly monitor the multiple listing service (MLS), someone who knows what properties are going on the market and someone who is familiar with your neighborhood. Find a broker who embraces technology and you are ready to go!
Don’t be deceived by having pets in the house when there are potential buyers. Not everybody is a dog or cat lover. Buyers don’t want to walk into your house to see a bowl full of dog food, or the smell of cat litter box or have balls of fur stuck to their clothes. This will give the buyers the impression that your house is not clean. If you plan to have an open house, send your pets to a hotel for the day.
Small quick fixes before selling your house will always pay off. However, makeovers will not do you good. You probably will not get your money back if you do a huge improvement project before you put your house on the market. Instead, do updates that will pay off in the end. For example, put a fresh new coat of paint on the walls. Clean the curtains or buy some inexpensive but elegant looking ones. Replace door handles, cabinet hardware, fix leaky faucets and clean the grout.
An important thing to do when selling your house is to depersonalize it. The more personal your house is, the less potential the buyers can imagine themselves living there. Try to throw about your things or place them in storage. This includes family photos, memorabilia and personal collections. It is always smart to consider hiring a home stager. Staging always makes a huge difference even if it looks simple. Rearranging a few things like your furniture to best showcase the floor plan and maximize the use of space will be everything to potential buyers.
You’re not actually selling your house, you’re selling your kitchen- that’s how important it is. The benefits of remodeling your kitchen are endless and you would probably get 85% of your money back. You may need to invest and put in a few thousand dollars to replace countertops where a buyer may knock $10,000 off the asking price if your kitchen looks dated. The fastest, most inexpensive kitchen updates include painting and new cabinet hardware. If you have a little money to spend, buy one fancy stainless steel appliance. But why only one? Because when people see one high-end appliance they think all the rest are expensive too and it updates the entire kitchen.
Your house should always be ready to show at all times because you never know when your buyer will walk through the door. You should be available whenever they want to come see the place and it has to be in good shape. Don’t leave dishes in the sink and keep the dishwasher cleaned out, bathroom sparkling and floor glistening. It is inconvenient but this will get your house sold.
Last but not least, no matter how good the interior of your home looks, buyers have already judged your home before they walk through the door. You never have a second chance to make a first impression. It is important to make people feel warm, welcome and safe as they approach the house. Spice up your home’s exterior with inexpensive shrubs and brightly colored flowers. And remember when you’re selling, make it welcoming by putting freshly cut flowers or even some cookies.
