Tips To Help Get Your Home Ready To Sell
Here are a few simple things you can do:
We all know we are in a Seller’s market right now, but that does not mean that it would not benefit you (and your wallet) to get your home prepared properly for the market when you are ready to sell. Of course, every home is different, but there are some general tips that work for every homeowner.
Make sure your home is safe:
Make sure all of your electrical outlets and plugs work. These always come up in an inspection. It is better to save yourself the headache down the road.
Tighten any loose railings inside and outside of the home.
Make sure windows aren’t painted shut. You would be surprised how often this pops up.
Make sure your home is clean:
Don’t forget to clean dust in places you don’t normally reach. Look up in the corners of the ceiling, door frames, and so on.
Conceal your pets. Buyers do not want to see an open bowl of dog food or smell a kitty box. They don’t want to walk through the home and have tufts of hairs sticking to their clothes. This will give the impression that your home is not clean. Make a plan for the pets so they are affected as little as possible by your home sale.
Check the caulk around the base of your toilet, bathtub and anywhere else. Caulk tends to break down over time. If you can not easily clean it, sometimes it is easier to scrape it off and recaulk. Then you will have a nice, clean, and new outline.
Clean your windows and screens. Not only do dirty windows filter light, but it just does not look good. The more expensive homes typically have clean windows.
Clean all of your overhead lights and porch lights, including removing the shades and covers to clean. Often people forget to look up when cleaning.
Don’t forget to clean your oven.
Set the stage:
Depersonalize your home. This is one of the most important things to do. The more personal items in your home, the less potential buyers can imagine themselves living there.
Arrange your furniture to best showcase your floor plan and maximize the use of space. If you are not sure how to do this, consider hiring a home stager.
Try to eliminate about a third of your stuff - in your closets, cabinets, storage, etc. You want buyers to see that you are not using all of your storage because you have plenty.
Touch up any chipped paint. Better yet, paint the walls a neutral color. Buyers like having a neutral color palette to work with. It helps them to envision their life in your home.
Your first impression is the most important. The first photo buyers often see of your home is your front exterior shot. This one photo is what determines if they will scroll to the second photo. Additionally, once they see your home in person, they already have formed an opinion of what to expect from your home based on the exterior. You want them to feel warm and welcome when walking to your front door. You can easily spruce up your curb appeal by adding some inexpensive shrubs or greenery along the walk. You typically can count on about 100% return on your curb appeal investment.