Thinking of putting your home up for sale? There are a number of things you should take care of before selling your home. To be sure you're ready for the journey of selling, consider the following nine tips.
1. Improve Curb Appeal
Spend time and effort improving your home's curb appeal. Make it look nicer on the outside so anyone passing by is impressed by its look and upkeep. This is the first impression any potential buyer will have of your house, so keep the lawn and landscaping well maintained. Consider adding colorful flowers. Use a power washer and touch up paint that has peeled or faded. Make sure your mailbox and lighting are in good shape. Anything you can do to make your home look nicer from the outside is a great start in generating buyers' interest.
2. Repaint
Don't just touch up the exterior paint. Repaint each room in your home to make it feel newer. Choose neutral colors that make spaces feel cleaner and possibly even larger. Keeping the tones neutral will allow potential buyers to see the home as something of a blank canvas that they can project their own intentions onto.
3. Get an Inspection
Consider an inspection before you put your home on the market. This will help you identify the possible problem areas that you can have fixed up beforehand, so your home is as attractive and valuable as possible once you're ready to list. You'll also be able to plan repairs on your own timeline without the pressure of trying to sell at the same time. You may also be able to avoid giving good reasons for buyers to make you lower the price.
4. Take Care of Small Repairs
Even if you don't intend to repair everything, the smaller repairs you can make on your own, the better off you’re likely to be.
"Even if you’re not doing a full-on repainting project, pay special attention to scrubbing and then touching up baseboards, walls, and doors to make the house sparkle and look cared-for," says Cathie Ericson at Realtor.com.* "Selling almost any home can be tricky, but selling a home with lots of little problems and small repair needs can be downright difficult. When buyers walk into an open house, or go on a home tour, they want to fall in love with the house, not add a bunch of small repairs to their to-do list."
5. Declutter
Before listing your home, go through your home and declutter it as much as possible. Again, you want to give them as blank a canvas to picture their own use of the space as much as possible. If you have room in a garage, an attic, or a spare room, box up the things you don't need in the near term and store them. It may even be worth renting a storage unit. Decluttered rooms will look more appealing to potential buyers. You'll also have a head start on getting ready to move.
6. Deep Clean Your Home
Beyond decluttering, make sure your home is as clean as possible.
"First impressions mean a lot," says Marian White at Moving.com.** "So, don’t let foul smells, dirty floors or dusty surfaces make a bad one on a potential buyer. Before listing your home (and throughout the selling process), give your home a deep clean. This means cleaning toilets, wiping surfaces, mopping floors, cleaning rugs and scrubbing bathrooms. Consider calling in the professionals (think: Stanley Steamer and a housekeeper) to ensure that your place is in pristine condition."
7. Depersonalize
As you clean and declutter, try to depersonalize your home as much as possible. Don't just declutter the space throughout the room. Remove personally relevant items from the walls, such as photos, religious or political items, and decorations that are personal to you. Again, provide a neutral canvas. You don't have to leave the walls completely blank. A bit of tasteful and neutral artwork, for example, can go a long way.
8. Stage Your Home
Another step in getting your home ready for people to view is actually staging it. Once you've painted, decluttered, depersonalized, and cleaned thoroughly, you can set it up to look great for any prospective buyer. This may involve rearranging furniture to highlight space and flow of rooms. You might utilize mirrors to reflect light and create a sense of depth. Research ideas that have been utilized in successful sales. It may be worth consulting a professional, who can help you get a higher selling price by staging the home well.
9. Prepare Documents
Beyond getting the home itself ready to sell, you'll also want to prepare important documents ahead of time so you're not scrambling to find them when the need arises. Buyers or inspectors, for example, may have certain document requests, such as utility bills, property tax statements, appliance warranties, manuals for systems, such as the HVAC or security system. Any home-related document that you've kept should be compiled and ready to access upon request.
The home-selling process can be daunting and complicated if you're not well prepared. Follow the tips above, and you should be putting yourself in a position to have not only a successful sale, but a less stressful process.
* https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/home-selling-checklist-things-to-do-before-selling/
** https://www.moving.com/tips/how-to-get-your-house-ready-to-sell/