Are you ready to sell your home? Are you overwhelmed by trying to figure out what to do?
From cleaning to repainting, here are 8 things we recommend you do before you put your home for sale.
1. Find a listing agent : We recommend you invest in a professional, who understands the market and sells homes for a living. When interviewing a listing agent, be sure to ask about their experience in your neighborhood, their expertise in buying or selling homes, portfolio of homes they have sold recently, connection to potential buyers and social media expertise.
2. Curb Appeal: Make sure potential buyers' first impression of your home is a good one. Inspire them to stop by the open house or schedule a tour—so they can see more. Make the front porch welcoming . Invest in a new doormat and take the time to scrub down your front door. Better yet, repaint it and add some new house numbers and a new porch light. Don’t forget your side yard.
3. Clean, clean, clean: First impressions means a lot. So don’t let foul smells, dirty floors or dusty surfaces make a bad impression on a potential buyer. Before listing your home (and throughout the selling process), give your home a deep clean.
You want your property to look spotless. Deep clean carpets so they look and smell good. If the carpet is stained, consider replacing it. Have your windows professionally washed. Even on gray days, clean windows will let in more light and make your rooms sparkle.
4. Light Bulbs: When showing your house to potential buyers, all light fixtures and lamps will need to be turned on. For this reason, it’s important that all lights in your home have working light bulbs. Change light bulbs throughout your home to make it brighter. Replace CFL bulbs with warmer incandescent bulbs.
5. Paint the walls : Now’s the time to re-paint your home. Stick to whites, light grays, light beiges. These shades will make your home appear bigger, brighter and more welcoming. Adding a fresh coat of paint to your home will also help cover the wall’s imperfections and convey a blank slate to potential buyers. 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.
6. Do the repairs : Repairing and updating your home both inside and outside, is a truly easy way to drive up your home value and present a place that someone will want to purchase. Make sure anything and everything that needs to be fixed (locks, hardware, leaky faucets, cracks in the walls, broken appliances, squeaky doors, etc.) has been taken care of before listing a home.
7. Tidy up the garage : Install overhead or wall shelves to store bikes and sporting equipment. Create a workshop area in one corner — show buyers it’s more than just a place to park cars
8.Staging : Nothing invigorates a house like some new furnishings or perfectly chosen accessories. Home stagers look for the selling features of your home and highlight them. Stagers know the real estate market, and what sells, so it's important to take their advice. Their job is to help drum up interest from potential buyers, which is always good news to the seller.
With a home that is fixed up and move-in ready, you will probably see more interest, and may even see multiple offers. Good Luck!