How to Prepare Your Home to Sell
Taking a little bit of time and possibly some money to get your Home ready for me to list it FOR SALE, can pay off in the long run. Your Home will not be the only one for sale, but if your follow these steps, it may help your Home stand out among the competition of homes in your own neighborhood/town to potential homebuyers.
The first step in getting your home "Market Ready" is to start deep-cleaning your entire home. Not looking forward to cleaning? or unable to do it on your own? Hire a cleaning company. Just be sure to verify the cleaning company and check references before letting them into your home.
When cleaning, the most critical areas of the home are the Kitchen and Bathrooms. Judgemental Buyers will make their own determinations on your housekeeping skills based mainly on these areas. Unlessyour carpet is new, consider having it steam-cleaned. Dirty carpets can make a bad impression as potential Homebuyers will only see $$$ thinking it may need to be replaced. Nowadays, there are many companies that offer carpet cleaning special under $100.
De-clutter your entire Home to make it feel more spacious and open. If thereis any furniture blockingwalkways and impeding access to any area of your home, consider removing it.Also remove as many personal items as possible. You want potential homebuyersto be able to picture their own family in this Home. Keep in mind that when potential homebuyers are viewing your home, they will be openingclosets, kitchen drawers & cabinets and bathroomcabinets, so just stuffing everything into a closet or cabinet is not the answer to de-cluttering. If closets are overflowing, potential buyers will feel that the home does not have enough storage space.
When cleaning and de-cluttering, do not forget the garage! Normally the catch-all place for everything you are trying to get out of the home, this is usually the one place the men, as potential buyers, are concerned with seeing. They want room for their tools, lawn mower, bikes, motorcycles and cars.(even though we all know what happens... we all have too much stuff and end up parking our cars in the driveway). Consider planning ahead and having a yard or garage sale to sell all of those things you have kept and you arentsure why... things you no longer need (and dont want to have to move with you to the next Home).
If you plan on painting the walls, stick to a neutral color like a light beige or gray(currently a popular color). It is probably best and easiest to just paint all of the rooms the same color. If the current wall colors are what other people might consider a little extreme, you might want to really consider painting, as some potential buyers may be turned off and unable to look past bright colors. The original colors were your personal preference, but now that you have decided to sell your home, you want to make your home appeal to the largest majority of homebuyers as possible.
The inside of your Home is absolutely the most important part of the home, but don't forget the outside of your home. Walk around the outside and clean up any toys, tools or other items laying in the yard. Make sure the grass is cut and the bushes and trees are trimmed on a regular basis while your Home is for sale. You may also want to pressure wash the driveway, sidewalks leading up to your home and fence if you have one. Remember this is the first thing people see and what shapes their first impression of your home.
Some potential Homebuyers may just drive by and decide they do not want to see the inside of your home. If they are looking at your Home listing online in the MLS, the picture of the front of your Home will either make potential buyers want to see the inside of your home or move on to the next home listing.
When preparing your home to sell, always try to view your home through the eyes of potential homebuyers as they will see things that you overlook every day.
Home sellers need to not allow emotional attachment to their home and personal features from clouding their judgement in the business and financial transaction of selling their home.
I know that it may seem like work getting your home ready to sell, but the extra effort (And a good Realtor) usually allows your home to sell faster and for a better price. Let your pride of Ownership show off beacuse everyone that sees your home will notice!
I would Love to work with you to get Your Home SOLD!
Tricia Jenkins, REALTOR
407-791-8679
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