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What to focus on when preparing your home for sale
In order to maximize buyer interest, you want to do what you can to make your house look its best. Here is a list of things to focus on.
1. Curb appeal
If your house looks bad from the outside, buyers will not be motivated to see what is inside.
Keeping the yard properly maintained by cutting the grass, tending to the garden and keeping the walkway clean will go a long way in helping you sell your house. If there is anything in need of repair that can be tackled, then consider doing it. Buyers love to look for any reason to not buy your house. If you can fix the problem before showings start, all the better.
2. De-clutter
When your house is full of furniture and other household items, it can often make your house look smaller than it is. Consider moving extra furniture and items out of the house while it is being shown. You can rent a storage bin to temporarily place these items in. The cost of a rental can save you a lot of time and money when it comes to selling. You might also take this time to sell or junk items in your house that you no longer need. Reducing and simplifying your “stuff” makes a lot of sense and also reduces how much you will need to move once your place sells.
3. De-personalize
Nobody wants to come into a house and see pictures of the family that lives there. They want to imagine themselves in the house. They don’t want to be reminded that somebody else has already and is living there now. Buying a house is an emotional journey and picturing themselves living there is an important part of buying a house.
4. Remove all signs of pets
Pets are great. They are cute and cuddly. They also shed, drop dander, chew baseboards, have a strong smell and occasionally have accidents in the house. Some buyers dislike pets so much that they won’t view a house that they know has pets. Put the dog toys away and move the cat litter somewhere that is well out of the way. Clean up the yard of any debris.
5. Paint and touch-ups
This is one of the cheapest and most effective tools at your disposal to help you sell your house. Freshening up the paint in the house makes it feel new again. Keep paint colors neutral and simple. Drastic colors or murals/graffiti will turn many customers away.
6. Staging
If you have the budget, consider hiring a professional stager to help you with organizing your home’s furniture and decorations. They have a great eye and can tell you what needs to go and what can stay and how best to layout your stuff.
7. Clean, clean & clean
A dirty house will never sell quickly and likely not for the price you want. Strange smells, dirty floors and a messy kitchen will have buyers running away. Get a professional cleaning done and then keep the place clean until it is sold.
