Selling a house is a lot of work! Before you start the process of selling your home, it is important to know what steps to take. Trying to sell your home without knowing specifics of what to do is like trying to solve a puzzle blindfolded.
Although you may anticipate selling your home to be complex, you may not realize how many details are involved in getting your home ready to sell. It can be very tiring if you don’t know where to start or what to do.
Below is a quick table of contents of what this blog will be covering, so you get the general idea. We have no doubt that this checklist will help you get your home ready to sell!
.png)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clear Away Personal Decorations
When you are selling your home, there will be many people that consider buying it. These different buyers will all have different styles and preferences. That being said, it is best for your home to have a neutral feel when you are preparing to sell it. This allows potential buyers to get attached to your house, when they can picture their belongings in it.
If the house is full of the seller's family photos, personalized art and decorations, the buyer has a harder time attaching to the home. It is best to clear out all proof of your hobbies, favorite movies, sports teams, and personal pictures.
Try to make it seem like the home is vacant, waiting for a home buyer to move in. This way, your buyer will become attached to the home and become more likely to make an offer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employ a Home Inspector
After you have a sales contract underway, the buyer is going to send a home inspector to your house. Instead of waiting for your buyer to hire a home inspector, do it before them! A home inspection costs only a few hundred dollars, which is not much in the big picture of home selling.
Before you put your home up for sale, take care of any repairs that need to be done. If you don’t, the buyers will find the repairs that need to be done and let you know what they are.
Home inspections are a main cause of offers going down the drain. You do not want to risk your deal falling through because of a home inspection gone bad. A great way to avoid this is to simply hire a home inspector before your buyer. This lets them know you care, and in turn they are more likely to go through with their offer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clean Everything, and Clean Thoroughly
There are many different perspectives on what the word “clean” actually means. You have no way of knowing if your buyer will be a clean and pristine person or someone who doesn’t care if something is sparkling clean or not.
The best way to avoid a problem due to a dirty house is to make sure you thoroughly clean your home before selling it. If you are able to, hire a cleaning crew to take a day or two deep cleaning your home and eliminating anything even slightly dirty.
Home buyers expect the house they are buying to be very clean. When a home is clean, it gives the sense that the house has been well taken care of. This then allows the buyers to attach to the home and have a very good impression of it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remove Proof of Children and Pets
If you want to sell your home in an efficient amount of time and for top dollar, you should try to appeal to all buyers. Not all of your buyers will have kids and/or pets. This means you will want to clear out all evidence of pets and kids. Even if your house is perfect in every other aspect, animal smells and toys everywhere could turn your potential home buyers away.
Sometimes buyers won’t even complete a walk through if they sense that pets live in the home. This can be from smelling or seeing an animal, or even seeing a litter box or dog bed in the property photos.
If you are unsure whether or not your home has evidence of your pets, ask your real estate agent to give you a second opinion!
It is important to make your home appeal to all buyers, even if they are not a fan of pets. Also consider the fact that potential home buyers could have an animal allergy, in which situation you would need to make sure you prepare your home to their needs.
Lastly, examine your home from the view of someone who does not have kids. You may find that it is obvious there has been a lot of child’s play in the house, ie. marks on the walls, messy rooms and closets… If it is evident from a buyer’s standpoint that the home has a lot of wear and tear from children, it may be unappealing to them. It will help your home to sell quicker if you clear away evidence of your kids and pets.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Old Fixtures
Replacing outdated fixtures is an easy way to improve the presentation of your home. If you have faucets, light fixtures, or door handles that look old and outdated, it is time to update them. If you don’t upgrade them, your buyers may view your home as being old and having a lot of work to be done.
This topic is a fairly easy one and has a quick fix. If you have fixtures that need replacing, take a trip to a home improvement store and purchase some new installations. You may not be anticipating how much of an enhancement a few new door handles and light switch covers can add.
If you are unsure where to start with upgrading, walk through your house and write down any outdated fixtures. Replace as many as you can before you sell your home, and then include the upgrades in the description of your listing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clean or Replace Carpet
A big question Realtors receive when helping sellers is whether or not to replace the carpet in their home. Out of all the features in your home, carpet shows the most damage. If your carpets have been recently replaced and are unstained, you might be able to hire a professional cleaning company and avoid replacing them. However, if the carpets still show wear and tear, you will need to get new carpet.
You will hear from many Realtors that dirty, old carpets make a home difficult to sell. Clean, updated carpets provide opportunity for your home to sell at top dollar. It may surprise you how much of an impact new, clean carpets have on the sale of your home.
If you have hardwood floors in an area of your home that gets a lot of foot traffic, you may consider replacing those to increase the value of your home. Contact your Realtor for advice on what flooring should be cleaned or replaced before selling your house.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Touch Up or Redo Paint
If you haven’t had your house painted inside in over a year, you will need to do some touching up before selling your home. You should touch up places on your walls that have nail marks, scratches, or handprints.
Taking some time to touch up your already painted walls is fairly easy and helps make your home look new and appealing. If you don’t have matching paint for your walls, go to a paint store and color match. Then you will be able to touch up your walls with the same paint color as they are already painted.
If you have vibrant colored painting in your home, you should paint over it with a more neutral color. People have many different preferences on what colors they like and want in their home. The best way to appeal to all possible home buyers is to stick to neutral colors. Buyers are less likely to object to a house with neutral colors than they are to a house with very strong color choices of paint, such as bright yellow walls.
You may also consider upgrading outside painting on your house. If you feel like your fence, siding, or other features outside your home need some touching up, go for it! Touching up the paint on your house, in and outside, can only help the sale of your home!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rent a Storage Unit
We as people compile a lot of stuff in our homes over time. You may have full closets and a packed garage. Most people do! However, when selling your home you may be competing with other homes that are completely empty, or staged for selling. If your home looks stuffed and other houses on the market have vacancy, buyers may place an offer on the other homes simply from the appearance of space. More vacant looking homes appear to be more spacious to the eye of the buyer, thus more attractive.
An efficient way to avoid losing an offer due to your stuff is to rent a storage unit. This way, you will be able to declutter your home and create a clean and clear environment which your buyers will be all for!
After you rent a storage unit, fill it with everything you can part with for a few weeks. If you think you can live without it for a while, put it in the storage unit!
By renting a storage unit for selling, you accomplish multiple things. You get a head start on moving out of your home, along with creating a move-in-ready home that buyers will adore!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Freshen Up Landscaping
Landscaping is typically the best valued improvement you can make on your home before selling it. The outside of your house is the first impression your potential buyers get of your home. First impressions are important, and you want to make sure your home’s first impressions are great!
A quick way to update your landscaping is by adding fresh mulch over the top of all your landscaped places. This is a quick, cheap, and easy way to freshen up your landscaping.
If you want to guarantee that your home makes a great first impression, you may want to plant some vibrant flowers! You can also trim plants and bushes that need a little touching up, along with cleaning your outdoor areas. Spending some time on your home’s landscaping is a great way to assure that your buyer has a good first impression, which will lead them to consider putting an offer on your home.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get Advice From an Experienced Realtor
Each and every home has unique characteristics and different things to be addressed when preparing to sell. Buyer’s agents with experience look at many different homes every week. When a real estate agent walks through your home, they are able to pinpoint objections that buyers may have, and provide solutions for them. Having an experienced real estate agent is invaluable when you are getting ready to sell your home.
Realtors are able to identify what buyers are looking for because they talk to buyers every day. Experienced Realtors will be able to help you prepare for selling your home, and tell you what suggestions you are likely to receive from possible buyers. Knowledge from your real estate agent will prove to be very valuable and helpful in order to sell your home quickly and at top dollar. Make sure to contact your real estate agent for help on what steps you should take in order to list your home and receive offers.
If you are ready to begin the home selling process, please reach out to us! Our team has over 16 years of experience in real estate and we would love to help you sell your home. We love serving our clients and helping them sell their home quickly, efficiently, and at its highest value!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, what do you think? Are you ready to begin preparing to sell your house? We are here for you! If you have ANY questions or concerns related to the sale of your house, give us a call or send a text over! We can't wait to hear from you and walk you through the home selling process.
If you follow these steps above, your home will be beautiful and in great shape to sell! Preparing your house by using the steps above will help your house beat out others on the market. Buyers LOVE when a home is clean, upgraded, and freshened up. It may be some hard work you have to do in order to get your house in ship-shape, but it will be well worth it when you get that offer! We are here to help you sell your home efficiently and for top dollar. Check your home's worth here!
Leave A Comment