There are a lot of steps to selling your home, and an abundance of resources telling you exactly how you should do it. The many tasks can be daunting to say the least, and you will drive yourself crazy if you try to follow every single step that is recommended.
If you have decided that it’s time to sell my home, then stick to these basics that every expert would recommend. Whether you decide to sell your home yourself, or work with a real estate agent, preparing your house for sale will be the exact same process.
Purge
It’s time to take a good hard look at where you can declutter. If time is a factor, focus on the areas of the house that will be toured with high traffic. This includes your living room, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, and family rooms/dens.
Instead of starting in your attic or basement, use those spaces to “hide” items that you can’t part with or that take up a lot of room or disrupt the flow of the main parts of the house. You will still need to keep some level of organization within those spaces however.
If you do have adequate time to sell your house, or know you will be waiting awhile before putting it up for sale, start the process early so you can maximize the purge effort.
Donate, sell, even re-gift things to friends and family in preparation for the sale. Keep in mind, the more you get rid of, the less you have to move into your new home. Don’t be too hasty and get rid of things that you will need, be sure to tag those items in advance.
Remove “You”
Your home may have some customizations that may not necessarily appeal to the masses. For example, a hot-pink accent wall in the kitchen. While it may definitely be a cool design, chances are you’ll want to eliminate this type of feature.
Remember not to take it personally, by removing your own aesthetic, you are creating a blank pallet for the person buying your home. It is important to help them see the bigger picture and how they can put their own personal touches on the home.
Not to be confused with purging, you should remove memorabilia, family albums and photos, in order to make the home less personal. It’s important for the potential buyer to picture themselves in the rooms, living their lives. You also don’t want them to feel pressured or have too much personal information about your family.
Small Improvements
There are inexpensive fixes you can do all around your home to improve it immensely. Chances are, these are all those little projects you told yourself you’d eventually get to. It is time to finally complete them!
One of the cheapest and quickest things you can do is paint. Definitely start with any walls or ceilings with any type of stains. To make smaller rooms feel bigger, consider painting the walls and ceilings white. It is a great way to create a clean look while providing light and the illusion of space at the same time.
Another way to lighten a room is to remove heavy and big furniture, and replace dark carpets with lighter ones (where possible).
Other small improvements could include fixing a leaky toilet or replacing an old bathroom faucet. Change all of the lightbulbs in your house to something energy efficient that gives off consistent and flattering light. Anything that poses a safety risk, like exposed wires, or a loose step on the stairwell, should also be addressed.
Clean
It should not come as a surprise that cleanliness has a huge influence on selling your home. Even if your home is older, or requires updating, most buyers won’t care if the house is sparking. If you don’t clean your home prior to sale, it appears you don’t care, so why should they? Give the house a good top to bottom clean. Yes, it is the most labor intensive part of selling your home, but it’s also the least expensive and doable step.
Curb Appeal
The first impression of your home is not something you can ever change. It is imperative to do everything you can (within reason) to tidy up your home’s curb appeal before selling.
Be sure to trim or pull out any weeds or tall grass. If you have a garden, be sure to tend to that area also, it can be a big selling point for your home to have an appealing and productive garden. Mow your grass and ask your neighbor to do the same.
It’s not possible to make your home perfect for selling, but following these basic steps will help get you started.
