Summer has come and you’ve been told this is the best time to sell your house.
Where do you start? You work at home so there is also a home office to move and it can all seem so overwhelming, but if you break your preparation into small steps, it will be much easier to do.
Here are some tips to help you out and ease the process.
Price it Right
If you have the courage to do this, find out what your home is worth and then reduce it by 15 to 20 percent.
You will receive multiple bids even when the market is bad and they may even bid up the price over what it is worth!
Half Empty Closets
Take half of your things out of the closet and then organize what is left in there. Everyone is looking for as much storage as possible. Make sure to keep the closets and cabinets clean and tidy.
Depersonalize
When people come to see your home, they want to be able to picture themselves and their things in it. They don’t want to see it as belonging to you. They want to see it as belonging to them. Get rid of family photos and keep only a very few paintings.
Get rid of personal items such as bold artwork and personal knick-knacks. If your artistic preference was to have each room painted a different color it is wise to repaint the house a neutral color.
Make sure that any scruff marks are touched up. Especially on baseboards, walls and doors to make the house sparkle and clean looking.
People want to be able to picture their furniture in the house and if the paint is neutral, such as beige or white, no matter what their furniture, it will aesthetically fit into the house.
If you have a new home to move into and it is available, consider moving some of your furniture into it before you show your house.
If not, consider renting a storage unit to hold some of your furniture until you are able to move it into your new home.
Leave a few pieces of furniture in each room. A bed and dresser for each bedroom, a kitchen table and chairs, a dining room and chairs, a couch for the den, and a couch for the living room will suffice.
It will give people an idea of how the house will look with furniture in it, without crowding the home.
Things you must do to get your home in top shape include:
- Get rid of clutter. Get rid of old magazines and newspapers. Clean out the garage.
- Get rid of smells. Make sure your carpets and drapes are cleaned to eliminate smoke, pet smells, and cooking odors.
- Make rooms seem brighter by putting higher wattage bulbs in the light sockets. Wash your windows and screens to let more light in. Replace any burnt out bulbs.
- Cut the grass, trim the bushes, rake the leaves, edge the walks, and cut the grass.
- Clean your gutters.
- Repair doors, cracked caulking, dripping faucet, torn screens, or other minor repairs.
- Polish your doorknobs and door numbers.
- Patch holes in your driveway.
- Fix all broken appliances and HVAC systems.
- Repair the roof.
- Replace broken window glass.
Cleaning and Staging Your House
It is of utmost importance that your house be cleaned thoroughly. It may have to be cleaned several times, according to how long your house is on the market.
Most buyers start their search on the internet, consider getting your home staged by a professional. You want the photos of your house to look inviting online.
Home stagers may be able to use some of the furniture that you already have, or they may recommend that you buy or rent some items.
They will probably want to reorganize items in your home so that your home looks better to the eye.
The point is to enable prospective buyers to be able to imagine living in your home. Home sellers spend an average of $1,800 to stage a home.
Be sure to shop around in order to find a stager whose price you can afford.
Here you can find tips to prepare your house for sale.
With these preparations and improvements, you can look forward to selling your home and being free to live in and enjoy your next one!
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