Selling your home can be stressful, but the process begins well before the MLS.
If you’re thinking about getting your home on the market this spring, you’re going to want to read this! It can be overwhelming to think about everything you have to sort out but taking it one step at a time is key. Getting your home ready for the market can even be an enjoyable part of the process…as long as you’re prepared!
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Here are some tips to get your home ready for the market
Purge EVERYTHING
The first step in selling your home is to purge. Literally everything. The random wine glass your co-worker gave you for secret Santa? Toss it! The miss-matched Tupperware? Toss it!
Grandma’s chair? Toss it! Those jeans you thought you’d get back into? Definitely toss those! Purging the items you don’t need not only puts you in a great space mentally when packing for your next venture, but it also lightens the closets and cupboards when prospective buyers are touring your home. You might think it’s weird for a buyer to go through your cupboards or closets, but trust me…they do. Buyers want to know exactly what they can fit in the space and how the space can work for them!
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Visit Home Depot
No, they are not a sponsor, but Home Depot is more readily available than Lowes. There are so many little things you can do to your home before it goes on the market and a lot of them can be solved with a trip to the Home Depot. Buyers notice scratches in floors, chips in baseboards and scuffs on walls! By spending a couple hundred dollars you can easily fix your home so that buyers don’t notice any imperfections and use that to negotiate against your list price.
Form Over Function
While you may eat in-front of your TV and use your dining room as little Charlie’s play room, you should really return the rooms to their original form. Buyers like walking through a space and seeing that they can fit their dining table of 8, 4 solid bedroom options, and an adult-centric space in the living room where they can entertain guests and friends.
Purging will help you eliminate the things you don’t need, and you can always pack the things you do and store them (neatly) in the garage, the cold room or the shed for your next place!
Light And Bright
Lighting is key. We’ve heard photographers say that for years. Having all the light bulbs in your home be the same colour not only photographs well, but doesn’t have a buyer questioning why each room looks different. It’s the little touches that make the biggest difference.
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Get That Mr.Clean Out
A clean car always drives better, and a clean home always shows better! While you may clean your kitchen and floors daily, how often are you cleaning behind your furniture or dusting up where your crown moulding is? Buyers notice dirt. The one thing prospective buyers zoom in on is windows and the window screens and tracks. Spend some time scrubbing them out. Not only will your windows shine but your house will smell squeaky clean!
The Home Starts From The Street
90% of home sellers forget about curb appeal and the fact buyers start judging from the street. Some simple things to get the exterior of your home ready are to CUT YOUR GRASS! It’s a simple thing but does wonders for the front of your home. If your driveway is asphalt, spend the $250 and have your driveway sprayed and last but not least, PLANT SOME FLOWERS. Buyers want to feel invited when they pull up to your home. They want to feel excited. They want to feel at home!
Hire A Professional
Now that you’ve gotten your home ready, it’s time to call a Realtor. Since you’ve gone through the process of getting everything ready, don’t cheap out and hire a discount broker. Make sure the Realtor you’re hiring is 1) full time, 2) local and 3) takes over the remainder of the process. You’ve done the warm up. Your Realtor will drive it home!
