Life always brings changes—sometimes in unexpected ways—and, occasionally, that entails getting your home ready to sell. Whether it’s an emergency or you’ve got time to spare, preparing your home for the selling process involves several steps. Therefore, take a moment to review these quick tips for selling your home.
•Find a real estate agent. Find a real estate agent. You can do all the research yourself, but a real estate agent will have contacts and resources you likely don’t have. These agents can assist you with the following tips, plus provide additional advice. They can help you prevent mistakes and give invaluable insight into the current housing market, so don’t be afraid to take advantage of their services!
• Up the curb appeal. Up the curb appeal. The first thing potential buyers see is the outside of your home. Put some effort into de-weeding the garden(s), mowing the lawn, controlling pests, and investing in landscaping projects or services. Give potential buyers a good first impression; it’ll bring them into your home with a positive outlook.
• Clean everything—and then clean some more! Clean everything—and then clean some more! Scrub the counters, sinks, floors, baseboards, windows: anything and everything. You want potential buyers to believe you take care of your home—because you do! Don’t let them catch you on an off day, so do your best to keep your home in tip-top shape during the selling process.
• Test for off-putting odors. Test for off-putting odors. Though thorough cleaning will reduce the chance of strange odors, sniff around the rooms of your house, anyway. Odd smells can alert you to a pest infestation or long-forgotten mess you should take care of.
• Spruce up the yards, including side yards. Spruce up the yards, including side yards. After you take care of the front yard to increase that curb appeal, ensure your backyard and side yards are equally cleaned. Put away toys and equipment, keep the grass cut, and arrange outdoor furniture in a pleasing manner.
• Perform touch ups on walls, baseboards, doors, door handles, etc. Perform touch ups on walls, baseboards, doors, door handles, etc. Even if some blemishes are merely cosmetic issues, you’ll help increase a potential buyer’s confidence in your home if you fix scrapes, holes from old nails, chipped baseboards, loose handles, and so forth, before potential buyers notice.
• Remove personal items and valuables from sight. Remove personal items and valuables from sight. This home may have belonged to the family for many decades—even generations—but the family’s character isn’t what a buyer looks for. In fact, personal items and valuables, like pictures on the walls, odds and ends, mementos, etc., can take a potential buyer out of imagining the space as his or her own.
• Add some green, especially plants, around the home. Add some green, especially plants, around the home. Plants make a home look livelier. Put up some pleasing plants around the various rooms and on the porch(es) to add some natural life to the home.
• Set up more lighting and replace lightbulbs. Set up more lighting and replace lightbulbs. Well-lit spaces make a home seem bigger and more inviting. Replace burnt out light bulbs and hook up extra lamps, especially in corners that don’t receive much natural light.
• Try staging the home to make it look more modern and inviting. Try staging the home to make it look more modern and inviting. Staging often involves purchasing updated, modern furniture and using neutral, non-personal decorations. Consider hiring a staging professional who can evaluate your home’s current state, then offer suggestions for improvement.
• Use methods to make rooms look bigger. Use methods to make rooms look bigger. Keep beds away from windows; use ceiling-to-floor curtains; add long rugs; and use clear shower curtains—these tips can make a small room look bigger than it actually is.
• Don’t ignore small details; clean, declutter, and fix seemingly insignificant specifics. Don’t ignore small details; clean, declutter, and fix seemingly insignificant specifics. A potential buyer could be snoopy and analyze everything about a home, even so far as opening your fridge or cabinets. Show buyers you care by tackling even the smallest details—as many as you can catch!
Once you have you’re done getting your home ready to sell, you’re ready for the next step: selling it. Need help selling your property in West Alabama? Call Bill Mackey at 307-690-6879 and visit us at www.billmackey.com! For more home buying and selling advice, follow the Bill Mackey Real Estate blog!
