Brought to you by Hover Girl Properties
Preparing to sell your home doesn’t have to be stressful. If you give yourself ample time to make your home show-ready, by the time the house hits the MLS, you can be confident that your home will appeal to many.
Here are six steps to consider in the six months leading up to selling your home.
- Curb Appeal Matters. It’s no secret that the first thing a buyer is going to see when they drive up to your home is the exterior. But even before that, they’re going to see the home in an advertisement. So think like that buyer. Maybe it’s time to have the exterior and driveway pressure washed. Replace those dead plants with something more low maintenance. Maintain the lawn. Paint the front door and buy a new welcome mat. The details matter!
- Inexpensive Updates. Most people don’t have deep pockets before selling a home. The good news is there are several ways to make your bathroom or kitchen look more updated without forking out $10,000 for a renovation. Replace bathroom lighting. Change out decorator knobs on cabinets. Is your faucet outdated and covered in hard water stains? Replace it!
- Neutral Paint. Any real estate expert will tell you that neutral paint throughout the home is important–and it’s true! You may love that olive green accent wall or bold red kitchen, but it’s not going to appeal to most. Take some time to paint rooms one at a time with a neutral tan or gray (we like Thunder by Benjamin Moore: AF-684).
- Make sure all doors function properly. It’s not a bad idea to go around and tighten all door handles, so they feel secure when buyers are touring the home (especially the front door!). If you have any squeaky doors, apply some WD-40 to the hinges until the problem is fixed. You may not notice that loose, squeaky door anymore, but a prospective buyer will.
- Less Furniture Means More Imagination. Too much stuff in a home is a major deterrent to most buyers. Minimal amounts of furniture make rooms look larger and give the buyer room to picture their stuff against the walls. Host a garage sale and get rid of the items you don’t need anymore. Or, put some stuff in a storage unit until moving time.
- No Clutter, No Problem. De-cluttering can be difficult, especially if you’ve grown accustomed to how it looks. Try to give away one thing every day for two weeks. Or, fill a trash bag with stuff that you could drop off at Goodwill. Less clutter, similar to less furniture, allows the buyer to imagine their stuff in the home. So, remove your magnet collection from the fridge and clear off your kitchen counters. It will work wonders!
Click here to download this printable to use when getting your home ready to sell!
