Thinking about putting your home on the market? Then here are some hints for you.
- The very first thing that potential buyers see is your front yard. If you do nothing else to prepare your home, get the front yard in shape. Keep the lawn mowed, leaves raked or sidewalks shoveled, depending upon the season. Make sure your trees and shrubs are neatly trimmed and flower gardens weed and leaf free. If it is spring, summer or autumn use colorful potted flowers to add interest and warmth. Make sure your front door is welcoming. Painting the door a pleasing, contrasting color to the house also adds interest and draws the eye to the house.
- The second most important thing is to clean. Clean it like you’ve never cleaned before! Scrub everything, especially the kitchen and bathrooms. While you are cleaning, you can start removing those items that really don’t add to the home’s appearance but do add to the feeling of clutter.
- Less is more when preparing your home for market. Remove personal collections, excess furniture, all those stacks of books you keep meaning to read, etc. You don’t want the rooms to feel cluttered; remember, you are selling space. Keep your décor simple. If you have theme-based rooms (such as bright orange kitchens with rooster wall paper and chickens everywhere, girly girl bright pink bedrooms, safari hunter dens; e.g., hunting motif walls with animal heads, bows, over-sized log furniture, etc.), neutralize them. Theme rooms are great for living but don’t work well for selling. Most potential home buyers cannot see past your décor to visualize themselves in the home.
- Take a fresh look at your home from a homebuyer perspective. Look at your walls, floors, counter tops, and appliances for condition and color. Are they out of date, in poor condition, or just too taste specific. If so, look at updating and/or replacing them. Today’s home buyer wants a turnkey home. If you have home repairs that haven’t been tended to or if your home looks worn it will be a turn off for potential buyers. That includes things liked cracked windowpanes, broken doorknobs, broken light switch plates, etc.
- If you are doing remodeling, keep it neutral. Don’t over personalize and don’t go with the current, new “hot trend”. You will drastically decrease your potential buyer pool. Classics like granite, hardwood, tile, and neutral carpets will keep your range of potential buyers open.
If you feel overwhelmed, just can’t decide where to start or would be more comfortable with a prioritized action item list give us a call.
We love helping home owners prepare for a quick and efficient sale so they can move to the next phase in their lives.