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Preparing To Sell Your Home?
"Sale Ready" In-depth Guide
Putting a "For Sale" sign on your front lawn or uploading a few random photos of your home isn't enough to sell a house, especially if you want to get the most money for it. (And let's face it, who doesn't?)
So, before you put your house on the market, look over this list of things you need to do. Some of these tips are surprisingly easy, while others might take a little more work. But they will pay off once buyers start oohing and ahhing over your place and hopefully make a great offer.
After you look over this list make sure to contact Jason so that he and his team of real estate experts can come by and do a pre-listing inspection of your home and give you added advice to make it “sale ready.”
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1. Contact Team GGLUXRE
You think you can sell your house on your own and keep the money you would have paid a real estate agent?
Even in a hot market, it can be tempting, but you should resist the urge. As "for sale by owner" deals almost always go wrong, costing you both money and time. That's why finding a good real estate agent is one of the most important things you can do before selling your house.
Also, don't just hire the real estate agent who sent you a flyer most recently or the one your uncle's friend's co-cousin worker's used. Do your research. Find a real estate agent who knows about your market by doing some research, and then talk to them to make sure they’re a good fit.
Your real estate agent should be someone you feel comfortable working with and who you trust to sell your house for the most money. Talk to more than one real estate agent before choosing one.
2. Think About Your Curb Appeal
Yes, people do judge a book by its cover, for better or worse. You want potential buyers to have a good first impression of your home and want them to come to the open house or set up a tour so they can see more.
By making a few simple changes, like planting colorful flowers and repainting your front door, you can make the outside of your house more inviting.
If you don't know how to make your home look better from the outside, ask my team how other people in your area have improved the outside of their homes before selling them.
3. Clean-Up Living Spaces
Less is definitely more, do a clean sweep of the counters, windowsills, tables, and any other areas that people can see. Then clean behind closed doors, such as closets, drawers, and cupboards since buyers can look at almost anything.
If there is too much stuff in the house, buyers might worry that they won't have enough room for their own things. They won't agree to pay a mortgage if they have to rent a storage space as well.
Take your extra things and give them away or pack them up to store them somewhere else. Getting rid of clutter will not only make your house look better to potential buyers, but it will also help you when you accept an offer and have to move. If some of your things are already packed, it will be easier to move out.
4. Make Your Space Less About You
Next on your list of things to do when selling a house? We believe that sellers should get rid of any clutter so that buyers can picture themselves and their families living in the house.
Sellers should get rid of personal items like family photos, bold artwork, and furniture that might make the home less appealing to the general public. The goal is to make the house look like a blank slate on which buyers can see themselves living there and loving it.
5. Paint the Walls in Neutral Colors Again
Sure you might like that orange accent wall, but if it's your potential buyer's least favorite color, it could be a major turnoff.
You're pretty safe with neutral colors because it's rare for someone to dislike them. Another benefit of a light color is that it lets [buyers] imagine what the walls would look like with the color of their choice.
The seller's job is to make it easy for buyers to see themselves living in the house. If they don't feel like they're at home, theymay look at other places to live.
6. Repair Any Scratches
Even if you're not repainting the whole house, pay extra attention to scrubbing and touching up the baseboards, walls, and doors to make the house look clean and well-kept.
Selling almost any home can be hard, but it can be especially hard to sell a home with a lot of small problems and small repairs that need to be done. When buyers go to an open house or a home tour, they want to fall in love with the house, not come up with a long list of small repairs to do.
Before you put your house on the market, fix it up so that it looks nice and will sell quickly. If your house is fixed up and ready to move into, we should be able to get you more interest and even get multiple offers to bid your price up.
7. Tighten Any Loose Handles
It’s a small thing, but you'd be surprised at how much a loose handle or a missing lightbulb can bother a buyer. It can make them stop and wonder, 'What else is broken here?'"
Putting in an offer and then agreeing to a mortgage is a big deal for a buyer. When you're trying to sell your house, you don't want buyers to have any doubts that it will make a good home.
8. Add Some Plants
Remember that green is good when you're staging your home. Plants make the space brighter and cozier. You could also put a bowl of fruit or a bouquet of flowers on the kitchen counter or dining room table.
Some plants and other natural items will add color and life to your decor and make it look more appealing to buyers. Don’t worry too much about this as our team includes professional home stagers and décor that can really help you out with this.
9. Check How It Smells
Even a small amount of a bad smell can be a deal-breaker, and the problem is that you might not even notice it. The best way to find out if your kitchen has any pet smells or lingering smells is to have a third party come in and smell it.
If the smells are strong, you should be ready to do a deepclean, since many buyers are aware that sellers use "masking techniques" like candles or plug-in room deodorizers to hide smells. Also, using a stronger scent to cover up smells could backfire if the buyer doesn't like lavender or artificial citrus.
10. Clean, Clean, and Clean
After you've finished cleaning your house, clean it again. Even if you don't care what buyers think about how your home smells, you still want it to look clean. Think about it this way: we will have professional photos taken of your house when it looks its best. You'll want your house to always look like those pictures, right?
When you're trying to sell your home, it's important to keep everything clean because you never know when a buyer might want to take a last-minute tour. Don't forget to pay extra attention to the bathroom and make sure that the tile, counters, shower, and floors are all shining.
11. Hide Valuables
You should lock up or store your valuables somewhere else so that they can't be seen. Even if you are trying to sell your house, you can't trust everyone who comes into it. Things sometimes go missing during an open house, and the seller can't do much to get them back. Make sure to hide your valuables or move them to a safe place away from your home.
12. Consider Staging
Does your house say "1985"? Nothing makes a house feel fresher than some new furniture or a well-chosen mirror. The key is to have one of our professionals help stage your home.
They will look at your house's current condition and items to figure out what might make it stand out. They might tell you to buy or rent some things, or they might just rearrange your bookshelves and trinkets in a better way, and they may bring over some of our staging décor, all free of charge.
Our stagers know the real estate market and what sells, so it's important to listen to their advice and not be offended when they make big changes. Their job is to get possible buyers interested, which is always good news for the person selling the house.
