Preparing to Sell Your Home? Don't Miss These 7 Essential Steps.
Preparing to Sell Your Home? Don’t Miss These 7 Essential Steps.
Thinking of selling your home? Before you list your property, make sure you've applied these crucial tasks to attract potential buyers, maximize your selling price and possibly shorten the amount of time your home is on the market.
TIP #1: Enhance Curb Appeal
The importance of great curb appeal should not require an explanation. It is critical in attracting potential buyers and is often a determining factor for whether or not a prospect actually wants to tour the property. Have exterior appeal is especially important when wanting to capture the attention of drive-by traffic.
Tips for improving curb appeal:
- Maintaining a well-manicured lawn and landscaping.
- Cleaning and repainting the exterior, if necessary.
- Ensuring the front door is cleaned and entryway are inviting.
- Double-check that there are no wasp nest and or ant beds for a potential prospect to have to contend with.
TIP #2: Declutter and Depersonalize
The process of decluttering and depersonalizing is an ideal way to start preparing to pack up the home. This step also aids in helping buyers to better envision themselves in the home.
Steps to declutter and depersonalize:
- Remove personal items like family photos and memorabilia.
- Declutter countertops, shelves, and closets to create a sense of space.
- Consider storage solutions for excess belongings as well as donating gently-used items to various charitable organizations.
TIP #3: Repairs and Maintenance
Take ample time to assess your home’s interior and exterior and properly address items in need of repair. Beyond a good thorough cleaning from top to bottom, replace light bulbs as needed and get caught up on seasonal maintenance needs like changing out batteries in the smoke detectors.
Areas to focus on:
- Fixing leaky faucets, squeaky doors and windows, and any visible damages.
- Checking and servicing HVAC systems.
- Ensuring all electrical and plumbing systems are in proper working condition.
- Be sure to keep all receipts and service reports for any work being done. You may need this information to share with a potential buyer.
TIP #4: Stage Your Home for Sale
The concept of home staging is meant to help showcase the property's potential. Once you’ve completed the previous tasks, thoughtful placement of certain design elements can be used to draw the eyes of a prospective buyer to features that highlight all that is good about the home. Your Realtor can be super helpful with this step and may be able to refer resources for this step if necessary.
Home staging tips:
- Rearranging furniture to create an open and inviting layout.
- Adding neutral decor and fresh flowers to enhance appeal.
- Maximizing natural light and using proper lighting fixtures.
- Make sure that there are no trip hazards inside or outside of the home.
- Be mindful of pet odors and keep chemically fragranced plug-in to a minimum to potentially prevent a prospective buyer from being distracted while touring the home. As an alternate, if odors are persistent after shampooing carpets and applying fresh coats of paint, maybe consider steeping a pot of lemon, lavender or peppermint tea for a mild aroma if necessary.
TIP #5: Professional Photography
It if very likely that your Realtor will want professional real estate photography to post in the multiple listing services (MLS) and for attracting the interest of online buyers.
Tips for capturing appealing photos:
- Clean and declutter each room before the photoshoot. Don’t forget to clean your windows.
- Be sure to thoroughly dust and wipe down lightbulbs to enhance the quality of your lighting.
- The photographer will typically use wide-angle lenses to showcase the spaciousness of the property and as a result, may capture more details in the pictures than you may expect.
- All ceiling fans will need to be turned off to prevent distortion of the photos.
- Remind your Realtor of unique selling points and attractive features about your home and community so they can be highlighted.
TIP #6: Set the Right Price
Every seller wants to make as much as possible and sell as quickly as possible. However, it is recommended to discuss this topic with your Realtor and be prepared to possibly receive market data that does not support the magic number in your head. Pricing the home correctly helps to attract potential buyers and encourages the right buyer to move quickly. Overpriced homes are likely to sit on the market longer.
Factors to consider when setting the price:
- Read the comparative market analysis (CMA) to assess the local market and discuss the details with your Realtor.
- Seriously take into account recent sales of similar properties within a small radius of your home.
- Factor in the home's age, condition, location, and unique features compared to comparable homes when finalizing your pricing decision.
TIP #7: Market Your Home Effectively
Your Realtor should discuss the importance of having a robust marketing strategy to reach a wider audience and it will likely include multiple marketing platforms.
Marketing techniques may include, but are not limited to:
- Utilizing social media platforms, real estate websites, and local listing services.
- Hosting virtual tours and open houses to attract remote buyers.
- Leveraging the power of word-of-mouth and networking.
By following these seven essential steps, homeowners can potentially increase their chances of a successful and lucrative sales transaction. Once you’ve decided that you’re ready to sell your home, you can jumpstart your preparation efforts and potentially shorten your overall timeline by applying these essential tasks. Be sure to consult with a Realtor for expert guidance and a successful home selling experience. Your Realtor can also be instrumental in aiding you with searching for and securing your next address as well.
If you find value in the information presented in this article, please let me know. Also, let me know what other real estate topics you’d like for me to cover. If you’re looking for a Realtor, my team and I are here to assist and consult you. So, let’s get started.
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