Tips on How to Prepare Your Home to Sell
Are you getting ready to sell your home? If so, experts recommend that you do several things to increase buyer interest in your home and help you receive top dollar. Following are some tips on how to prepare your home for selling from real estate experts.
Deep Clean from Top to Bottom
Dust and clean every room in your home, from floor to ceiling and every nook and cranny in between. Also, make sure all services shine- floors, counters, fixtures, and so on. Given the importance of deep cleaning, if you do not have time or the desire to deep clean your home, consider hiring a reputable professional cleaning service, such as Property refresh.
Remove Junk and Clutter
You want buyers to focus on how awesome your space is, not how messy it looks. Banish that piles of shoes from the entry, that stack of mail from the kitchen table, and anything else that detracts from your home’s gorgeous features. Maybe it would be a good idea to call your local junk removal company and get rid of all the junk you’re not going to need in your new place before listing your house.
Pressure Wash Exterior Surfaces
By power washing, the exterior of your home (siding, sidewalks, and driveway) will remove dirt and grime that makes your home’s exterior look dreary and worn down. The results will be a cleaner, more inviting home with significantly better curb appeal. Pressure washing is more difficult than it appears. It requires the correct technique; otherwise, it can cause damage. Consider hiring professional power washers.
Boost the curb appeal
More than one buyer will decide not even to enter a home based on its curb appeal, so make sure your home’s exterior looks excellent. Trim your shrubs, weed your flower beds, fix any peeling paint and keep the walkway clear. Just adding a row of potted plants along the walkway or a cheerful wreath to your front door can make a big difference.
Gutters and Pressure Wash
To maximize your home’s curb appeal, consider hiring someone to clean out your gutters and pressure wash your home’s siding, sidewalks, driveway, and/or deck. Not only will this significantly add to your home’s curb appeal, but it also conveys a well-kept, managed home.
Maintain Landscape
Keeping your yard properly maintained, which is essential to enhancing your home’s curb appeal. Regularly mow, weed and water it.
Wash Windows Inside and Out
Make sure your windows are sparklingly clean from the inside, out. Not only does this improves curb appeal and a clean home presentation, but it also improves how natural light appears in rooms. Also, you will be confidently prepared to open up blinds and curtains when it’s time to show your home.
Highlight focal points. Draw buyers’ eyes towards any special features with bright colors or accents like plants. A pop of red throw pillows can draw a buyer’s attention to that lovely window seat. A striking fern on the mantle can show off your fireplace.
Depersonalized
Ideally, prospective buyers will be able to envision living in your home easily. This ability is improved when a home is depersonalized. Depersonalized means taking down and storing items such as photographs, hobby collections, toys, trophies, fridge magnets, bathroom counter items, and so on.
Fix and Repair
The goal is to present your home in the best possible condition for maximum buyer interest and sale price. Whenever possible, fix problems and repair issues. Some top priority tasks might include repairing a leaky roof, replacing a broken window, paint over scuff marks, and so on.
Tidy Up Closets
Homebuyers appreciate and want enough storage space, which is why it’s a big selling point. Neat, well-organized, spacious will show that your home offers enough space. Conversely, if your closets are jam-packed, they will convey the opposite- your closets will seem too small.
Repaint Walls
A simple, fresh coat of paint can uplift and brighten a room. When selling a home, it is best to stick with neutral colors (tans and white tones). These colors appeal to more buyers; they also support room focus without distracting the wall’s color. If you have a deck or porch make sure your deck is freshly stained or sealed.
Remove Bad Odors
Regularly inspect your home for any unpleasant smells and neutralize the air. If you own cats, hide the litter box and make sure there are no pet smells lingering. Some savvy homeowners will strategically place natural, inviting smells in rooms before a showing- such as fresh flowers or freshly baked cookies. Tip: Avoid using scented air fresheners which may cause an allergic or unpleasant reaction from guests.
Light, Light, Light
Buyers want to see, really see the home. Consequently, experts recommend opening up all blinds and curtains while having all lights turned on. Also, add lamps/lighting to any dim areas. Brightly lit spaces look cheerier, larger, and are more inviting.
Stage Your Spaces
Do not assume the prospective buyer is going to know how to use a particular room. Instead, strategically stage rooms according to how you might use them. For example, make sure the office looks and feels like an office. Add neutral décor, art, plants, and future that will bring out the best in your home while appealing to maximum buyers—some owners hire professional home stagers.
Take Great Pictures
Most people will see your home via photos before they see it in person. Those photos will either attract or repel interest. Consequently, it’s essential to take clear, bright, professional-looking photos that present your home in the very best light.
Get rid of personal items. Buyers want to be able to envision themselves in your home, so remove anything overly personal, like family photos in the hallway or your kids’ artwork on the fridge.
Make something yummy. Realtors don’t put out fresh cookies at open houses to treat buyers; a “homey” smell like baking cookies or bread can help people connect with a kitchen. Not a baker? Fake it with a scented candle.
About Property Refresh
Property Refresh offers satisfaction-guaranteed house cleaning, power washing, gutter cleaning, and window washing services throughout Chicagoland. Call 224-386-4836 to schedule your free, no-obligation in-home estimate.