PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR A SALE

Whether you’ve been in your home for 20 years or only for a short period of time, selling your home can be an emotional process. When you are preparing your home for a sale, it’s important to detach yourself emotionally and look at the situation from an objective perspective.

A good way to approach preparing your home for a sale is to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. The golden rule is to keep everything as neutral as possible. Start with the outside and think about first impressions. Move through the house and really try to be objective: what stands out? Are there scratches on the walls? Is the bright orange of the bathroom a little overpowering? Keeping things objective will keep things in check, and help simplify the entire selling process.

Here are some other helpful tips to get you on your way to preparing your home for a sale:

Clean

If you haven’t done a deep clean in a while, now is the time. Putting in some elbow grease will go a long way, and that doesn’t just mean spraying the Febreze. Giving your house a deep clean will also help you keep it clean, in the event that there are last-minute showings or if your house is on the market over a longer period of time. Having a clean house will help you stay calm throughout the selling process and will help you enjoy and relax in the space until the right buyer comes along.

De-Clutter

De-cluttering the space doesn’t mean you have to get rid of everything. An option is to rent a storage unit. Packing everything in boxes and stuffing it in the basement isn’t always the best solution.

A lot of people forget about the basement when preparing for a sale, but it’s important to keep in mind that a basement should be staged as well. If a potential buyer walks into a basement and sees piles of boxes, it could raise questions. The main thing to keep in mind when decluttering a space is to remove any personal items. Remember, keeping it neutral is number one.

Repair

It’s time to replace that lightbulb in the chandelier that’s been burnt out for months, fix the leaky faucet and put some WD40 on the back door that always squeeks. While you may be accustomed to these minor issues, things like a cracked tile or a nick in the wall are sure to jump out at buyers. Get your patching kit and pay attention to the details. Addressing those little touch-ups will go a long way.