Prepare Your House for Sale and Get the Best Price

Selling your home is stressful, especially when it’s your biggest asset!  Preparation is key – as the saying goes, before you post your home for sale, take time to assess if it is in the best shape possible so that potential buyers can envision themselves living in it and give you top dollar.

In addition to viewing your property objectively, look around at what’s on the market for sale. Look at homes with a similar footprint, style, and bedrooms. What do these homes have that your home is lacking?   What does your home have that’s better than these listed properties?  Information is power, and you can use it to showcase your home’s best assets and minimize what it lacks.

Plus, a good spruce-up can make a world of difference to homebuyers keen to just move in and start living. To get started, check out these tips for preparing your house for sale to get the most value for your home.

1. Update Paint and Finishes

The walls of your home tell its story. Try to keep it from being a dirty one. For small spot stains on your walls, consider using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. They make the task much easier.

For larger scratches and skid marks, consider repainting your home. Potential buyers will see it as one less thing they must do when moving in. Just make sure you choose a neutral color.

Make sure you also paint any walls or bedrooms that are intense colors like bright yellow, teal, or blood red. Many potential buyers wouldn’t be able to see past it to envision the room the way they want it.

You may also want to consider updating the finishes on your cabinets if they have begun to show wear or are out-of-date looking. You can learn about cabinet refinishing here.

2. Reduce Clutter and Stage the Home

To allow your potential buyers to see themselves living in your home, you will need to remove clutter from your countertops and put all of your items away.

You should also consider removing most of your items from home and staging it with furniture that makes the most sense for the space and helps to make visualization easier.

One option for staging your home is hiring a professional to choose pieces for you to rent while your home is on the market. Another is to select just a few pieces of furniture to leave in the home and put everything else in a storage unit.

3. Depersonalize the Home

If you have a lot of pictures and your children’s craft projects around your home, then you should consider putting them away somewhere for the time being.

The people who are coming to tour your home want to be able to imagine themselves living there. If there are pictures of your family looking at them, then it will feel like someone else’s home.

4. Organize Closets

You may think it isn’t that important to clean your closets before showing your home. But remember, potential buyers are visualizing their things in there. If you have the closet jam-packed full of stuff, then it isn’t going to seem very large.

Consider moving some items to under-the-bed boxes or renting a storage unit to create space.

5. Clean, Clean, Clean!

If you’re planning to sell your home this spring, you need to take your spring cleaning to the next level this year. No one wants to tour a dirty home.

Make sure you pay particular attention to the kitchens and bathrooms. You need to ensure that you get all the mold and mildew off your tile. You don’t want potential buyers to think they are permanent stains.

Also, make sure you clean the cupboards and in nooks and crannies. You have to assume that people will be opening up everything and looking to see what they can fit inside.

6. Spruce Up Your Curb Appeal

Curb appeal makes a huge difference when trying to sell a home. You want the potential buyers to drive up and remark about how lovely the home is and how well it sits on its lot. Check out these curb appeal tips for help.

1. Update Your Paint Color

If your house hasn’t been painted in a while and the color is a little out-of-date, consider updating it to a nice brown or tan. Potential buyers will expect your home’s paint to be fresh and charming.

2. Create a Defined Entrance

The way you walk into a home sets the stage for the rest of the visit. Make sure your entryway makes a statement by giving your front door a pop of color and framing it with potted plants and friendly landscaping.

3. Prune Your Landscaping

Your yard will work against you if it isn’t well taken care of. People don’t like to have to garden and mow the lawn, and when they see a rundown yard, they start running down the list of things they need to do to get it back in shape.

Take some time on the weekends and keep up with pruning your landscape to make the best impression on buyers.

4. Ask Neighbors to Move Cars and Boats

If you have any neighbors that have cars that are eyesores or boats in their driveways, consider asking them to move them. Many potential buyers won’t like seeing a cluttered street.

You don’t have to be rude about it, ask for them to do you a favor and pull it around the corner for a few hours.

7. Impress Buyers With Lighting and Scents

One way to impress potential buyers is by making sure your home is lit perfectly. Many real estate agents recommend turning on all of the lights in the house to make it look warm and inviting.

You can also take the time to light some candles or bake something fresh right before potential buyers come over.

More Advice for How to Prepare Your House for Sale

These tips for preparing your house for sale will allow buyers to visualize themselves living in your home. Then it will be able to sell more quickly and for a better price.

For more tips on selling your home, check out our blog today.