The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Home Ready to Sell
- Holly Sirois
- Jun 4, 2016
- 5 min read
Once you've decided to sell your home, it pays to begin thinking about it as a valuable product that needs to be showcased, marketed and sold. Just like builders wow buyers with a beautifully decorated model home or car dealers entice shoppers with the latest model in a sleek showroom, you can sell your home faster and for a higher price using the same merchandising principles used by retailers of any high end product.
A home is the single largest purchase most people make in their lives. Buyers want to feel they have made a wise investment in purchasing a property that will not only become their new home but will also grow their initial investment over time. By presenting your home to the marketplace as a property that has been meticulously maintained and well cared for you will succeed in realizing the highest return on your investment.
Getting your home ready to put on the market can become an overwhelming chore though. In this guide we outline all the steps needed to get your home ready to sell and get you closer to your goal of a quick sale at the highest sale price possible.
Step 1: De-Clutter Less is more…… the mantra of all sellers. The sooner you start de-cluttering the better. Many sellers thinking about selling begin clearing out unwanted items months before they list their homes. You are going to be moving eventually, so toss, sell, donate, give away or pack excess belongings now before your home goes on the market.
Buyers love storage space so make the most of yours by thinning out clutter in closets, drawers and cabinets. Pack away out of season clothing to make the most of your closets. Don’t forget basements, attics and garages! Organize items you want to keep but use infrequently in labeled bins neatly stored away.
Step 2: Fix It Up Now is the time to make those minor repairs you’ve been putting off. Small imperfections can give the impression that the home has not been well-kept, and potential buyers may wonder what they’re not seeing beneath the surface. These are the things that savvy buyers look for as potential red flags, and even if there’s no merit to these fears, they can still have an impact on the overall impression of the home.
Remember being “market ready” means removing obstacles from a buyer's desire to make a full price offer on your home. Needed repairs are obstacles. A home that is put on the market with needed repairs can signal concern in buyers' minds,
leaving them wondering if the home has been properly maintained. Needed repairs = a lower offer.
Making repairs now will avoid costly price concessions later. Often sellers figure they can just take money off the sale price if buyers complain about needed repairs but a simple or inexpensive fix can become a request to reduce the selling price by hundreds or thousands of dollars later on in negotiations. Any defect or necessary repair that could potentially become an issue during a home inspection should be addressed before your home goes on the market.
Step 3: De-Personalize This is often the hardest step for home owners to take, but an important one. Even if you are excited about selling and moving on, packing up family photos, personal knick-knacks and family heirlooms can be an emotional task. While you don’t need to strip your home of everything, allowing buyers to imagine themselves living in the home and making their own personal touches is an important aspect to getting your home sold.
Remove personal items from walls, shelves and counters and pack them safely away to display again in your new home.
Edit collections and décor, again less is more! If your shelves, walls or counters are crowded with decor, remove at least half of the items to achieve a cleaner look.
In bathrooms, neatly store all personal items in cabinets and drawers so that counter tops are clear. Utilize tote baskets for each family member’s personal items so that items needed daily can be quickly stowed away for showings.
Remove any appliances from your kitchen counters that are not used on a daily basis. Pack away items that are rarely used to make more room in cabinets maximizing storage space.
Consider re-painting any rooms with bold, dark or very taste specific colors changing to a neutral color that will appeal to the majority of buyers.
Remove heavy, elaborate window treatments. Chances are they will not match the buyer’s décor and removing them will make your home look brighter and feel more spacious.
Step 3: Make it Shine Giving your home a ‘deep clean’ will go a long way toward making it more marketable. Like those pesky little repair tasks, the overall cleanliness of your home is an indication to a buyer of how it’s been maintained. Kitchen and bathrooms should sparkle, windows shine, wood floors gleam and carpets freshly shampooed. Don’t forget to clean chandeliers, light fixtures and ceiling fans. Baseboards, doors and trim should be cleaned (or repainted if needed). Scrub, dust and clean in every nook and cranny because buyers will look there!
Step 4: Curb Appeal
Is your landscaping tired or lacking pizzazz? Buyer’s have been known to drive by and keep on going when they don’t like what they see on the outside. All the hard work and effort you made on the inside might never get seen.
Look at your home’s exterior a with a critical eye. Is the paint peeling or faded? Is your roof in need of repair or replacing? Most buyers don’t want to buy a home that requires a major project right off the bat, so consider making those improvements now.
Here are a few items that might need attention to improve your home’s curb appeal.
Fertilize, edge and mow lawn, reseed bare spots or fill in with sod.
Refresh pine straw and mulch.
Spruce up beds with seasonal flowers.
Trim bushes to better show off your home’s exterior.
Pressure wash siding, walkway and driveway.
Paint or replace your mail box if needed.
First impressions are critical when selling and a nice front entry can make a home feel more welcome, while a neglected entry can undermine anything positive you create inside. The front door is one of the most overlooked parts of curb appeal and yet it can be one of the easiest things to improve upon.
We open a lot of doors when showing homes and can tell you that buyers spend several minutes standing at your front door while their agent is opening the lock box. A smart seller will use that time to their advantage by creating a warm and welcoming first impression. Buyers do notice and what they feel in those few minutes sets the tone for the rest of the showing.
A few tips to create a welcoming first impression:
Paint or re-stain your front door and replace worn hardware.
Clean or replace outdoor light fixtures.
Make sure your porch and steps are in good repair.
Fill planters with pretty, fresh flowers (or greenery in winter).
And the final touch, add a new welcome mat!
So now that you have your project plan, the next step is to consider what projects you can DIY and when you should hire a professional. Keep in mind that the more work that needs to be done, the more strain this will put on your families normal schedule. This is the time to balance doing it yourself and saving money or contracting it out and saving time.
Next... Should you stage your home to sell?
We are Elisa Dichiara and Holly Sirois, the real estate team, Two Girls and a Key.
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