5 Ways to Prepare Your Home for a Fast Sale

Once your home is listed, you naturally want it to sell fast, and for a huge profit. However, it takes more than just luck for this to happen. Selling your home requires careful planning and understanding of all it takes to professionally prepare to list your home such that buyers are convinced.

Why should you prepare your home for sale?

It’s already a lot of work to sell a house. There are showings to deal with, cleaning and inspections, negotiations, appraisals, and so on. So, why should you still work harder before your home can be on the market?

For one, clean and appealing homes generally sell for more compared to properties in poor conditions. Buyers will be eager to pay a premium for homes that won’t require a lot of work when they move in.

Summarily, a well-prepared home is more marketable. This implies that you sell your home fast with more profits.

Here are five ways to prepare your home for a fast sale.

1. Hire a realtor and create a to-do list with your realtor

Are you scared of the time you’ll spend preparing to list your home? Why not hire a top, trusted realtor to handle your needs? At Brooke Vanderbok & Team, we have resources to help you prepare. We provide you with a stress-free sales process. My team and I will help you create a list of updates to make prior to listing your home for sale.

Many sellers make the mistake of delaying finding a realtor and/or hiring the wrong realtor. The right realtor will ease the whole home selling process. We won’t just list your home for sale; we’ll also help you prepare and provide guidance all the way till you find the right buyer. Hiring a realtor and creating a to-do list is the first major step to sell your home fast.

2. Declutter & neutralize the home

It is only normal to collect some quantity of items over time. The reasons to keep such items could range from an intention to fix or reuse the items later, an emotional attachment, or plans to pass them on to someone else. However, for most items, if they have been unused for over a year, there is a big chance that you possibly don’t need them.

Dispose of items in useful ways such as donating them to a nonprofit organization or charity. These items do not only help the needy, some of them are also tax-deductible. Additionally, get rid of books from bookcases and other sundries. Clean off everything on your kitchen counters. Important items that are used daily can be kept in small boxes which can be placed in a closet when not in use. This process can be considered an efficient way to start your packing.

Consider renting a storage unit such as MakeSpace. We'll help you make decisions. For instance, if room colors are too bold, we can always neutralize them with paint. We want all potential buyers to be able to see themselves in your home.

3. Replace or Remove favorite items

Do you have something you love or something you are emotionally attached to? Consider removing it before you list your home. Do this to avoid such items becoming a part of the negotiations in the sale of your home.

If you have plans to take certain fixtures, built-in appliances, or window coverings with you, make sure you remove them before showing your house. If the crystal chandelier in the living room once belonged to your grandfather, ensure that you take it down before a potential buyer sees it and requests that it be left alone. The sale of your house can be jeopardized if you tell a buyer that they cannot have items that can be seen in the house and that also enhances its appeal.

Remove all personal items. Potential buyers would love to visualize themselves in your home. Therefore, get rid of anything overly personal. Such as your kids’ drawings on the fridge, family photos on the wall, and so on.

4. Have your home professionally cleaned and keep it up!

Consider hiring professional cleaners when preparing to show your home to potential buyers. Cleaning may involve polishing mirrors and chrome faucets; recaulking sinks, tubs, and showers; washing the windows in and out, and spraying down the exterior and sidewalks using a rented pressure washer. Ensure that dust is completely removed in the closets and cabinets, from beneath the furniture, and wherever it could be hiding.

Afterward, try to keep up the cleanliness by regularly dusting the furniture, waxing the floors, keeping the kitchen and bathrooms spotless, and vacuuming daily. When not in use, keep the toilet lid closed, and also hang up fresh towels.

Most importantly, clean and ventilate all moldy areas. On the night preceding a showing, avoid cooking odorous foods like cabbage, fish, or garlic. The smells from these foods can stay till the day after. For pet owners, monitor the litter boxes.

Your house sparkles when it is professionally cleaned. This is great for listing photos. Ensure you are always ready for showing by keeping it clean after photos.

5. Upgrade your curb appeal

You could quickly lose a potential sale if your home’s exterior is a turn-off. Ensure that your exterior is more welcoming and appealing. You could do this by painting your front door, placing flower pots, or adding a dried wildflowers wreath to your doorway. Hire a contractor to repair any cracks on your walkway. Consider hiring a landscaper to add flowering plants to your lawn and clean it up. Additionally, ensure that your house number is visible to visitors.

Move around to assess your property’s exterior. If you find it boring or looking messy, you should consider investing a little into spicing it up before you list the home. Also, edge, trim, weed, and mow the surroundings and the garden.

You can also consider:

·       Repainting your front door.

·       Replacing your welcome mat.

·       Installing a new doorknob or kickplate.

·       Adding some hanging plants.

·       Upgrading your garage door.

·       Adding address number to your curb.

·       Updating your mailbox.

·       Adding some fresh flowers

·       Cleaning up the outside.

Conclusion

When you have lived in a home for so long, it is easy to ignore a lot of things that could make or mar an offer. It is important to take an objective from the point of view of a buyer. Disconnect yourself and the memories made from the equation, and picture yourself as if it is the first time you’re just seeing your home.

Ask for honest feedback from family and friends. Do all these before you put your home on the market. With this, you will be sure that you have done every possible thing to ensure that your home looks its best. You’re bound to impress buyers who also will leave you impressed by their good offers.

If you want to sell your home fast and for a good profit, it is critical that you properly prepare your home. If you are uncertain about where to start, then you should ask your realtor. Are you curious about each step? See this page. We are well-versed in the local market as well as the listing process. We help you prepare to list your home by pointing you in the right direction.