If you are about to put your house up for sale, there are certain things that you should do in order to get the most amount of money for your home.
Most of these items can be addressed for a minimal monetary and/or time investment, however can give you a great return and faster sale.
Make sure you do the following to prepare your home for sale.
photo courtesy of Brandon Hunt flickr.com/photos/22333230@N08/4602057665/Repairs
Anything that is broken must be fixed before you put your house on the market.
Make sure it is fixed properly, not a temporary fix that is not done per building code.
Ensure that your home looks as if there was never a repair done, so make sure everything that had to be modified to access the repair is professionally patched (wall, lawn, etc).
Potential buyers do not want to do repairs and things not fixed properly tell them that you did not care for your home and that your home may have other problems that are not visible.
Walls should not have any dents, dings, scratches, or marks, so clean or repair them to look well maintained.
Replace all light bulbs that are not working.
Clean
Your home should be spotless when it is on the market.
Deep clean everything.
Deep clean your microwave, oven, refrigerator, blinds, behind furniture, ceiling fans, windows, under your sink, carpets, grout, fireplace, and every place that does not get cleaned weekly.
Clean on top, behind, and underneath items. You might need to move furniture and appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, etc) to be able to do a deep clean.
Hire a cleaning crew if this job seems too overwhelming.
Declutter
Clutter makes a room look smaller and evokes stress in people, so make sure to declutter your entire home before you list it for sale.
Declutter your entire home multiple times.
Don't forget about your cabinets and closets because potential buyers do look in these spaces.
Closets should be 1/2 to 3/4 full so it seems that there is plenty of storage in the home.
Kitchen countertops should have very few items on them to make the kitchen feel larger.
Your refrigerator should have nothing attached to it - no magnets, stickers, or paperwork.
If needed, rent a storage unit to keep some of your stuff while your home is on the market and have a yard sale to sell the items you don't use anymore.
Consider that most people look at home listing photos on their small phone screen, so anything small in the photo will look like clutter.
Depersonalize
Remove any items that are specific to you and your family before you attempt to sell your home.
Personal items include family photos, religious items, taxidermy, excessive items related to a specific hobby, and items with your name on them.
You want your potential buyers to feel comfortable in your home.
Your home should be generic enough that they can picture themselves living there.
Outside
Don't forget about the outside of your home when putting it on the market.
Some buyers may not even walk through the front door if they don't like what they see outside.
Pressure wash the exterior of your home as well as your sidewalk and your driveway.
Keep your lawn tidy and consider planting some seasonal flowers.
Remove all kids toys and keep your trash cans out of sight.
If your neighbor's lawn in not mowed, then mow it for him since people are buying into your neighborhood, not just your home.
Upgrade
Talk to your realtor about what upgrades are appropriate in your neighborhood before you list your home.
If all of your neighbors have upgraded countertops, you may want to install upgraded countertops to appeal to more buyers.
If you do the correct upgrades, your home will sell faster and you can get all of the upgrade money back (and maybe even more than you spent) when you sell, however don't install anything overly expensive or taste specific.
Wow Factor
If you live in a community where all of the homes look similar, consider adding some wow factor to your home to make it stand out from all of the other homes when selling.
You can make your fireplace a focal point by installing a stone fireplace surround and a new mantle, upgrade your faucets, upgrade some light fixtures #ad, add cabinet hardware, add a frame around your bathroom mirrors, and/or do something simple like painting your front door an accent color.
Give the potential buyers something special to remember and get excited about. When they get home after viewing several homes for sale, will they talk about your home as being the one with the great kitchen, the one with the fantastic backyard, or the one with the hardwood floors?
Your home should feel one of a kind so potential buyers are willing to pay more to have it.
Staging
After you have finished preparing your home for sale, you should stage it to make it look great when it is on the market.
Here are some Home Staging Tips.
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