Get Ready to Sell

You’ve decided to sell your home and move on to the next adventure, congratulations! What next? Get ready to sell your home!

The most important item to remember is: we do not sell our homes in the same way that we live in our homes. 

It’s very important to make sure your home appeals to the largest segment of active buyers out there. That way, you can get the highest price and sell in the least amount of time. But how?

Below are some tried and true ways home sellers ready their home for the real estate market.

Start at the Curb

A buyer forms an opinion about your home within the first 9 seconds of seeing it in person for the first time. That’s not a lot of time but sellers should take advantage of it!

Curb Appeal

Pretend you are a home buyer looking to purchase your first or next home. Pull into your driveway and take a look around. Really take a look around and be sure to remove your rose colored glasses, too.

Buyers don’t have the emotional attachment to your home that you do. They see what is in front of them, not the memories. Make it look good!

Depending on the time of year, here are a few tips to amp up your curb appeal:

Fall:

Rake the leaves whenever needed. Fall is a gorgeous time of year but fallen leaves in the yard, on sidewalks, piled against the home, etc… just makes it look unkept.

Winter:

Clear driveway and walkways of snow. Be sure to put down salt on these too. No one wants to fall on the way into your home.

Spring:

This is usually the season that takes the most work when you get ready to sell your home. Winter leaves its stamp on our curb appeal. Homeowners who take the time to spruce up the outside of their homes rise above the competition!

Put out flowers and mulch. After a long winter, your flower gardens and yard look almost abandoned. Freshen them up with flowers and mulch. These are easy to do items that can make a drastic difference in the curb appeal of your home.

After the winter, your siding may need pressure washed as well. Green algae growing on a homes’ siding is a red flag to some buyers. They may think you don’t maintain in the inside of the home if the outside is not well cared for.

Don’t forget to clean out the gutters, too!

Summer:

Keep the lawn mowed, bushes trimmed and flower gardens weeded. No one like the look of an overgrown or untidy flower garden.

Additionally, no matter the time of year, you can:

• Paint the front door a contrasting color so it pops!
• Replace your house numbers. You might even move them. Make sure they are in the best place to be seen. Shiny new house numbers are affordable and make a great first impression.
• Buy a new welcome mat to make buyers feel at home.
• Add flower pots or urns to the front porch or entrance to your home.

Ideas for the Inside

Remember above where we said how we sell our homes is not the same way we live in our homes? This is very important when you get ready to sell your home.

Selling your home is business. You have a product (your home) and you want someone to buy it. You should make it as attractive as possible to the largest group of buyers out there.

It means staging and keeping things in a manner you probably wouldn’t if you were just living there. But, if that means a better price and shorter time on the market, it’s all worth it, right?

You probably have heard this before but depersonalizing and removing clutter are two of the best things you can do to make your home look its best!

You want buyers to see the home and its features, not your family or personal tastes. They have to be able to imagine themselves and their belongings in the home in order to make an offer. If your home is staged with too many personal items or choices, this can be difficult for buyers to look past…

Depersonalizing and decluttering can only help. Remember, you are moving anyway. Get a jump start on packing. Rent a storage unit where you can store packed boxes, furniture, collections, etc… It’s worth it and you will be halfway to packing up for the move to your new residence!

Use these tips and get ready to sell you home:

Depersonalize:

Pack up family photos and items. It’s hard for a buyer to imagine themselves in your home when everywhere they look, they see your family.

Declutter:

Your collections, knick knacks, extra furniture and other personal items can be a distraction to buyers. Remember, less is more when putting your home up for sale.

Paint:

If you have painted some very personal taste colors in your home, consider neutralizing. It’s much easier for a buyer to picture a new paint color they like and want in their new home when the canvas is neutral.

Don’t let your personal color tastes be a turn off to prospective buyers. Painting is affordable and pretty easy!

Organize:

Remember, buyers will open closets and cabinets when looking at your home. Be sure to clear out excess in messy closets and cabinets.

An overflowing closet gives the impression that your home doesn’t have enough storage space.

Clean & Sparkle:

The best way to ensure your home is at the top of the list for buyers is to clean it from top to bottom! Ceiling fans, windows, woodwork, registers, exhaust fans, light fixtures (this is a good time to replace any burnt out bulbs too) and more!

Most people “Spring Clean”. No matter what time of year you decide to sell your home, “Spring Clean!”

Final Thoughts

Inviting, comfortable, homey – these are things buyers are looking for in their new home. Sparkling clean, staged and neutral are the proven ways you can get ready to sell your home and have the results you want!

Other sellers won’t make the time to get ready properly. This is a huge benefit to you. Take it!