Quick Guide to Preparing Your House For Sale

Ok, so you’ve found the one—a house that is perfect in every way, one that you could imagine spending the rest of your life with—OR you’re just ready to move on from the one you’re currently involved with. Whatever the situation, you are ready to move on.

The time has come to put your house for sale, but where do you start? Many sellers struggle with this question and for good reason—there are a thousand ideas out there on ways you can get your home ready for the market. In this post, we’ll save you some time wading through information by giving you proven ideas that sell houses faster by attracting more buyers.

First Impressions Matter: Take Your Curb Appeal Up a Notch

 

You absolutely must attend to your home’s exterior as your #1 priority when preparing your house for sale. A well-kept and attractive exterior attracts drive-by attention from potential buyers AND gets more clicks on online listings as well.

Drawing potential buyers in to schedule a showing is half the battle, but once those buyers show up at your home with a realtor to view your property, the first thing that will determine their level of interest before even going into the home is how well-maintained the exterior of your home is. If a buyer sees things growing out of your gutters or has trouble opening your front door because it needs repaired, they are already thinking about moving on to looking at the next listing.

Paint Works Wonders for Curb Appeal

 

The good news is there are many things you can do to increase your home’s curb appeal that will not only increase the number of showings, but will lead to more offers and better offers. One of the obvious ways is painting your home. Paint works wonders on your home’s curb appeal!

Touch up anything that is peeling or dull looking—and consider a complete painting of your exterior if the colors are out-of-date or unappealing. Consult with a professional about what paint colors will look best on the style of house you are selling. Ask for recommendations for a colorful front door that pops—one way to attract attention to your property.

In addition to painting, make sure you replace any exterior elements that are not well-maintained or outdated. Look at things like your roof, gutters, fences, mailbox, driveway and walkways, windows, exterior doors, garage door, faucets or water features, and exterior light fixtures. Power wash the siding and sidewalks or porches that are dirty to make them fresh and clean. Add large bold houses numbers next to your door for extra curb appeal.

Two of the top investments in terms of returns when you list your house for sale are new entry doors and windows, so add both to the top of your list if you want to get the most bang for your buck while also drawing in potential buyers. These 2 elements alone can give you curb appeal, draw in more buyers, and get you top dollar on your sale.

Get Landscaping in Top Shape

 

After you’ve updated the exterior of the house, focus your attention next on the landscaping around the house. Now is the time to hire a professional landscaper to clean up your flower beds, trim the trees away from the roof, and add new elements that will create a more welcoming front yard and entryway to your house. If your budget is limited, take some time to do a yard clean-up on your own, refresh your mulch, and add some large pots with pretty flowers on your front porch.

Go Neutral with Your Décor in Your House for Sale

 

Although many people love color in their homes, what they like is largely subjective, so what buyers like to see most is a neutral home where they can imagine their own style. One of the biggest turn-offs to buyers is busy wallpaper—and even people who love wallpaper rarely like what you've chosen. It's a personal decorative touch that they want to select themselves.

It's the masses you must please, so the best advice is to simply remove the wallpaper and paint the walls a neutral shade. Do NOT paint over wallpaper, because this will be obvious and result in turning buyers away—it simply signals to them that you took a shortcut to save time and it will end up costing them time and money to remove it later.

Painting the walls in your home in complementary neutral colors and making sure to put a fresh coat on the woodwork and ceilings that need it as well will go far in encouraging buyers. Fresh paint in light neutral colors makes rooms look larger and cleaner.

While you are getting the walls in shape, don’t neglect to get your floors ready, too. If you have hardwood, give it a good cleaning and fix any scratches. Replace throw rugs and area rugs that are raggedy or worn and consider new neutral carpet if the old is soiled, smelly, or an out-of-date color.

If you want to take things a step further when preparing your house for sale, replace fixtures in your home such as lighting, faucets, and outlet covers so they are all consistent and updated to current style trends. 

Get the Most Out of Your Kitchen

 

When it comes to reaping what you sow on your investments to upgrade your house, a kitchen makeover can equal a big payoff not only on your final sale price, but it can also work wonders to attracting buyers in the first place.

There are a couple of reasons why kitchen makeovers are so important to buyers. The first reason is that renovating a kitchen can be one of the most expensive rooms to makeover. The second reason is that the kitchen is the most inconvenient room for a homeowner to remodel because it directly effects the ability to function every day.

If a potential buyer sees that they are going to have to remodel the kitchen right away, they see big dollars and a lot of work on their part. Especially if you are hoping to attract families, they will be very happy that the work is done and they can simply move in. 

Tidy Up the Bathrooms

 

Bathrooms are another room that buyers like to see updates when viewing a house for sale, especially if the tub, shower, toilet and vanity are outdated or not in good working order. Prospective buyers often flush toilets, turn on faucets, and check to make sure lights and fans work—so they don’t have any surprises when they move in.

Getting your house “move-in ready” by making sure everything works for your buyers signals to them that you are serious about selling and have taken steps to ensure they are happy in their new home. If nothing else, make sure bathrooms are spotless—in fact, hiring a cleaning service to scrub every inch of your house before you put it on the market is a great idea. Keep all personal items out of sight by boxing up what you don’t use daily and just keeping a minimum of necessary toiletries stored away during showings. 

Once your home is on the market, it can get busy and stressful with showings and incoming offers (even more so if you are also viewing listings to buy), but if you do the necessary work listed above to prepare your house for sale before it goes on the market, things will go easier and your home will sell faster when there are fewer “turn-offs” for buyers.