Selling your home can be a daunting process. There are so many steps to take before, during, and after the move. Here, we’ve broken down 8 of the most tried and tested tips to get your home showing ready and help you sell your house quickly.
1. Declutter
Whether you’re downsizing or not, moving is a great time to declutter. Eventually, you’ll have to pack up all of your belongings anyway so, to make the process easier in the long haul, decluttering your possessions is a great place to start. Not only will this make your move easier but, will make your home easier to clean for last-second showings and make your home feel more inviting. While the belongings of a previous homeowner obviously don’t come with the home, having a cluttered home makes it seem like you have disregarded other areas of the home and may leave potential buyers wondering what repairs are hiding underneath all the mess.
2. Depersonalize
When potential buyers are looking at houses, they want to be able to visualize themselves in the space as best as possible. Making the space look like a blank canvas that they could simply replace your furniture with theirs will make your home feel more appealing. This isn’t to say that you should take down every picture in your home, but it’s probably a good idea to remove the gallery wall of school photos, clear off the fridge, and take family photos out of the bathroom.
3. Empty and tidy your storage spaces
Going to an open house gives potential buyers permission to snoop. Realistically, they should want to check out the types of storage that come with the house – closets, built-ins, cupboards, etc. More storage is one of the highest-ranking factors that buyers are looking for in a home. By placing some of your clothes in storage or moving more of them to a dresser, you can make your closet look larger. Buyers will assume that you are a normal person like them so, if your closet is jam-packed with clothes, they will think that the closet is too small rather than your wardrobe is too big. The same goes for your kitchen cabinets: pair down the dishes you have and organize them so that they look neat and like you’ve just stepped into Pottery Barn.
4. Finish the projects you’ve started
Home improvement projects are often left 95% complete. Whether it’s changing out the knobs on the cabinets you're repainted or re-painting the baseboards after you’ve painted the whole interior of the house, these seemingly insignificant areas show up even stronger to potential buyers. Even though these small details may not seem worth the effort – I mean is some slightly painted floorboard going to make or break the sale? – just remember that buyers are looking for any reason to lower the price. So, just to be cautious, try to make every detail look perfect.
5. Brighten things up
Besides storage space, people want lots and lots of light! To make your home appear brighter, start by painting over any dark or excessively bright colored paint. While you don’t have to paint your entire house a stark white, painting your children’s room a neutral color rather than the bright orange preferred by a 6-year-old may make the room more appealing. Again, it’s all about the buyer being able to picture themselves living in your space. If the paint or wallpaper of a room is too specific to your use, they may not be able to imagine the room any other way. Next, you’ll want to replace your main light fixtures with bright, new bulbs and place accent lighting where it makes the room look the brightest. Finally, before the showing, open all curtains and blinds so that you can let in as much natural light as possible.
6. Simplify to make the space look bigger
Having a lot of stuff often requires a lot of furniture but, now that you’ve decluttered your whole house, some of your non-essential furniture, like bookshelves and side tables, may become obsolete. It would be a good idea to get rid of or put the pieces in storage. Not only will this help with the move, but removing pieces of furniture will make any room seem bigger. You don’t want to take out all the furniture or replace the master bed with a twin-size, but minimizing the amount of extra furniture will make your house appear larger and cleaner.
7. Clean up the curb appeal
The inside of your house is just as important as the outside. After all, the outside is the first thing that potential buyers will see and you want them to be excited from the moment they pull up. You don’t have to hire a landscaper but make sure that your grass is freshly mowed, any dead plants are discarded, and any existing landscaping isn’t overgrown. It’s not a bad idea to spruce up the paint on your front door and touch up any scratches or marks on the siding. Adding a small, simple seasonal decoration to your front door can make the house feel homier from the start.
8. Highlight the best parts of your house
Most homes aren’t perfect. There are more desirable parts and less desirable parts. To balance these, make sure you make the “bad” parts look as good as possible and the good parts really shine. For example, if you have a small kitchen sink button of counter space, make sure the sink is as clean as possible and free of clutter like sponges and dish soap. Then, for the counters, clear them off as much as possible so they look even more spacious. Highlight the best parts by making them appear even better and make the not-the-best parts of your home look as good as possible. Hopefully, this will strike a good balance that will keep buyers focused on the bigger picture of the whole house.
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