Is it time to sell your home?
Sometimes, if the price is right and you strike a bit of luck, your home will manage to find the right buyer in a matter of weeks. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way.
“You want potential buyers of your home to be able to picture themselves living in the space. Home buying is a huge decision, and emotion plays a major part in the decision-making process.”
When selling, it’s important to perceive your home in the eyes of a buyer. As attached as you may be to the Led Zeppelin posters you have hanging in the basement corridor, you’ll want to hide them temporarily when trying to create the best first impression for potential buyers. Obviously you will want to keep a tidy home, but preparing your home for sale goes beyond a casual sweeping + dusting session. Read on for some tips on preparing your home for selling:
Declutter
You do not want your buyers to focus on how messy your home is. Not only does clutter take away from your home’s best selling features, it also makes the space it’s occupying appear much smaller.
Depersonalize
You want potential buyers of your home to be able to picture themselves living in the space. Home buying is a huge decision, and emotion plays a major part in the decision making process. It is difficult to build one’s dream lifestyle around your home when it is filled with your very personal possessions. Be sure to take down some of the photos of Great Aunt Gail when you’re prepping for a showing.
Clean!!!
This one is fairly obvious, but I can’t stress it enough. Dust, cobwebs, and dog hair will distract buyers from the important selling features of your home, and they will associate the living space as unsanitary. Take the time to polish your home; or take a few thousand dollars off of the selling price- the choice is yours!
“The Orange Carpet”
A buyer will almost certainly be evaluating multiple homes. In the hunt to find their dream home that matches their criteria, buyers will be comparing your home to several others in the area. It can be easy for them to forget about your home and it may fall out of the decision-making process. “The Orange Carpet” is a unique item in your home that buyers will never forget, and will allow them to easily describe your home on a whim. “What about that house on Main St with the 80’s style bar stools in the kitchen? It was actually very reasonably priced.”
Curb Appeal
The very first impression of your home. If your house doesn’t look nice on the outside, few will even bother to take a tour of the inside. Wash the driveway, trim the hedges, your home should be in pristine condition for its potential buyers!
Proper preparation can often make the difference between selling your home as soon as possible or missing out on several opportunities. Even if sellers are on a tight budget, a little bit of cleaning and extra care to the front entrance of the home can go a long way. Clear the home of anything uninviting to ensure that you get what you deserve in the transaction of your home.