Are you thinking about selling your house? We all know that selling a house involves a lot of work. You’ll have to put in your best effort to get it ready to sell, especially if you have kids running around. We worked with a number of people who wish to sell their house and we compiled tips on how you can do it fast. Here are “8 things to do to get your house ready to sell” which we have compiled over the last couple of years.
Tips and Reminders
- First Impression – One of the most important things that you should not forget. The first impression lasts. The first thing that the buyer sees is, of course, the front door. So make sure it looks inviting. How? Place welcome mats in your doorsteps. Make sure it says “welcome” on it. It may sound ridiculous, but little things like this help elevate your house’s curb appeal.
- Declutter – … or should I say depersonalized. Take out all the memorabilia of your kids. As a seller, you have to make sure that buyers can picture themselves inside your home. And you will not be able to do that if you still have that hand-painting hanging in the refrigerator, or all those trophies stacked up in the living room. This may be hard on your part, but this is necessary. Also, if you still have clothes in your closet, make sure that they are well organized. If it’s not, it will send a message that the cabinets/closet has a low storage capacity — which is a major turn-off.
- Repaint – take color down a notch. Don’t paint the living room in bold colors (save it for your next home!). Remember, you want to appeal to a wide range of potential buyers and not everybody has the same taste as you. So instead of turning off clients, go with neutral colors instead.
- Repair – Fix everything that needs to be repaired. This includes broken tiles, leaky faucets, doorknobs, shower, and toilet flush that doesn’t work properly, as well as kitchen cabinets and drawers that jam. Don’t let the buyers remember your home as “the one with leaky faucets” or “the one with creaky cabinets”.
- Replace burned-out light bulbs– this is one of those little things. Make sure that you have fresh light bulbs. Replace especially those who are in service for more than a year or two. You don’t want to get in a small incident where it failed to turn on or it suddenly blows up. You’ll want the buyer’s experience to be as seamless as possible. Little things like these matters.
- Clean, clean, clean! – This may require you to hire a professional deep house cleaner. But, if you could do this yourself to save a little, you can do it, too. Cleaning before selling may include washing all the windows inside and out, polishing faucets, cabinets and mirrors, deep cleaning or re-caulking tubs, showers, sinks, etc. Also, you may want to rent a pressure washer to spray down sidewalks and the exterior — you’ll be surprised what it does! Make sure that all dust is removed from under the furniture, bed, cabinets, closet and anywhere it could be hiding!
- Eliminate bad odor – you should be able to eliminate bad odors after deep cleansing if not, you’ll have to redo it. But if everything is okay, make sure to light a fresh-smelling candle before a scheduled open house. Or you could also choose a regular air freshener. Just make sure to keep it subtle — you don’t want to look suspicious. They might think your hiding something if the smell is too overpowering!
- Improve your landscaping– Make sure that the lawn is mowed and that you plant new flowers to add to the house’s curb appeal. This is going a little extra but it’s effective as it makes the property more “homey”
Getting your house ready to sell seems really tedious. It does not only require your effort and energy but you, of course, have to spend thousands of dollars too. Doing all these is quite effective but it really does not guarantee that it will sell your house as fast as you need it to be. If you’re weighing out your options, you can also try and sell your house for cash. Just make sure to choose a credible home buying company.