Getting ready to put your home on the market? Every seller wants their home to sell fast and bring top dollar. Does that sound good to you?
Well, it’s not luck that makes that happen. It’s careful planning and knowing how to spruce up your home that will send offers to your home!
Here is how to prep a house and turn it into an irresistible and marketable home.
- Get organized
- Detach yourself emotionally from your home
- De-personalize your home
- De-Clutter
- Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinet
- Rent a Storage Unit
- Make minor repairs
- Make the House Sparkle
- Scrutinize
- Check Curb Appeal
See DETAILS below
1. Get organized
- Make checklists to ensure you get the results you’re looking for.
2. Detach yourself emotionally from your home
- Say to yourself, “This is not my home; it is a house — a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf.
- Picture yourself handing over the keys to the new owners!
- Say goodbye to every room.
- Don’t look backwards — look toward the future.
3. De-Personalize your home
- Pack up photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can’t see past personal artifacts, and you don’t want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can’t do that if yours are there! You don’t want to make any buyer ask, “I wonder what kind of people live in this home?” You want buyers to say, “I can see myself living here.”
4. De-Clutter
- If you don’t need it, donate it or throw it away
- Remove all books from bookcases.
- Pack up knickknacks.
- Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
- Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will need to do anyway.
5. Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets
- Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well
- Neatly stack dishes.
- Line up shoes
- Fold clothes on shelves
6. Rent a Storage Unit
- Almost every home shows better with less furniture.
- Store pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways
- Since your bookcases are now empty, store them.
- Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger.
- Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don’t want buyers scratching their heads and saying, “What is this room used for?”
7. Make Minor Repairs
- Replace cracked floor or counter tiles
- Patch holes in walls
- Fix leaky faucets
- Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam
- Consider painting your walls neutral colors
- Replace burned-out light bulbs
- If you’ve considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now
8. Make the House Sparkle
- Wash windows inside and out
- Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior
- Clean out cobwebs
- Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks
- Polish chrome faucets and mirrors
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Vacuum daily
- Wax floors
- Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures
- Bleach dingy grout
- Replace worn rugs
- Hang up fresh towels
- Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows
- Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no
9. Scrutinize
- Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
- Linger in the doorway of every room; imagine how your house will look to a buyer
- Examine carefully how furniture is arranged, move pieces around until it makes sense
- Make sure window coverings hang level
- Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You’re almost done!
10. Check Curb Appeal
- If a buyer won’t get out of their car because they don’t like the exterior you’ll never get them inside.
- Clear Sidewalks
- Mow the lawn
- Paint faded window trim
- Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion
- Trim your bushes
- Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number
More questions we can help you, at County Properties, 24 years of brokerage experience, trust and a Member of the local Better Business Bureau! Want to know what your home is worth? Click here for a free market evaluation !
If you have equity in your home, we will sell your home and get top dollar in this challenging market at www.countyproperties.net/. If you do not have enough equity, and you must sell your property as a short sale we have the expertise to do so also, go to www.ShortSaleRealtors4U.com