Ready, Set....SELL!
Spring is here and that means the housing market is warming up and getting ready for busy season! If you are thinking of putting your home on the market this season, consider these top tips for readying your home:
Clean, clean, clean! I'll say it again, clean! We cannot emphasize enough the importance of a pristine home when putting your house up for sale. That means windows, bathroom drawers, appliances, porch webs and debris, and every other nook and cranny you can think of. We even encourage sellers to dust their basement appliances like water heaters and softeners, as well as furnaces.
Depersonalize and neutralize your space. Pre-pack all family photos, anything with your name on it, calendars, and other items that are very meaningful to you. Imagine you are creating a blank slate for a buyer to tour your home and be able to imagine their life there. I often tell clients, "no signs of life in your house! People know you are living here but they don't want to know you're living here." That means taking laundry hampers and garbage cans with you when you leave or out to the garage, tucking away toilet brushes and plungers, removing any dish towels, rags, soap and accessories -- even the cute, just-for-decoration, dish towels!
Repair is essential to preparing your home for market. The goal is for buyers to feel like your home is truly move-in-ready and that they can't find a single project they must do. Improvements that make a difference, but sometimes get overlooked, can include:
professionally cleaned carpets
freshly painted front door (no chips or signs of ware)
closet doors that open easily and quietly, and shut correctly
walls and closet interiors free of scuff marks
demineralized faucets and shower heads
conditioned wood, especially in areas of high use or next to water sources such as railings and bathroom and kitchen cabinets
working lightbulbs with matching hues in all fixtures
patched and painted walls as needed
Refresh your home before taking photos or offering open houses. Add crisp, new white bath towels and hand towels to bathrooms. Pick up a few house plants from Trader Joe's (or fake one's from Ikea!) to add some life to your space. Toss lemons and limes in a wooden or ceramic serving bowl and set it on your dinner table, they'll last for weeks! Pick out a fresh, colorful bouquet for picture day and display it on your kitchen island. Perhaps you want new bedding for your next home, buy it early and make your primary bedroom look extravagant for showings. Updating or adding hardware throughout the home can make oak cabinets look new again, and replace yellow-gold fixtures with black or oil rubbed metals. Small, less expensive changes such as updating light fixtures or replacing outlet covers, can make all the difference in the end!
It's reasonable that preparing to sell your home feels overwhelming. You've built a whole life in your home and it can be a lot of work, both physically and emotionally, to prepare to let it go. I find it can be helpful to imagine you are setting up your home to bless the next family to live there. What can you do to make your home the best it can be for them? Or imagine you are a buyer for your home. What would you want to see or not see? What would feel like projects if you were just moving into the property? Put yourself in the buyers' shoes and you'll know just what you need to do. Of course, if all else fails, just clean, clean, clean!