Your goal is to sell your home quickly and make as much money as possible. But to achieve this, you first must learn how to prepare your home for sale.
If you want a buyer to fall in love with your homes for sale, you have to make it truly appealing. Above all, you have to make it easier for potential buyers to imagine themselves living in your home with their families. You must ensure your home is ready.
Let’s learn how to prepare your home for sale:
1. Repair what needs to be repaired
Most people won’t be interested in buying a home that needs a lot of repairs. To make your home more appealing, take care of minor repairs yourself, and hire a professional to handle more important projects.
Remember to:
- Fix leaky faucets and clogged drains
- Fix squeaky doors
- Replace a defective lock
- Repair a broken backyard fence
- Replace cracked floor tiles
- Patch holes in the walls
- Get a faulty electrical socket rewired
2. Make a few updates
If your home is not brand new, you can make it more attractive to potential buyers with a few updates.
For example, you could:
- Replace an outdated carpet that has stains that won’t go away
- Upgrade old lighting fixtures and be sure to replace burnt light bulbs
- Replace defective window blinds with new ones
- Paint the walls with neutral colours
- Paint or refinish outdated cabinets
- Replace cabinet handles
3. Prepare a disclosure statement
To prepare your home for sale, you must draft a property disclosure statement. This is a document that lists all the problems you are aware of. Its purpose is to protect the buyers, but it can also protect you.
Some examples of things you must include in your disclosure statement are:
- Problems with home systems or appliances
- Pest infestations
- Mould
- Faulty foundation
- Leaky roof
- Renovations performed with or without a permit
- Home insurance claims
4. Get rid of the clutter
Getting rid of the clutter will make your home more appealing, but it will also simplify things for you on moving days.
Get rid of any items you never use or simply don’t like. You can donate them, sell them, or throw them away.
Take a moment to organize the items you are keeping in your cabinets and closets. Potential buyers will be pleased with what they see if they open them.
5. Depersonalize your home
To help potential buyers envision themselves living in your home, you must also depersonalize it.
This means you should remove your family photos, religious or political items, keepsakes, pet toys, and any artwork or decorative accessory you used to personalize your home. Store them away so your home will look more impersonal.
6. Remove excess furniture and decorative items
You should also consider removing excess furniture from your home and storing them. This will make the space appear larger and less cluttered.
Plus, remove anything you want to keep. You don’t want to disappoint a potential buyer by telling them that your brand-new appliances and stylish light fixtures are not included in the house.
7. Give everything a thorough clean
Preparing your home for sale also means you have to make it sparkle. Give everything a thorough clean, and keep everything clean until you have finally sold your home.
Remember to:
- Vacuum the carpet and clean it with a steam-cleaner
- Clean the floors
- Clean the outside and the inside of the windows
- Regularly dust furniture and other surfaces
- Remove dust hiding inside cabinets and closets
- Polish faucets and mirrors
- Keep the kitchen and bathroom spotless
8. Make sure your home exterior looks inviting
Don’t neglect the exterior of your home, as it is your first chance to make a great impression on potential buyers.
Do a bit of landscaping work, and mow the lawn regularly. Rake any debris, leaves and twigs. Power wash your siding and walkways.
Keep your front porch clean and well-organized. If there is no furniture on your porch, consider adding a small patio table and two chairs to make it look more inviting.
9. Make sure your home smells good on showing day
And finally, remember that your home should always smell good whenever a showing occurs. The potential buyers visiting your house will notice any bad odour, which could be enough to make them change their minds.
Be sure not to cook greasy or smelly food right before a showing. Open the windows to bring fresh air in, and decorate the space with fresh flowers or candles.
You can also bake some cookies or a nice pie or simply boil some orange peels in a pot of water before the showing begins.