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Before you list your house, you’ll want to take a few important steps. These preliminary action items will aid in setting a selling price that will be both profitable for you and attractive to your ideal buyer.
Talk to me when you first begin to prepare for the sale of your home. As an experienced real estate agent, I can save you time by directing you to the most important steps to prepare your house for a profitable resale. Below are some preliminary suggestions, which we can discuss.
Do the paperwork
- List all your utilities, homeowner association fees, property taxes, and expenses associated with maintenance of a pool or other features that require upkeep
- Collect all critical documents associated with your home, including mortgage documents, receipts and expenses from major upgrades such as roof, windows, siding, outside hardscapes, and additions
- List the features that will come with the house: any appliances, smart home features, sauna or pool, etc.
Prep the place
- Get rid of most of what you have in your home. Box it and put it in storage somewhere off your property. This includes removing all sentimental items such as family photos and knick-knacks. New buyers want to imagine they own the home and want to think about where they can put their own sentimental items.
- Remove most of the furniture, but don’t leave any rooms bare. You want the house to look roomy and spacious so that new buyers can imagine their own favorite furniture in your home. Kitchen counters and bathroom counters should be clear of items.
- Once most of your belongings are out of the way, scrub from ceiling to floor. If you can hire a cleaning service that specializes in preparing homes for moving, do so. If not, scrub every nook and cranny, get in the corners and along the baseboards with a toothbrush. Remove every speck of grime in the windowsills. Recaulk bathroom or kitchen tiles (or have a professional do it) and replace shower liners that just refuse to let go of their soap scum. You would be surprised how much a really deep clean can add to resale value and speed of resale!
- Clean the inside of all your appliances thoroughly, replacing oven or stove parts if necessary to make them sparkle.
- Clean all outbuildings and garages, as well.
- Fix ALL cosmetic issues. This includes a new coat of paint inside, painting the trim outside, and repairing the bumps and bruises in the woodwork that every loved-and-lived-in house develops over time.
- Update your landscaping and improve curb appeal. Make sure your home has features that make it look attractive in every season, the most important being the season in which you will be selling.
- Make the place smell clean, too, but not by masking smells with deodorizers or paint. Smell is the forgotten sense, but it is primordial. If people don’t like the smell of your house, they won’t buy it. If you have a friend with a heightened sense of smell, have him or her smell the kitchen, the basement, the bathroom, and the kids’ rooms. Work on the source of the smell (did you clean behind the fridge?) because new home buyers are going to notice smells right away.
- Get two sets of keys, one for your realtor and one for you. Be sure to remove ALL valuables before opening your home to strangers.
There may be some larger improvements to your home that may increase your resale price more than the cost of the upgrade. For instance, if new siding would cost $25,000 but would increase your sale price by $50,000, it would be a wise upgrade. However, these decisions will depend on your unique situation, which we can discuss. Factors may include how quickly you need to move, your budget for upgrades, and the profit margin you are looking for on the sale of the home.
Each client and each home is unique. As your real estate agent, I will partner with you to help you take the right steps so that your ideal buyers say “Yes!” Reach out to me today so that we can begin the discussion.
