5 Tips to Get Your Home Ready to List
Getting your home ready to list for sale is tough work! Here are five tips you help you get your home ready to sell.
5 Tips to Get Your Home Ready to Sell
1. Hire a real estate agent.
Your agent can help you navigate the steps needed to get your home sold. These steps include getting the home ready to list, marketing your home, receiving and negotiating offers and getting you to the finish line when you hand over your keys to the new owners. That’s the ultimate goal: handing over the keys. Many bumps can happen along the way, and your agent is there for guidance before you list your home, while your home is listed and once you are under contract. It is never too early to start talking with an agent. I have had sellers enlist my help months and even years before listing their homes.
2. Declutter and de-personalize your home
As a seller, you want to show your home in the best light. That means decluttering and depersonalizing your house. Remove the clutter and knick-knacks from your home so the buyers can see the house instead of your decor items. Plus, you want potential buyers to envision what their items will look like in your home. Remove seasonal clothing from your closet to show off the storage space. Also, take down pictures, especially of children. When your home is listed for sale, the pictures of your home will be online. You want to be careful what you are showing to the public.
3. Deep clean your home
Once potential buyers start looking at your home online and in person, you want it to sparkle. Either spend a weekend deep cleaning your home or hire a professional cleaner to do it for you. You want to make sure every corner of your home is spotless and smells good! It also may be worth your time to schedule weekly cleaning while your home is being shown.
4. Step up your curb appeal
You’ve depersonalized, decluttered and cleaned the inside of your home until it is spotless. Now it’s time to tackle the outside of your home. The outside of your home is the first thing buyers see when they drive by your home and from the pictures online. You’ve heard the phrase “you never have a second chance to make a first impression” a million times. Use that logic on your home. Get your house and driveway power washed. Make sure your grass is trimmed and edge your lawn. You may want to consider hiring a professional to cut and edge your lawn throughout the time your home is listed. Touch up any paint and maybe consider adding a fresh, trendy color of paint to your front door. Also, make sure all flower beds are mulched and shrubs are trimmed. Add some colorful, seasonal flowers to make the front of your house pop. Last but not least, make sure you have a nice mat at the front door. Not only will a mat make your home look inviting but it will help keep buyers from tracking in dirt.
5. Finish any projects you have going on, repair anything that is broken and make updates if necessary.
- If you have half-finished projects going on at your house, finish those before listing your home. No one is judging because everyone has a project! However, buyers want to walk into a house they can see themselves living in, not a house that will take too much work.
- Make sure everything in your house works. Walk your home with the eyes of a buyer. Check to make sure lights and fans work, windows open, blinds open correctly, faucets do not drip and nothing is squeaky. You do not want a buyer to think your home is not well taken care of because of small things.
- Talk to your agent about making updates. Buyers are most focused on the kitchen and bathrooms because those can be high-dollar items to update. While you want your kitchen and bathrooms to attach buyers, doing a complete overhaul may not be necessary. Kitchen updates could include new cabinet hardware, a new backsplash or new appliances. Bathroom updates could include a new vanity, a new toilet and a new sink and shower hardware.
Once you have decided you want to move, talk to your listing agent to help you prepare your home for sale.
As always, contact me if you are interested in buying or selling in Murrells Inlet or the surrounding area or if you are interested in learning more about living at the beach. Have a great day!