Perhaps you’re accepting a new job in a different city or need a bigger place for your growing family. Whatever the reason, you want your home to sell for the highest price in the fastest possible time. One way to encourage those outcomes is to prep your home before the sale by doing the following.
Clean up Your Landscaping
The landscaping around your home, particularly in the front yard, frames your property and attracts potential buyers to it. Make it look good or they may not bother coming to the front door. Remove all tools, children’s toys, pet paraphernalia, or anything else that doesn’t belong in the yard. Then prune the bushes and trees, especially where branches and leaves obscure the architectural features of the home. Mow the lawn. Plant annuals and other colorful flowers on a path that leads to your front door and then add a pleasing welcome mat.
Declutter
The secret to making your rooms look bigger than they really are is to declutter by removing anything unnecessary. Piles of clothes in the corner, children’s toys, and your collection of horror movie plates attract attention away from the space, so remove these items. Eliminate any trace of you and your family such as personal pictures or kid’s drawings. A potential buyer will not imagine themselves in your space if traces of your family remain.
Put only the bare minimum of furniture in each room, such as a table and chairs in the dining room. If you have large, loud, or outdated pieces of furniture, swap them out for something smaller and more modern. Don’t be afraid to borrow pieces from neighbors, friends, or relatives. You can also rent entire suites of furniture from home rental companies.
Arrange furniture so there’s enough space for potential home buyers to wander the room and move easily from one area to another.
Make Needed Repairs
A dripping faucet, broken light bulb, or torn screen may seem minor to you, but to home buyers, these are things that will require spending money for repair. They will magnify the cost in their minds and deduct that number from their offering price, resulting in a lower bid. In addition, they may start to wonder what else is wrong with the home that they’re not seeing. Be sure to repair everything visible to the buyer as well as issues the home inspector will inform the buyer about.
Remove Bad Orders
Pets especially can leave lingering odors that will turn off buyers. See if a friend or relative can keep Fido or Kitty temporarily. Remove the litter box and neutralize the environment with air freshener. Open all the windows and doors to air out your home before the first open house. If you can, bake fresh cookies or add fragrant flowers so pleasant smells will fill the air.
Need help improving your home for a sale? Talk to the experts at Debris Box!
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