Getting Your House Ready to Sell

Shopping for a new home is fun and exciting, but getting your existing house ready to sell can be much less fun and exciting. Think of it as a show and tell strategy. While your realtor is there to take care of the telling portion, it’s mostly on you to make sure it shows well to interested buyers. You want everyone who comes walking through your open house to be impressed, captivated and ready to make an offer.

For some, the process of getting your house ready to sell can be a lesson in perfectionism. For others, they may opt to leave it to the staging professionals. Either way, all the small details matter. To get everything cleaned and arranged the way it should be to show each time, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and time.

But fear not, all this effort you spend on getting your house ready to sell will come back to you with a smooth selling experience. Even just the smell of a clean house could be the difference between of a fast sale at your asking price or your home sitting stagnant on the market for weeks on end without offers.

Take a look at the tips below to get your home in tip-top shape to sell successfully.

Tips to Get Your House Ready to Sell Fast and At Asking Price

OUTSIDE

Don’t forget about the exterior. Everything outside matters, too. A lot.  The first impression is the most important impression and has the power to sway a buyer to make an offer or walk away. From the second a potential buyer pulls up to the curb, you want your driveway, yard and even your front door to look great.

Yard

How your yard and landscaping is maintained goes a long way in exuding a positive first impression. This is what potential buyers are going to see first. Mow and manicure the lawn regularly and make every effort to keep it green, remove dead plants, trim the bushes and trees and make sure all the landscape lighting bulbs are in working order.

Walkway

Obviously in the winter months, early spring or late fall, this task changes to raking leaves, sweeping debris off walkways, clearing gutters, nailing down loose boards and shoveling snow from the driveway, sidewalk and patio. You definitely don’t want a prospective buyer slipping and falling on an icy sidewalk. That’ll seem like a bad omen.

Entryway

Time to bust out the power washer and give your door a solid scrub down and a fresh coat of paint. Replace the doorknobs and welcome mats for a fresh, welcoming entryway.

Windows 

Here’s a sneaky tip: remove the screens from all your windows to make them appear cleaner from the outside and inside of the house. It will also allow more natural light to fill the home. Then it’s time to make sure all the windows are cleaned and clear of smudges and sticky fingerprints.

For the window wells, vacuum out excess dirt, cobwebs and dust. For window wells in the basement, clean them out as best as you can by booming out leaves and weeds.

Garage

While the garage doesn’t necessarily have to be decorated, designed or freshly painted, it does have to be clean and organized. Sweep out any dirt or leaves, put away your tools, organize garage clutter and store your moving boxes in neat piles. Whether they want to park their car, use it for a mancave or pile up boxes, potential buyers need to be able to see the full capability of a garage.

INSIDE THE HOME

De-Clutter

The number-one task for home sellers is to de-clutter. When you live in a house, especially for many years…and especially with children, your space tends to accumulate a certain amount of stuff. It doesn’t matter if you live in a mini mansion or a two-bedroom condo, we tend to fill up the space we live in no matter the size.

Let’s face it, we all have too much clutter. Did you know that the average American home has over 300,000 items? That’s a lot of things to sift through.

You want to make your house to feel as warm and inviting as possible (not entirely empty), while eliminating the unnecessary so they can focus on what really matters in the house. Envisioning their own things in the space.

The key to de-cluttering your home is to start pre-packing. Consider a short-term storage rental during the period of time you’re showing your house. (Just be sure to empty out the rental once you sell so you don’t end up holding on to things you don’t need in your new home.)

Let’s take a closer look at the spaces in your home to de-clutter:

Bedroom and Entryway Closets

The simplest tip to de-clutter your closet is to remove everything from the floor. Place shoes on a shelf, remove at least half the clothing (give away or box up everything else) and give everything that’s left hangers that match. You’ll be amazed at how much better unified hangers can make a closet look.

Counters in Kitchen and Bathroom

Clear away (almost) everything off your kitchen and bathroom counters. If you have high-end appliances such as an espresso machine or items you use daily, such as a microwave, keep those out. Otherwise, if it’s smaller, (yes, that includes your coffee maker, toaster, paper towel rolls), pack it away.

Cupboards

Apply the same principle to cupboards as you did to closets. Pack up any dishes that make it seem cluttered or mismatched. Give the cupboards the appearance of extra space. That means that if every inch of the shelf has stuff on it, things need to go.

Box up extra mugs, glassware, bowls, plates, plastic containers, etc. You want the kitchen cupboards to feel large enough to hold anything and everything the potential buyer who walks through your door might have. It’s all about vision.

Shelves

Precious mementos, picture frames, decorations and figurines need to be extensively pared down. Your fireplace mantle should have no more than three objects on it, not ten. Clear away the dining room table and dresser tops. This includes the space in the kid’s room, too.

Buyers want to walk into a space that looks like a model home (not something that’s been clearly lived in) even if it’s an illusion.

Organization

Staging

Consider hiring a professional designer who will look at your home with objective eyes. Don’t stress out about having someone come in and judge your space. Basically, they are trained to look for what potential buyers see, and rearrange your space (including furniture) to showcase what your home has to offer.

Remove Personal Touches

When buyers walk through your home, they want to be able to envision themselves living in your space. Pack away the family photos, children’s artwork, holiday decorations as well as anything religious. Although it may feel empty to you, the “model home look” is much more appealing.

Tidy Up

Don’t we all like to think we live in an ultra-organized way? Life happens and we rarely do (to the extent we dream about, at least). But here’s a secret, potential buyers fantasize about starting over in a fresh space with everything organized in its place, nice and neat.

The trick? Containerize everything. You want them to think that if they move into your house, they’ll be living tidy and clutter-free. Buy ottomans with storage for blankets, decorative baskets for remotes and chargers, under-the-bed storage containers, bins for diapers, racks for shoes, etc. Don’t let anything in your space to be out of place. It should all have a home…in a container.

Snoopers Happen, Be Prepared

You know it’s going to happen. People are going to look inside all the cabinets, your refrigerator, and closets. It’s human nature, people are just curious about how other people live…and besides this space will be theirs if they buy the place, so they want to see every nook and cranny.

Prepare for snoopers and tidy up your junk drawer, kitchen pantry and the vanity in the bathroom. The only places safe from snoopers (well, we hope so anyway) are your desk drawers and dresser.

Freshen Up

A simple tip to set your home apart from the others on MLS is how fresh it feels (and smells) to potential buyers. Get rid of the dust bunnies in the corner, buff away the scuff marks on wall and make sure it has a pleasant aroma to trigger all the senses.

Small Repairs

It takes two minutes (or less) to tighten that lose doorknob. Patch up any small holes in the wall and apply a quick coat of paint over the space. Re-do any cracked caulking and replace burnt-out light bulbs. Really, these are all things you should do even if you’re not selling your home, but now’s the time to stop putting it off.

For those bigger repair needs, call in the professionals to take care of the job instead of risking a DIY disaster.

Fresh Paint

If you saved any leftover paint from when you originally painted, fix any small spots that may have been scuffed, dinged or patched. If you don’t have any of the paint left, either leave it as it is and know it’s not perfect…or if you have time, re-paint the space.

While you’re at it, look at the baseboards and doorways as well. Clean them first then repaint, if needed. A good scrub will definitely help, but a fresh coat of paint can makes the house sparkle inside and out.

Deep Clean

You’re either going to have to put some elbow grease into it, or hire a professional cleaner crew and carpet cleaner to do a one-time deep clean before your house hits the market. It will look better and smell better, too.

Small Details

An inexpensive and easy fix is to clean the outlet covers. Simply unscrew them from the wall and wash them in warm soapy water (make sure they are completely dry before putting them back). If you have white covers that are dinged up or stained yellow, replace them.

SHOW TIME

It’s time.

Once your house hits the market, it’s time to be prepared for showings immediately. Establish a backup plan with the family to stash dirty clothes and dirty dishes. Every morning before you leave the house, it should be spotless and ready to show.

We know it takes a lot of hard work and time. But if you put that effort in now, you can maximize your home’s appeal and sell faster, too!