If you have decided to sell your home, then you will probably be looking eagerly at the markets to see how much you are likely to get, and how quickly you can make the sale. While getting a good price is important, you also want to get a quick sale, so you can go and buy your new house. However, to get that sale, you need to prepare the house so that it is ready for the buyers to see. You also want it to be as empty as possible, here’s how you can achieve that while still living in the house.
Hire Your Realtor
Before you begin the process of clearing out your house, you need to get it on the market and place it in front of potential buyers. For this, you will need to hire a reputable realtor such as Arnold Property; they will do the groundwork for you and start the process. As soon as you have decided on the realtor you want to use, its time to get the house ready for sale.
Start with the Outside
Take a look outside your home and see if everything is ok. The exterior of your home is the first thing your buyers will see, so it needs to have what they call ‘curb appeal.’ Take a walk around your property, how does the lawn look? Perhaps you could give it a mow if it’s looking a little long? Check the gutters to see if they need to be cleared out; this is especially important if it’s raining as the water will flow over the gutters. Do the windows need to be cleaned or maybe repainted? Check that the plants and shrubs are nicely trimmed so that you can see the house clearly. You should also be looking at the steps and the pathways to make sure they are in good condition and not overgrown.
Interior Walls
Once you have dealt with the outside of the house, you need to start thinking about the interior. Unless you have decorated your home recently, you might need to do some work on the walls. Take a look at those areas that get a lot of wear such as the porchway, stairs, and corridors. If there are scuff marks, then these will need to be cleaned or repainted, preferably in the same color, so you don’t have to do the whole wall. However, if you have painted any area in a bright color, then if you have time, it will be best to repaint it in a neutral color. You also need to check the walls for any gouges or cracks; if you find any, they should be filled with plaster and repainted. If you have children, then you will need to look for any stickers on the walls, they need to be removed and repainted if needed. Although the room might look good, it might not be the look your buyers want.
Depersonalize
Those pictures you have on the walls and shelves of you and your family are lovely, but they won’t be enticing to your buyers. They want to see themselves in the house, which will be difficult if you have family photos everywhere. Any pictures you have of family or any paintings your kids did for you, should be removed and packed away ready to move. If there are marks on the walls from the frames, then these need to be cleaned or repainted. As well as pictures, you should also remove any ornaments on the shelves. Although they might be to your taste, that might not be the case for your buyers.
Pack Away Unessential Items
If you are already packing ready to move, then this is a great time to start removing unessential items. If you have lots of books or CD’s, then these can be removed as well as anything else on the shelves. You should also pack away anything in the kitchen that you are not going to use such as blenders, spices or cookbooks. The reason for this is that the buyers need to see what space there is, but if you have it full of your things, they won’t get the right idea. One of the rooms in your house that is probably full of things is your kid’s rooms. If they usually have a lot of toys out on display, then you should think about tidying them away or packing some of them up. You don’t need to remove everything, but again, your buyers need to see how much space there is in the room.
Declutter the House
There needs to be as little in your house as possible, so it is a good time to declutter everything. If you haven’t started already, then create a bag for trash and some boxes to pack things you are taking with you. If you can, try not to have too many boxes stacked up in the house as this will take up space. Instead, you can rent some storage to place all the boxes until you move. Alternatively, you can put them in your garage if its dry. If you know that some buyers are due to visit, take all the trash to the refuse center and move the boxes to the storage or garage.
Clean as you go
As you start to pack things away, try to clean as you go along. If you do one room at a time, it will be easier for you to see where you are and prevent the rooms from becoming dirty again. Once you have given everything a good spring clean, it will be easier just to go around quickly when buyers are due to arrive. Any rooms that you are not using should be kept closed so that they won’t need cleaning again. You should also ideally remove everything not just to make it easier for you, but also so your buyers can see the space.
Hopefully, with all of these ideas completed, you should soon sell your home. If you want to get as much for your home as possible, then great consider the above tips, and with any professionals, make sure you listen to them.
