Learn The Keys To Preparing Your Home Prior To Putting It On The Market, And Gain The Best Advantage
Once you decide to sell your home, it’s time to take inventory. Some minor enhancements inside and out, and thorough cleaning and de-cluttering, can boost your home’s appeal with potential buyers. Taking the time now to assess your home could mean the difference between a buyer deciding to “pass” or take the first step toward a purchase.
Let’s pretend: Try looking at your home as a buyer would.
Imagine you’re pulling up to your house for the first time. What’s your impression? Curb appeal is not something to overlook! Inside the home, take a moment in different living areas, and in the doorway of each room. Is what you’re seeing pleasing and exciting?
Or does it feel drab and dull?
Making your home visually appealing triggers a positive emotional response in prospective buyers, and helps them connect to it in a way that goes beyond their conscious thinking. Home is where the heart is, so don’t forget to inspire those feelings by showing your home at its very best.
5 ways to maximize the appeal of your home and prepare it for listing:
1) Make that first impression count
Many a buyer has passed on a house without ever leaving their car. Unfortunate, but true. A home that looks well-maintained and tidy on the outside gives a buyer the sense that the entire property has been well cared for.
Ask yourself: Does the entrance look inviting and welcoming?
Tips & Ideas:
> Clean up the front yard so it’s immaculate – prune trees and bushes, weed the garden, apply new mulch or gravel. This simple spruce-up can do wonders for making a good first impression and provides immediate curb appeal.> Make the front door and entryway inviting. A fresh coat of paint in a color that complements the exterior will make the front door an attractive focal point.> You can further upgrade the look with new house numbers or outdoor light fixtures.> Plant flowers in cheerful colors or add them to pots around the entrance and walkway. In colder weather, potted evergreens or a tasteful, seasonal wreath on the door can up the appeal. Buy a new welcome mat so that buyers feel invited into your home.
Once your entrance is cleaned up and beautifully enhanced, you’ll be even prouder to have buyers come to your home!
2) Clear the clutter and do a deep clean
You’re going to have to pack everything up anyway when you move, so look at this as getting a head start on the process. Remove clutter and depersonalize each room to help buyers imagine themselves in your space. Buyers want to envision living in the home surrounded by their own belongings. Personal photographs and family heirlooms will hamper that and cause potential buyers to be distracted.
Tips & Ideas:
> Pack up personal items and clean everything off your kitchen counters.> Organize all your closets and storage areas. Many potential buyers open closets and cabinets to assess storage space, since ample storage is a major selling point. Purge, and then organize closets by using containers, so that everything looks neat, orderly and gives a feeling of spaciousness.> Do a deep clean throughout your home, beyond the regular upkeep – whether you have to hire someone, or can devote a day or two doing it yourself.> Make sure to eliminate any bad odors and use essential oils or flowers to create a subtle but pleasant scent in the house.
Your home will feel lighter, more open, and visually calm with everything in order and sparkling clean!
3) Make them say “WOW”
With the clutter gone, you can now think about refreshing each room to help them show at their best.
Tips & Ideas:
> Rearranging furniture can give fresh energy and a new look to your home.> Create gathering areas in the living room, kitchen, and den to help buyers imagine the warm moments they’ll have in their new home.> Throw open the window coverings to let in natural light and add extra lighting to any areas that are dim. Flowers and plants, as well as sunlight, can bring nature inside to help create brighter, cheerier rooms that are even more inviting.> If you decide to freshen up the walls, choose neutral paint colors in lighter tones, like tans and whites. Lighter colors help a room appear bigger, brighter, and more spacious.> Turn your bathrooms into welcoming, relaxing spas. For very little money you can create a luxurious environment that buyers will look forward to enjoying. Plush bath towels, elegant orchids and plants, scented candles and soaps, or a new pulsating or rainfall shower fixture, can go a long way in making the bathroom a room they will want to spend time in.
4) Complete small but noticeable repairs
You know those fixes that have been nagging at you for a while – doors that stick or creak, leaky faucets, running toilets, cracked grout, ripped screens, broken windows and seals, burned out bulbs, etc.? These may have faded from importance after living with them for a time, but they’re not trivial when potential buyers are critiquing a home.
Tips & Ideas:
> Take the time to do easy to fix home repairs that gives buyers the impression that your house is well maintained. Go through your house and use a keen eye to spot issues then fix the issues before your first showing. Many of these you can do yourself, or a handyman can take care of them for very little cost.
5) Be proactive – what you don’t know could hurt you
If you’d rather not have any unwanted surprises while under contract, think about getting a pre-sale home inspection. For a reasonable fee, an inspector can carefully go through your home and give you a heads-up on anything a potential buyer may balk at. Then, depending on if you want to invest in the repairs, you can complete them before putting your home on the market. In New Mexico and other states, you would need to disclose what the inspection turns up, so having receipts for the remedied repairs is recommended. And they show that you have been conscientious about keeping your home in top shape.
Tips & Ideas:
> If a home inspection turns up necessary repairs that you decide not to take action on, getting estimates for the work can smooth over a perceived obstacle for the buyer. The quotes will help buyers when thinking about a way forward and can be helpful for both parties in negotiating a successful outcome.> If you have a file of user manuals, warranties, and other information regarding your boiler, furnace, and any appliances that come with the house, the new homeowners will appreciate it.
There you have it – 5 ways you can prepare your home for the best possible impression to prospective buyers, which will give you a smoother path to a successful sale!
Selling Your Home in Santa Fe
If you’re thinking about selling your home, call, text or email Darlene today. Darlene has helped many homeowners, like yourself, in preparing their homes for listing by guiding them with staging techniques, repair referrals, and alerting them to items that might prevent a potential buyer from moving forward. Use Darlene’s decades of expertise to achieve a successful outcome selling your home!