Preparing Your Home For Sale

Today's housing market is met with a lot of competition. Gone are the days when a sign stuck in the ground was all it took to sell a home. Today, sellers and their agents are looking for out of the box ways to get their home considered for a showing, and finally SOLD.

Keep this list in mind when preparing your home for sale. As an agent who works with a multitude of buyers, I hear what they are saying about the homes they see. Here are some simple, inexpensive tips to getting your home sold:

De-personalize, De-clutter

Start packing now! You are moving, right? Pack up everything you won't need for the next 6 months. If you have extra pieces of furniture in each room, move them out too. If some rooms have too little furniture, consider moving the extra pieces in there. Each room should have a theory. A bedroom should have a bed, nightstand and/or dresser in it. Never leave a buyer guessing as to what each room in your home should be used for.

Spruce up the yard

Your curb appeal is your first impression. Your home might be a castle on the inside, but if it doesn't look appealing from the outside, buyers won't even bother going in. Mow the lawn, shovel the walks, rake the leaves. No matter what the season, there are things you need to take care of to give your home the curb appeal.

Some added curb appeal ideas would be to plant some flowers around the front walkway, replace the mailbox, paint or replace the front door. A little TLC goes a long way!

Go Yard-saling

Check out the local yard sales and flea markets. Pick up some seasonal items to dress up your home a little. Maybe you have a large foyer with nothing in it. A small table, a vase with silk flowers, and a mirror will dress up this room very nicely. Don't overdo it. You only want to create a warm atmosphere.

Tackle that Honey-do list

Fix the Squeaks, repair any broken doors, hinges, faucets, tiles. Buyers want to know that you've been taking care of your home. Their biggest fear is moving into a home and having something breakdown a week after they move in.

Don't forget about the walls!

Maybe your teenager is into bright red bedroom walls. You don't want the buyer to run from your house screaming! Tone it down a few notches. Evaluate every room, so see if the wall color is one that is neutral enough to accommodate someone else's furnishings. I once saw on one of the "Stage this house" shows, where the interior decorator took an old calendar, cut out the pictures, and framed them with thin black picture frames. It was a very cool idea and extremely cheap! I did something similar to my kids' room and completely transformed it! I must say it's the best-looking room in the house!

Create Balance

Place furniture symmetrically around the room. A well-balanced room is warm and inviting. If you have 3 bureaus against one wall and one wall completely empty, the room looks unbalanced. That's the best way I can describe it.

Remove Odors

I can't stress this enough! If you have pets, consider having a neighbor or friend watch them during the listing period. If you smoke, consider smoking outside during the listing period. NEVER, NEVER try to cover up bad odors with strong sprays or incense! It will be sensory overload! The buyer will smell the new odor, and the underlying bad odor all at once! This is never pretty.  Have your carpets professionally cleaned, or rent one of those cleaners from Home Depot. After all, the idea is to create a warm, comforting environment for the buyer. The longer the buyer stays in your home, the more likely he/she will consider buying it.

So, try some of these things when you get ready to list your home and see what happens. You'll be pleasantly surprised.