Time and effort put into preparing your house for sale can determine whether it will quickly get off the market or stay longer on the market, making it hard to sell. Living in a house for so long can easily make you overlook certain things that would potentially break an offer. It is up to you to look at the house from a buyer’s perspective; there is no imagination, no memories attached, just a house up on the market that you are seeing for the first time. While repairs and cleaning might be expensive and time-consuming, they can help attract better offers on your house. Therefore, here are some tips to help you adequately and diligently prepare your house for selling.
1. Declutter and clean
The whole point of this is to make it spacious; anyone looking for a new home wants it to be as spacious as possible. Buyers are usually attracted to houses with big storage, bathrooms, and even kitchen; how do you make your house fit this preferred profile? Decluttering! Organize your spaces; instead of stuffing things in the basement or attic, use storage bins that can be neatly stacked in the closet, attic, or basement. Remove furniture that seems to make rooms look smaller, or that blocks windows and architectural features that add to the beauty of a room, downscale if need be. You can also rent a storage unit to maximize space in your house. And after all this is done, get to deep cleaning; clean your carpets, cabinets, tiles, and windows, and bring the house back to life.
2. Depersonalize the space
You want the buyer to fall in love with your house by setting their eyes on it, right? This becomes very challenging, especially when you have some personal things in place. I mean family photos, collections, religious symbols, souvenirs, certificates, you name it. Let potential buyers see the full potential of your house, fall in love with it, and picture their lives in that house; having these personal stamps can make buyers feel like they are intruding, or some may feel they are taking offense at your lifestyle, you don’t want that now, do you?
3. Work on repairs and paint where needed.
If you have lived in a house long enough, there are some things like door squeaking that you might ignore because it is minor and you have gotten a way around it; more like a quirk. However, when buyers visit the house, they do not see it as a quirk, which may lower your house value. Too many noticeable repairs will leave potential buyers wondering whether a bigger problem lurks. Therefore, address wear and tear issues in your home; go through each room and identify areas that need repair, dents on the wall, and cracks on the floor; all these must be repaired. Some repairs may be easy DIYs, but you can also look for professionals to do a remarkable job on more complicated and serious repairs.
Paint can also make a house feel new, therefore, do not be afraid to add a fresh coat of paint to your house. It is advisable to use warm neutral colors like gray, tan, or beige because they can match anything; it is not difficult to find décor that goes with these colors. It is important to note that painting is only necessary where it is needed most; if you painted your house a few years back, you could just touch up stains and scuff marks.
4. Keep things clean and tidy.
You want to make a good impression on buyers; therefore, you have to ensure that you are consistent in keeping the house clean. Make a list of things you need to do regularly to keep it clean; wiping the window sills, vacuuming, sweeping, cleaning the porch, and drawing curtains. You can do these things to ensure the house is constantly clean. Finally, you can stage the house to help buyers get a feel of the home.
Having done the one, two, three of house preparation regarding selling, you can now sit back and appreciate as the effort you put in preparation pays off.