Steps to Get Your House Ready to Sell
When you are considering selling your house, it is important that you take steps to get your house in ready to sell shape. There is a lot of strong competition when it comes to selling a house. Taking some key steps can put your house in a position where it stands out above the rest. Consider taking these steps when you are selling a home.
Find a Trustworthy Realtor
When you are selling your home, you should take the time to understand the current market. Doing your homework and understanding the value of your home is essential. You should look at the homes in your neighborhood that sold recently. Find out the price they sold and how that house compares to yours. You want to understand the square footage, features, and location of the houses that have been sold. These are all items that will make a difference in the value of your home. Knowing this information should give you a good idea of how much you can get for your house. You need to find a real estate agent. A professional real estate agent that is experienced selling homes in your general area and with your type of home will provide you superior service. Having a real estate agent familiar with your local area may seem like a small impact, but you would be surprised how a real estate agent that is experienced with your area can be a game changer with it comes to selling a home.
You want to make the most of the space in your home. You cannot make your home any bigger, but you can make it appear more spacious. You should go through your home room by room and remove all the clutter. You should get boxes, trash bags, and plastic containers. When you are planning to move is the time to get rid of, either by donating or trashing, the items you no longer want. You do not want to move items just to throw them away. Try to look at the room as a potential buyer would. If there is anything that seems in the way or not needed, remove it. You can put items in boxes, label them, and place them neatly in the garage. While potential buyers will look in the garage, neatly placed boxes will not be too much of a distraction. Do not forget the closets. You want to clean those, also. You want to critically look at your furniture, including living room furniture. If there is too much of it, or it is in the way, remove it. If you do not have anywhere else to put it, you can rent a storage unit and keep it there. Renting a storage unit to place your items may seem excessive, but a house that is not cluttered will sell faster than one that has a lot of clutter. Potential buyers are not always able to see past the clutter in your house.
Get Your Home Inspected
Once you have secured a potential buyer, you will need to have your home inspected. It is a good idea to have a home inspection prior to putting your house on the market. A home inspection can give you a clear idea of what items you should repair before putting your house on the market. Your real estate agent can make recommendations about the items you should focus on and fix. Your agent will know what is required for you to fix and what potential buyers usually ask to have repaired. The home inspection is disclosed to potential buyers, and they can also see what items you have already repaired. It may help potential buyers feel more confident buying a house from you. It may also help to reduce what repairs the buyer may ask of you.
There are some repairs that will pay off more for you than others when you want to put your house on the market. It is a smart investment to focus on those. Many sellers end up spending time and money on things that do not matter. When you look at the inspection combined with the recommendation from your real estate agent, you will find the big-ticket repairs. These repairs will most likely include heating and air conditioning repair. You want to make sure you take the time to check and replace all filters that are part of your heating and air conditioning. No one wants to buy a house that does not have an effectively functioning heating and air conditioning unit.
If there are any plumbing concerns, you want to address these also. A potential buyer wants to make sure they will not have to deal with any leaks. Plumbing concerns may include the water heater or any other plumbing leaks. You want to make sure the roof and windows are not dated and in good working order.
One thing you do not want to overlook is your appliances. If you walk into your kitchen and wonder if you should replace your appliances, then you probably should replace them. You should consider upgrading to stainless steel appliances. If you have a combination of stainless and non-stainless, you want to make them all stainless. They will really make your kitchen pop in person and with pictures. Upgrading to stainless steel appliances is a great way to spend money that will help you sell your house. You do not have to spend a large amount of money on high-end appliances unless you live in a high-end area. It is important that they are stainless steel.
Improve Your Lighting
A quick and effective way to improve the way your house looks is to improve your lighting. If you have bad lighting in your house, it can turn away people. You should check all of the light bulbs to make sure they work and providing the amount of light they should. You have to go through your house room by room and check each light. If they are not bright, you should replace them. Replacing a light build is an affordable and effective way to make your space look more radiant. You should consider LED bulbs to replace all your bulbs in the lights. Do not overlook any light fixture that is outdated because that may give a buyer the impression that your house is outdated. You want to appeal to the emotional side of as many buyers as you can.
Mold can be dangerous when it grows in your house, but it is not always. Potential buyers will always assume it is difficult to address. If you know there is mold in your house; you must disclose it when you list your house. If you suspect there is any lingering mold in your house, you should have a home inspection. If you have a house inspection, it will be in the report. You want to focus on mold removal before you put your house on the market. If the area that requires mold removal is greater than 10 feet, you should contact a professional to handle the mold. If it is less than 10 feet, you can most likely address the mold removal on your own.
Strengthening Your Curb Appeal
A strong curb appeal is incredibly important when trying to sell your house. You want potential buyers to have a good impression as soon as they pull up to your house. The emotion of the buyer may impact their decision to buy, or not, your home. There are many ways you can increase the curb appeal of your house without spending a lot of money. One thing to improve upon is your landscaping. You should consider planting flowers and plants that are colorful and add pop to your house. If you do not think you can add plants and flowers to enhance the look of your home, you should consider hiring a landscaping company. There are many landscaping companies that can add beauty to the outside of your home at an affordable rate. You do not have to have a full landscaping plan, but you should consider adding mulch and flower beds. Mulch is a fast and affordable way to cover up old areas of your lawn and give it an updated look. You can even consider spray painting your grass to make it look less brown and more green.
Another way to strengthen your curb appeal is to power wash your house. There is nothing worse than seeing a house covered in dirt and grime. You should consider painting your trim to touch it up and give new life to the outside of your house. You always want to make sure your gutters are clean. Clean gutters help your house look nice, and the new owner will not need to clean them when they move in. Make sure to take a good look at your driveway. It does not take long before your asphalt looks worn and old. The best way to touch up your existing driveway is to hire an asphalt driveway contractor. A qualified contractor can fill in any gaps or holes. If there are any cracks in your driveway, a contractor can fill those in as well.
Deep Cleaning
After you have had your inspection and made all of the repairs, upgrades, and changes, it is time for a deep cleaning. You should have already removed all the clutter from your house, which will help to make your cleaning move along much faster. When a potential buyer steps into your home for the first time, they will notice how it smells. You want to make sure there are no musty and dirty smells. You do not want any dust on the surfaces. You should consider contacting professional cleaners. If you attempt to do the work yourself, you are likely to miss something or leave an area untouched. Hiring a professional will also help remove some of the stress from you at a time that is pretty stressful already. You want to mop, clean, and vacuum all floors, baseboards, and windows in every room. You want to clean all the bathrooms, including the mirrors. You absolutely want to take out the garbage. Do not leave waste sitting in your house for too long. You do not want your house to smell like trash.
When you are cleaning the house, make sure all the hardware is tight and in place. You should always make sure that none of the toilets are running, and you have repaired all the cracks in the walls. You want to make sure you stage your house. Your real estate agent can help you with this if you are not sure how. You want to take down all personal items, including photos. You should have a professional photographer take pictures of your house. Your real estate agent may have someone on staff that can stage your house and take photos of it. Your real estate agent may want to put pictures of your house on their website.
That lists everything you need to know about how to get your house ready to sell. It is important that your house is in the best possible shape when you put it on the market. There is a lot of competition in the housing market, and you want to position your home in a place that allows it to get the attention it deserves. Do not overlook any of the steps because doing so could cost you the opportunity of selling your house. As you go through these steps, it is important that you keep your goal in mind. If you really want to sell your house, it is critical that you take each of these steps to put your house in the best position for sale.