Preparing your home for showings
Many home sales are decided by potential buyers at the curb and by first impressions. There are several improvements you can make to strengthen the impression your house makes. Showing you ways to make your home as marketable as possible is just one of the many ways your sales representative can help. Here are some recommendations:
1. Clean everything
Take a tour of your home and note all opportunities to remove clutter and dirt. Rooms, closets, and cupboards will appear larger and more inviting when you get rid of unnecessary stuff and tidy up what is left. Remove bulky or unused furniture and rearrange the rest to make the best use of space.
If you are questioning whether or not to get rid of an item, apply the six-month rule: “Have I used the item in the past 6 months, or will I need it soon?” If you answer no, then throw it away or sell it at a yard sale.
Get rid of all dirt in the house. Pay particular attention to the two most important rooms in a buyer’s eyes – kitchens and bathrooms. Once you have removed all the dirt, keep everything clean – every day. You never know when the right buyer will visit your home.
Scrub or repaint walls that are badly marked to make them more attractive.
Organize cupboards and closets. Have all hangers facing the same way in the closet (this makes the closet look both organized and bigger).
2. Repairs
While you tour your home, also note things that are broken, cracked, or simply do not work anymore. Including: leaky faucets, holes in window screens, broken windows, lights that do not work, doors that squeak or do not close properly, missing or broken cupboard handles, cracks in the walls and ceilings.
Some items such as a leaky roof or basement must be repaired, along with any water damage. Some repairs may not be necessary. Will the hairline crack in the driveway really make or break the sale? Some buyers will have their own ideas on how to deal with these problems. You may find it easier to adjust your selling price to reflect the cost of the repairs rather than paying for them yourself.
3. Depersonalize your home; imagine it as theirs
Your house reflects you. It is decorated with your taste and style. Unfortunately, it is not everyone’s taste. If you have bright coloured walls or heavily patterned wallpaper, consider repainting or wallpapering these areas with light neutral colours that enhance a room’s size and make it more flexible to receive any kind of furniture.
4. Beautify the house and yard
Peeling dry paint is relatively easy to fix or replace and can make all the difference in your home’s appearance. Replace old or worn broadloom with neutral shades; you may not recover the cost, but your home could sell faster. Consider replacing tattered window coverings such as drapes and blinds.
Outside the house, weed the flower beds, remove dead tree branches, keep your lawn well-mowed and edged, trim the hedges, rake the leaves, sweep the sidewalks, shovel the snow from the drive and walks, salt or sand the walkways, fix and paint the deck or fence, plant a few flowers, ensure the doorbell and porch light are working and that the house number is easy to see.
When the time comes for a showing, you should leave the house and not be present when the potential buyer arrives, as it will be difficult for them to imagine the home as their own with you there.
It may sound like a lot of effort, but the use of these tips, along with the assistance of The Brazeau Team, will help you sell your current home quickly so you can move on to your next dream home.