These five simple tips will help you prepare your home before selling.

We’re in the midst of an incredibly hot market, and sellers are doing all they can to quickly list their homes and make a great profit. However, it pays to invest some time into preparing your property before you put it on the open market, so here are a few tips to help you get everything ready:

1. Plants: You want to make a great first impression on potential buyers, so take a look at your home’s landscaping. Put in some fresh flowers, change out the mulch, and spruce up the lawn. This is also important for pictures, as the first thing most people see is the photos you post online. 

2. Paint: A fresh coat of paint can revitalize a home. It cleans it up and makes it feel as good as new — even better, it’s simple and easy to do.

3. Pictures: Reduce the number of pictures on the wall. In this case, less is always more. You don’t need to depersonalize your home completely, but you also don’t want to overwhelm buyers. A buyer should be able to walk into your home and envision the life they could live there, so don’t let them get distracted by dozens of family photos.

“These are just five tips from my 24-point home selling checklist.”

4. Fixtures: You can swap out fixtures, such as sink handles and doorknobs, to update your home. Trends change rapidly; for example, brass fixtures used to be incredibly popular but have fallen out of style. Fortunately, you can switch out most fixtures for a relatively low cost.

5. Furnishings: You need to rearrange things so that they open up your home and show buyers how spacious the rooms are. It may not be how you would have it as a living situation, but it’s the best way to show off your house. You don’t have to swap out furniture, but removing some can certainly help in many situations. We’ve had some clients store extra stuff in their garage or even rent out a storage unit to ensure there’s no unnecessary furniture taking up valuable space.

These are just five tips from my 24-point home-selling checklist. If you would like to see the rest of my tips, have any questions, or want more information, feel free to reach out to me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.