Prepping Your Home For A Quick Sale- The Essentials

Prepare your home for a quick sale.

Some of things on this list take more time than others, start prepping your home before you plan on listing it. This isn’t going to be a short read, I want to give you a really good idea of how to focus your energy. This shouldn’t all be done in a day or even a week. Take your time, a little work now will pay off in the speed and quality of offers.

Paperwork: this is probably the most time consuming part, most owners have some of these things filed away but others make take some time and research. The more information you can provide the better the prospective buyer will feel about putting in a good offer immediately. Examples: Utility bills, an easily readable Excel spreadsheet is the best way to display the information. Tax Bills, provide at least the last years tax bill, more is better. Details of any improvements, the cost, date and the names of any professionals used. Warranties on appliances if they are still applicable. Survey, a recently staked survey goes a long way to reassuring the prospective buyer what exactly they are getting.

Lighting: This is the time to replace that burnt out bulb or faulty switch. A well lit home looks cleaner and more attractive. Change out any dated light fixtures, a quick trip to a home improvement store or IKEA can go a long way toward improving the look of your home.

Bathrooms: Remove all of your soap and hair products. I don’t want everyone to know what shampoo and conditioner I use, and neither do they. Make an honest assessment of the condition of your shower curtain and bath mat, if it is questionable it is out. Get some new towels, and don’t use them. These don’t have to be expensive, Target often has them on sale. You can take them with you to your new home and use them after your home has sold. Everyone likes the idea of a fresh, fluffy, brand new towel. Look into getting new toothbrush holders and other accessories.

Kitchen: The kitchen can be the make or break room in your home. The countertops should be clean and cleared of all of your mixers, benders, George Forman grills, etc. Everything but a bowl of fresh fruit and some flowers should be stored away. Don’t just throw everything into cabinets. You’ll want to show prospective buyers that all of their things will easily fit inside. Make sure to wipe down the cabinet shelves and doors. Store your adult beverages elsewhere and remove empty or almost empty bottles, throw a get together to dispose of some of it. Clean the oven. Yours probably has a self cleaning feature, use it. Clean out the refrigerator, shelves should be clean, even those door trays full of condiments. Does your fridge look like a place you would put a sandwich on a plate and still want to eat it?

Bedrooms: The biggest hurdle here is if you have kids. Try to remove clutter, take out anything personal. Think, bed and breakfast. You want the rooms to look like a nice place to sleep, or put the kids down for a nap. Buyers look inside closets, so don’t just chuck everything in there. Invest in some throw pillows and duvets. Kids rooms can still look like kids rooms but shouldn’t be a little league or dance shrine.

Living Room: Sofas and chairs should be cleaned. Remember what you stuck your hand in last time you lost the remote? That should all be gone. Hide the wires to the TV and stereo speakers. If there isn’t one already, a nice area rug can help define areas, throw pillows can tie everything together. Minimal decorations are best, we want the focus to be on the house.

Dining Room: Most of us don’t eat in our dining rooms every meal, but we want buyers to imagine themselves eating there. It should be a place anyone would like to sit down with friends and family to dine. A properly sized table for the space, and appropriate number of chairs will go a long way. If your chairs need to be reupholstered or refinished try to do it, a nice table cloth can conceal an old table. You get to take these with you, so get things you like.

Garage and Laundry room: De-clutter and organize. If you have a two car garage you should be able to get two cars in there. The laundry room/area should be clean. Everyone drips detergent once in a while but blue goo puddling on a shelf is not a good look. Get rid of the lint in the lint trap and in the corner behind the dryer.

The Entrance: This is the buyer’s first impression of your home, you’ll want it to be a positive one. Many buyers make up their mind withn seconds of stepping through the door. Collections of shoes, coats and umbrellas will only draw attention to the lack of a good place to put them. You’re not going to wear all of your shoes while trying to sell your home, store them away. Lighting comes into play especially here. Make sure the front porch is clean and the door mat doesn’t have leaves scattered around.

Repair all of those things you have been avoiding: Patch nail holes in walls, fix leaky faucets. Bring in a handy man if it seems overwhelming, we know a few.

Clean Windows: Inside and out. Especially after the recent storms your windows could probably use some love. Clean windows help with lighting and make everything look fresh and new.

Outside space: Keep grass mowed, if there is mulch in an area, add a fresh layer. Pressure wash the driveway, if it needs it. See last week’s Blog for tips on exterior paint. Trim hedges and shrubs and get rid of yard debris. Try to repair any bare spots in the grass from pets or pests.

De-personalize: This one may be the hardest, but the goal is for buyers to see your home as their home. If there are too many family photos and souvenirs it will be harder for them to imagine themselves living there. Walk through your home, if what you see will let a buyer get to know you personally put it away.

Paint: Touching up all those dings and paint lines from hurrying through the last color change will give your home a fresh and clean new face. A coat of paint all the way around will make the home look brand new. Stick to a basic color pallet, this comes down to personalization. We don’t want hospital white, but neon green can be a turn off also. It is all about allowing a buyer to mentally move all of their things in, bright vibrant colors might clash with their imaginary furniture and decorations. Lighter colors make rooms appear larger. Don’t forget the base boards and door trim.

Hire a Realtor®: We’ll take it from there and be able to give suggestions for professional help or other small things you may have missed. We will help you price your home well to bring in the most offers in the shortest amount of time. We also have some great Photographers, as mentioned before in our Blog, this can make a huge difference.