How to Prepare Your Home for Sale
Although we may be living in a seller’s market, selling your home today still requires more than just putting a “For Sale” sign on your lawn. In fact, the selling process starts long before you even put your home on the market! As a seller, you’ll need to put in the work upfront to ensure your home is in tip-top shape before potential buyers ever see it.
Taking the time to focus on repairing, staging, and deep cleaning your house may seem tedious, but it’ll be worth it in the long run when you sell your home fast and for the best price. If you’re curious about how to prepare your home for sale, then this step-by-step checklist will help you know what it takes to get your house prepped, ready to go live, and ultimately sold!
Prep It Before You List It: How to Prepare Your Home for Sale
A prepped home is a more marketable home! Let’s take a closer look at some of the things you should do before putting your house on the market.
1. Address Minor Repairs
No matter how hard you work to take care of your home, it’s normal for wear and tear to accumulate over time. Perhaps there’s a loose doorknob, squeaky door, running toilet, or marks on the wall that you’ve grown accustomed to and have avoided fixing for one reason or another.
While these could be seen as easily ignorable quirks to you, potential buyers may think otherwise. In fact, having too many noticeable repairs could leave buyers questioning your home’s worth and assuming the worst. In order to prevent this from occurring, it is vital to be proactive and address necessary repairs before your home ever hits the market.
2. Make Your Home Spotless
As you begin to prepare your home for sale, one of the first things you should do is declutter and deep clean your space. In preparation for selling and moving, now is a great time to go through your house and either throw away, donate, or store any items that no longer bring you joy. You may be surprised to see how much stuff you have accumulated over the years!
Once your home is organized and decluttered, you’ll also need to deep clean your home. In addition to helping you get ready to move, a clean space is essential for selling your home. When potential buyers come to your home, you want to ensure that it looks its best. You never know when a buyer will schedule a last-minute tour, so it is crucial to keep your house tidy and spotless throughout the entire selling process.
3. Depersonalize Your Space
One of the most critical aspects of selling a home is ensuring that prospective buyers can visualize themselves living there. However, this can be difficult if your home has your personal stamp all over it. Therefore, you’ll need to depersonalize your space and make your home as neutral as possible prior to showings.
This means removing personal items or mementos — such as family pictures, diplomas, souvenirs, etc. — and any bold artwork or furniture that could potentially distract buyers. While all of these items are what make your home uniquely yours, the buyer wants to look at a home and imagine it being their own.
According to top agents, “Once you make the decision to sell your home, it’s no longer your home — but soon to be someone else’s!”
4. Offer a Neutral Color Palette
When it comes to selling your home, less is more! In addition to removing any personal items, another aspect of depersonalizing your space is to paint your walls in neutral colors. After all, as much as you may love that bright accent wall, patterned wallpaper, or colorful kid’s room, not everyone will feel the same way. As we mentioned above, you want to avoid styling choices that could potentially turn off potential buyers. Therefore, utilizing neutral shades is a safe bet, as these colors blend in rather than stand out. Because these hues are less distracting, they will allow the buyer to envision what your walls would look like with the color of their choice.
5. Enhance Your Curb Appeal
The outside of your home is just as important as the inside! Despite what we were told growing up, many homebuyers tend to judge a book by its cover. If a prospective buyer doesn’t like what they see on the outside, they may not even want to come inside — ultimately denying you the opportunity to sell your home. Therefore, it is critical to ensure your home is warm and inviting from the inside out. As you start preparing your home for sale, now is the time to give your yard some extra TLC by mowing your lawn, pulling weeds, laying mulch, planting flowers, and so on. First impressions matter, so set yourself up for success by making sure a potential buyer’s first glimpse of your home is great.
6. Set the Stage
Last but not least, staging can do wonders for your home and should not be forgotten! Think of this as the final piece of the puzzle when preparing your home for sale. This is your chance to set the stage and make your space feel like a home before showings. Pay attention to the details by strategically adding decor throughout your home and focusing on key rooms such as the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms.
In addition to making your home appear more attractive and put together, staging can also increase your chances of selling. In fact, a recent study by the National Association of REALTORS® found that a staged home spends 73% less time on the market than a non-staged home. Furthermore, 85% of staged homes sold for up to 23% above their listing price — meaning that this step could increase your home’s value, too!
Did you know? Staged homes spend 73% less time on the market than non-staged homes.
The Final Step: Preparing Your Home for Sale With The Redbud Group
Now that you know how to prepare your home for sale, it’s time to find an experienced real estate agent! At the end of the day, a real estate agent does much more than just put your home on the market — the right agent will help you every step of the way. From making repairs or renovations to enhancing curb appeal and staging your home, your agent will walk you through the entire process from start to finish.
Here at The Redbud Group, we want to make your home-selling experience memorable! In addition to providing their own advice and expertise, your Redbud Group REALTORS® will also connect you with staging professionals in the area to ensure your home is prepped and ready to sell. If you have any questions about preparing your home for sale, or if you’re ready to start the selling process, then click the button below to get in touch with us.
