How to Prepare Your Home for a Sale in 12 Steps

With the ever increasing real estate properties on the market, buyers have an ever increasing selection of affordable homes to choose from. While you may be in a hurry to sell your home quickly, not preparing your home for a sale before placing it on the market can cost you time and resources.

Be it your first home for sale or just another property being listed, the presence or absence of a near-perfect effort can either land a premium price on your property or significantly reduce the value in the buyer’s eyes.

Here are 12 steps to help you prepare your home for sale.

• Try to buy your own home Before you hang the “for sale” sign, approach your home and inspect it like you did the first time you bought it or have a friend, family member or neighbor go through the home in order to be impartial. This will help you see any issues from a buyer’s perspective.
• An entrance to impress A good first impression of your home is not to be made from inside the house. Rather, it starts from, your environment and surrounding. Ensure that your lawn is perfectly mowed, the gardens weeded and the bushes pruned. You should also have a litter free property. Use a pressure washer on the walkways, steps, decking, sidings, garage door, etc. Clean all gutters and drainages of any debris.
  An impressive entrance will bring more potential buyers in the door in anticipation of a stunning interior.
• Make the appropriate repairs You want your home to be at prime condition before your buyers arrive. Take care of both major and minor defects that are visible especially things like leaky roofs, cracked windows and holes in the wall.
• Our door should be inviting Splurge out some paint and give your door a sharp look with some fresh coat of contrasting color that makes it stand out. If your house numbers are faded too, now is the time to replace them. You also need a welcome mat if the old one is no longer much to talk about.
• Wash the floors and walls Now that we are indoors, we would like to see you clean the ground and walls. If your home isn’t in so great shape because of the kids or another reason, you may be smart to order for a house cleaning service to wipe every spot clean.
• The bathrooms definitely matter From the tiles, to the walls to the broken mirrors and cracked sinks, clean and/or change everything. Buyers will always value a well kept bathroom.
• Depersonalize and remove clutter When buyers step into a space, they consciously or subconsciously begin to place and envision their properties inside the space. The only thing that’s going to block that imagination is all your personal belongings lying everywhere like your home isn’t up for sale. Use boxes and storage units to clean up and leave the space void.
• Shine bright like a diamond Clean everything till it sparkles. From kitchen counter tops to ceiling fans and floors, make sure everything shines.
• Go neutral Paint your home in neutral colors. You don’t want buyers looking away simply because they don’t like the red coat you’ve used in your hallway.
• Organize your closets and drawers If you keep your drawers and closets unorganized, now is the time to get it all together. Seeing a messy closet will give buyers the notion that you home has insufficient storage space.
• Remove foul odors Spray an air freshener or neutralizer in your home to make the air more conducive. Keep litter boxes and garbage bags outdoor, do the dishes and take out the burnt food. Those leftovers in the refrigerator too and the spoiled milk on the kitchen counter.
  Invite natural smells by bringing in some house plants and turn on the air con if you have one. You could also bake some cookies and capture your buyer’s olfactory.
• Let go of the emotional attachment This is a very serious point as many sellers meet the right buyers but don’t make up their mind because of emotional connection to the home.
  Just remember to let go of it because as soon as you shake hands, it’s no longer your home.