You’ve waited all winter and spring has finally arrived! If you’re thinking about selling your home, now is the perfect time to roll your sleeves up and get to work to get ready for the spring real estate season. But before you list your home for sale, you need to make sure it’s showroom ready. Below are 10 tips, ranging from surprisingly easy to ones that require a little elbow grease.
Think About Your Curb Appeal
It’s highly recommended that you make sure the first thing potential buyers see will have them want to see more. Unfortunately, a lot of homebuyers tend to have that “judge a book by its cover” mentality. So, it’s up to you to make your house as visually appealing as possible. You can accomplish this by giving your front porch a makeover by planting flowers and repainting the front door.
Get Rid of The Clutter in the Living Space
When it comes to showcasing your house to buyers, having clutter around isn’t going to be very appealing. Before you open your doors, do a little spring cleaning first. Remove any clutter you may have on your countertops, tables, and windowsills. Afterward, you’ll have to tackle whatever is in your drawers, closets, and cupboards. Potential buyers have no limits when it comes to exploring their future home.
Make The Space Less Personal
As they explore, potential buyers like to imagine what it would be like if they lived in the house. So, it’s important that you remove any kind of distraction that would interfere with their imagination. This includes any personal items such as family photos, artwork and furniture that’s considered unappealing by the general public. You want to have a blank slate, so to speak, so that your clients can envision themselves living there.
Repaint the Walls
While you may adore that colored wall, it could be a potential buyer’s least favorite color, making it a turn-off. In fact, the three colors that you should avoid are black, orange and violet. A neutral color like white or light blue is going to be more visually appealing.
Get Rid of Any Scuff Marks
In some cases, there may not be a need for a full repaint. However, remember to keep an eye out for any kind of scratches and scuff marks you may have on the walls and baseboards.
Repair Any Loose Handles
This may be a small thing, but you’d be astonished by the negative effect that a buyer can have when it comes to a loose handle. It can make them stop and wonder if there’s anything else wrong with the house.
Perform a Smell Test
Having a foul smell, regardless of how intense it is, can be quite the deal breaker. Consider inviting an unbiased third party to see if they can detect any unwanted odors. Should the smell be widespread, then it’s time to do some deep cleaning.
Hide Your Valuables
You never know who you’re really inviting into your home. Hide anything you consider valuable such as jewelry, antiques or art. You can either lock them in a safe place or store them off-site.
Make Sure Everything is Nice and NeatAfter all of the cleaning and preparation, take the time to double check if you missed anything. You may be surprised if you noticed a stain or scratch you didn’t see the first time.
Look For a Good Real Estate Agent
The thought of putting your house on the market, selling it and pocketing the money you’d pay an agent can be tempting especially in this spring real estate season. However, a “For Sale By Owner” can turn into quite the financial disaster. Conduct a bit of research to look for a real estate agent who has knowledge about your desired market.
Looking to sell your house? Contact Gail Schoeneberg by to see how easy this spring real estate season can be.
