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You’ve decided to sell your home, hired an excellent real estate agent, and are hard at work making repairs and changes to ensure that your property stands out. Preparing to sell your home is a time-consuming process.
There’s a lot to consider before listing your home for sale, from home repair tasks to having your home staged.
Even with a to-do list, many people are prone to forgetting important tasks along the way. Well, to guide you as you prepare to sell your home, we’ve compiled a list of the top things most home sellers overlook that might lose you the sale. So, before you place your house on the market, keep these things in mind:
Replace Lightbulbs
Many people forget to do simple things like replacing a lightbulb when it goes out. Walkthrough each room and check that every light fixture is working to avoid potential buyers from getting sidetracked by a minor issue such as this. Make sure all of the external lights are turned on as well. Open houses or home tours may take place after the sun sets or as it becomes dark, depending on the time of year, so make sure your home is properly lighted inside & out.
Consider The Small Details, Such As Plants, Mirrors, And Carpets.
Consider each room’s unique qualities as you prepare to sell your home so you can maximize the potential of each space.
Nothing brings a space to life like a little greenery. In a living room, a potted tree may make a big difference, but even small house plants around the house, such as on a desk or near a bedroom window, may create a big impact.
Consider hanging a mirror to enhance the space. Mirrors may make tiny spaces appear larger by creating a sense of depth, and they can also perform wonders in darker places by reflecting light into regions that don’t get a lot of natural light.
Using rugs to stage your space is a simple way to add personality to your home. Keep in mind, however, that rugs should be used to complement an area instead of to serve as the main feature. If you have an odd spot in your house that you’ve never quite worked out what to do with, a rug may add some flair while leaving the area and its possibilities to the buyers’ imaginations.
Declutter & Organize Your Closets & Cabinets
Potential homebuyers are likely to check in your closets, kitchen drawers, and cabinets during a home tour, so you’ll want to highlight what your property has to offer in terms of storage. Begin by cleaning your closets, cabinets, and drawers, ensuring that you only have enough stuff in each to showcase the space’s potential. Consider it an extension of your home staging for your storage rooms.
There’s a lot to do to get your house ready to sell before it goes on the market. If you’re overwhelmed or don’t know where to start, try hiring a professional organizer to help you organize your house so you can focus on more important duties.
Make The Most Of Your Outdoor Space
One of the most effective methods to make a good first impression is to improve your curb appeal. You should not, however, overlook your other outdoor spaces, such as your front porch or entry, back entry, side yard, or backyard. You want to make the outside spaces around the property more appealing to potential buyers so they can imagine themselves living as much outside as inside.
Consider creating a DIY fire pit or staging your deck with outdoor dining chairs if you don’t already have a specific outdoor entertainment place. It’s a smart idea to invest in your backyard landscaping if you don’t intend on doing a significant outside improvement before selling your property. At the end of the day, your outside area is equally as vital as the interior of your home.
Get Professional Aerial Photography
When it comes to selling a property, listing images are effective marketing tools, and houses with professional images are more likely to sell for more money and spend less time on the market. Aerial photography, on the other hand, is a fantastic method to make your house stand out from the crowd.
Drone photography can show your whole property while also providing a picturesque view and capturing the surroundings.
For potential buyers, an aerial image may easily put the full scope of your home into context and make for eye-catching listing images.
Clean Stains & Eliminate Odors
Small stains, scratches, and other flaws should be seen as badges of honor for a home that has been well-loved. However, when you’ve come to a decision to sell your home, these little imperfections will stand out to potential buyers, so make sure to address them right away.
Begin by walking outside and re-entering your home as if you were a potential buyer taking a look around for the first time. After that, go through each room and make a list of any issues you find.
Deep cleaning your home is a proven method to get rid of unpleasant odors, this is especially important if you have pets at home. Simple things like opening the windows for a few hours each day can help to ventilate your home. Plug-in air fresheners can also aid to infuse a new aroma throughout your home. However, don’t go overboard with artificial odors, since this may cause buyers to question what smell you’re trying to hide.
Clean Your Gutters
Gutter clogs are a deal-breaker for potential buyers. If you don’t have time to clean your gutters while preparing your property for sale, consider hiring a professional to clear and check your gutters so that this little error doesn’t derail your efforts to sell your property fast.
Repaint Your Baseboards And Crown Molding
While it’s common to paint your house’s interior a neutral color to appeal to more buyers, many sellers overlook their baseboards and crown molding. While the crown molding may just require little cleaning and maintenance, your baseboards have most likely seen a lot more use, especially if you have children or pets.
Clean your baseboards with ordinary dish soap and water to remove these undesirable spots. Consider freshening them with a new coat of paint if they have seen years of wear and tear.
Focus on Your Floors
If you’re thinking about what repairs to do before selling your home, a new floor might be one of the best investments you can make.
The flooring is one of the first things buyers notice when they walk into a new home, so make yours stand out. If your carpet is reaching the 10-year mark, it is most certainly looking old and in need of re-carpeting. Re-carpeting your flooring may make a big impact in making your property feel new and inviting to potential buyers.
To appeal to the majority of homebuyers, you’ll want to use a neutral hue, similar to what you did with your walls. If your carpet is only a few years old, however, having it professionally cleaned might help you breathe new life into it.
Refinishing your hardwood floors will restore them to their former beauty. This will mean sanding the floors to remove the old finish and stain, then refinishing with the chosen color and sealing with one or two coats of sealant.
Gather Your Important Documents
While you’re getting your house ready to sell, make sure you have all of your important documents in order. You’ll want to gather all of your warranties, manuals, service records, and records of any home repairs you’ve had done. This paperwork is necessary for a variety of reasons, and various parties will require different ones before you can sell your home.
Home inspectors will go over your house with a fine-toothed comb during the home inspection procedure. They’ll let you know whether your furnace or water heater hasn’t been serviced in years. Gather all of your service records in advance of listing your home so you’ll know if anything needs to be serviced.
Pre-sale Home Inspection
When you’re ready to sell your home, the final – and possibly most important – step is to have a pre-sale home inspection performed. While not required, it is a proactive method to determine the value of your home and fixing any repairs or problems before putting it for sale.
If you wait until the buyer does their own home inspection, you may face delays in the closing process until repairs are completed or as repair costs are negotiated with the buyer. These concerns may determine your asking price since buyers may want concessions to fund any repairs, so you’ll want to keep the number of problems that might cause the buyers to back out to a minimum. When it comes time to bargain with potential buyers, completing a pre-listing house inspection will put you in a better position.
