Admittedly, most homes currently listed on the market are “flying off the shelf.” Limited inventory has created pent-up demand from buyers that has fueled this wildly unbalanced sellers’ market. That said, even though homes are currently selling quickly and escalating, it is still important to take the right steps to prepare your home for the market in order to get the highest and best offer in the shortest amount of time. Below I outline some steps that will help you do just that!
A good listing agent should have an official listing appointment with you to run through comparable sales, marketing plans, AND to walk through your home room by room and make recommendations to make your home showing ready.
Below is a standard task list I provide to all of my seller clients prior to putting their home on the market:
- DECLUTTER every room. I cannot stress this one enough. A well-staged home is going to have minimal items sitting out. A cluttered home is going to feel smaller to purchasers, and doesn’t give a good first impression. This is a great time to donate or get rid of items you no longer need or to consider purchasing a storage unit to make your listing more appealing.
- Clean thoroughly. A deep clean can make a huge difference for buyers entering your home. Buyers will open appliances, cabinets, closets, you name it. It’s important to do a deep clean of the space to create a good impression, and to create an inviting smell upon entrance.
- Staging. For vacant homes, I highly recommend hiring a professional stager. I’ve written an entire other blog post on this, but when buyers can visually see the rooms with furniture it makes a huge difference and drives more offers to the table. For owner-occupied listings, it’s important to remove bulky furniture that makes the space feel small, remove family photos, remove pet items (beds ,toys, etc), and put children’s toys away. We want to make an inviting atmosphere where buyers can envision living in your home.
- Make it bright! Believe it or not, lighting is a huge factor in many buyers’ decision making. The more the merrier. Start by bringing in as much natural light as possible by opening curtains and blinds. You should also switch out light bulbs to daylight bulbs to get as much light into the space as possible.
- And finally, a short list of general recommendations:
- Make necessary repairs if you have knowledge of anything not working correctly.
- Consider painting and replacing/cleaning carpet
- Pack away any collections or memorabilia
- Replace any burnt-out bulbs
- Remove items from kitchen and bathroom countertops
- Repair necessary caulking
- Make your bed!
- Straighten all rooms
- Straighten area near doorway (first impression!)
- Consider potted plants at doorway
Simply put, you want the home to look as clean, organized, and well maintained as possible. Again, no clutter.
By making your home clean, organized, and aesthetically appealing, the listing photos will have a fantastic turnout, ultimately drawing more buyers to visit in person and make offers.
Wishing everyone a happy Friday going into the weekend. And to those thinking about buying or selling, give me a call
Alli Collier 