If you want to sell your home fast and for a good price, it’s important to know what to do first. This will enable you to minimize the hassle and get a good price for it. Have a look at the tips below on what to do before selling your home so you can enjoy the best and fastest outcome.
Declutter
Decluttering comes at the top of the list of what to do before selling your home because of the ease it comes with as well as the impact it makes. A home that has been lived in for a long time has no doubt accumulated a lot of things. When you’re showing potential buyers your home, you want to have it as airy as possible, so you need to declutter it to make sure they can imagine themselves and their own things in it. When you do this, you will have more people interested in it. Donate any excess items that you don’t need, or sell whatever you can sell to free up space. If you still have many items in your home after this, you could collect them and put them in storage. This will make you have to take a hard look at them and decide whether they’re worth paying to keep because this is essentially what you will be doing.
Rearrange the Furniture and Decor
While you may have been comfortable living in your home as it is, it’s good to consider the fact that different people may have different tastes and preferences. With furniture in mind, you could look up the most popular and functional ways in which to arrange it. This should be done with the aim of improving the flow within your home and making it appear clean and spacious. As for the decor, take-down any personal pictures and memorabilia you have of your family. You want people who come to view your home to imagine themselves living in the space and owning them, and having your personal effects placed out in the open makes it hard to do this. Look for neutral decor that doesn’t have personal affiliations to you or your family and allow viewers of your home to fill in the gaps with their own personal items. Aim for elegant but neutral, and you will have a buyer signing on the dotted line soon enough.
Replace Your Old Roof
Roofing repair is another important item on the list of what to do before selling your home. Given the major role that having a good roof can play in your home, it’s best to give it attention if you want it to only be on the market for a short time. A solid roof that doesn’t leak will leave you with a fictional home that also has good curb appeal. If you can start attracting potential buyers right from the street, you will definitely have an easier time selling your home. Check online to find roof designs that will flatter your home and make it look modern and appealing, and work with professional roof contractors to ensure you get the best results from your hard work.
Replace the Windows and Doors
The doors and windows in your home will also make a big difference in the way your home appeals to potential buyers. For this reason, don’t leave it out of your list of what to do before selling your home. If you have old, drafty, single-pane windows, you can drum up the appeal your home has to potential buyers by replacing them. While it will cost you a tidy sum to do this, you will get your money back as you will be able to ask for a good price for your house. Homebuyers keen on making savings as far as energy use goes will be eager to buy your home because they understand the impact that solid doors and windows have on a home and the wellbeing of its occupants. To be sure you get the very best, look for those with aluminum components as they will be cost-effective and also look amazing for a long time to come.
Think About a Remodel
If you have a part of your home that you feel is not up to the standards you would like it to be, consider doing a remodel as part of what to do before selling your home. The most popular remodels are kitchen and bath remodeling, which can improve your home in an instant if done right. If you have a lot of rooms and feel that the bathrooms are too small, consider making them a bit bigger, or adding storage options and space at least. The same goes for the kitchen, which should be spacious and bright enough for easy cooking and socializing. This will add to your home’s appeal as it has become common for people to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, catching up on the day’s activities. A remodel or two are therefore important things to consider when thinking of what to do before selling your home.
Update Your Exterior
While working out what to do before selling your home, don’t forget to update your exterior. This will enhance your curb appeal and make your home look newer and well-maintained, qualities that will help you get a great price for it. Look into dent removal for any problems you may have with your siding or other features of your home. The cost you pay for it will be well worth it in the end when your home looks amazing to potential buyers. Install any missing siding or other parts of your home’s exterior so it doesn’t welcome buyers with a worn and unkempt face. If you have larger or more delicate parts of the exterior that are in need of repair or replacement, you could check with a contract manufacturing company to see if you can have the parts made affordably and professionally. This will have a positive impact on the final results you get from the repair job, so take time with this.
Attract Buyers
Don’t forget to attract buyers by advertising widely on social media as well as on legitimate real estate websites. Doing this will put your home in front of a lot more people than you would have reached by putting up a sign in the yard alone. If you will need to pay a listing fee to advertise on a reputable company, it’s worth sparing the budget to do so as it can help you reduce the time it takes to get a serious buyer for your home. Don’t ignore putting up a sign and marketing via word of mouth, as these are also important parts of what to do before selling your home. Get professional outdoor signage to ensure that your home is professionally advertised on the physical front and you will definitely get back amazing results. When buyers see that you have made an effort to be professional with your marketing, they will be less likely to write you off as a scam or a poorly informed and exposed seller. You could also work with a good marketing agency, which, while you will pay to work with, will help you further your market reach in a professional way.
Find a Good Lawyer
Looking for a good lawyer should not be left out when you’re writing your list of what to do before selling your home. This is because should any legal issues arise, you need a competent advisor who will be able to guide you on the steps to take. Do some research on real estate attorneys in your area, seeking referrals from friends and family who may have worked with any and liked their services. Since it’s better to be prepared than to be sorry, you stand to be on the winning side when you work alongside a good real estate lawyer. They can advise you on legal pitfalls to avoid throughout the process, and also inform you about how you can go about certain things, including home upgrades and listing details. As with any other professional whose services you will seek, find out about their background and see if they’re good at tackling potential issues that could arise. You will have more peace of mind when you know that you have a knowledgeable and experienced person backing you. When you’re on the right side of the law at all times while trying to find a buyer for your home, you will be at an advantage.
Hire a Real Estate Agent
Another important item on the list of what to do before selling your home is to hire a real estate agent. They should be experienced in the details that surround selling a home successfully, so don’t neglect this. Their real estate services will help you go through the home-selling process fast and effectively. When you find one, look to see if you can find their reviews online and interview them briefly to understand how good they are at their job. This step will be important for you to make sure that the fee you pay for their services will be well worth it. Ask them about any training they have undergone and how long they have been in the industry, so you have an idea of what they will offer you. Find out who they have worked within the past, and make sure that they have an experience that’s relative to the locality in which your home is located so that you know that they will be able to handle the sale well. Shop around and don’t just settle for the first one you find, as you never know what others in the industry can offer you if you don’t ask around. If you can get referrals from people in your area who have sold their homes successfully, this will be the best option to take.
Clean and Paint the Walls Afresh
Finally, don’t neglect the impact that a fresh coat of paint can have on your home’s walls. It can make your entire home look brand new and well-maintained, and the best part is that it’s something that you can do yourself. For the best outcome, stick to neutral shades which will be welcoming and easy for the new homeowners to adjust to if they don’t like them. Bold colors may look good, but they will only do so for a season before giving way to the next trendy shade. They will also be a hit or a miss as far as people’s different tastes go, so it’s best to avoid them when getting your home ready for the market. Try your best to match all the rooms in your house and also match the exteriors to the interiors. If you feel like this will be a difficult task for you to complete on your own, you will be better off contracting a local paint contractor. They will be well-prepared with all the tools of the trade as well as a lot of experience which will enable them to do the job fast and well. You could do the cleaning yourself if the walls are especially dirty, and save the time and extra money you would have paid for that.
When you follow these tips on what to do before selling your home, you will likely sell your home fast, hassle-free, and for an amazing price to boot. Wherever necessary, work with professionals to enable you to get the best results. You will be glad that you took the time to do these things as they will elevate your status from an amateur home seller to an amazing one who will probably end up advising friends and family on how to sell their homes as well!