“Confidence comes from being prepared.”
– John Wooden
It’s time to sell your house, but having potential buyers tramp through your home while you’re trying to live in it is waking you up at night in a cold sweat.
If you’re feeling anxious about living in your home while it’s on the market, then it’s time to take a step back, assess what needs to be done, and prepare your home to be listed on the MLS.
First Impressions: Curb Appeal
Take some time to set the stage on your property by sprucing up your yard. Homes with fantastic curb appeal sell for 7% more than unimproved homes in similar neighborhoods, so weeding the front flower beds and putting down some new mulch has the potential to boost your home price even before the buyer steps inside. Check out this AgentStory article for additional curb appeal ideas.
On to Decluttering and Cleaning
Has your kitchen junk drawer become a junk closet?
With a move on your horizon, now is the perfect time to finally address the creeping piles of junk that have gathered around your home. Clearing out clutter makes it easier to clean your home, and it allows buyers to visualize themselves in your home.
Remove the Junk
As you sort through your possessions, you can assign actions to your three piles:
- Toss it. You don’t need it anymore, so there’s no reason to spend time and money moving it to a new house. Whether you need to take a load to a landfill, make a trip to the electronics recycling or a donation center, or simply put it in the garbage, now is the time to remove the junk from your life.
- Store it. Seasonal decorations and out-of-season clothes should be sent to a storage unit to reduce clutter inside the house. This is also an opportunity to reduce the visual clutter by condensing your book collection, packing away most of your linen closet, or clearing knick-knacks off the tops of shelves and countertops.
- Sell it. Since you’re preparing to move, now is a great time to sell any items, especially large pieces of furniture, that you don’t want to pack up and move with you. Not only will it save you space on a moving truck, but it’ll also increase the perception of space in your home.
Deep Cleaning
Everyday cleaning isn’t going to cut it when buyers walk through your home, open your drawers, and scrutinize every single room in the house. It’s time to get serious about cleaning. Consider hiring a cleaning crew to help make your home spotless. Steam clean your carpets, power wash your exterior and tackle some of the deep cleaning projects you’ve neglected.
Neutral Decorating and Photos
Build on that curb appeal by repainting your interior with a soothing neutral like Benjamin Moore’s White Dove or Edgecombe Gray. A decluttered space with a neutral backdrop helps buyers project themselves into your house. As a bonus, when your professional real estate pictures are taken, a neutral paint color throughout helps the home visually flow together in the listing.
Pro-tip: Don’t include seasonal decorations in your real estate listing photos. A Christmas tree in February instantly dates your listing.
Staging Open Houses and Viewings
Rushing out of the house for a last-minute viewing can be frustrating, especially if you’ve just finished dinner and the kitchen hasn’t been cleaned up yet. Being in a constant state of readiness for house viewings is stressful, but there are a few ways you can prepare your house so that viewings go smoothly.
Virtual open houses and tours are becoming increasingly common as more homebuyers start the homebuying process online. Consider virtual staging to reduce foot traffic through your home, and also as a way of weeding out casual homebuyers.
Spend some time tidying up your home every day. Five or ten minutes every morning or evening helps keep your home ready for last-minute showings. With just a few minutes’ notice, you’ll be ready to walk out the door and let buyers check out your house.
- Clear off countertops and tables.
- Pick up toys, put away extra shoes, and tidy up coats or clothes that are lying around.
- Grab a wet rag and wipe down “hot spots” like around the kitchen sink, the stove, the microwave, and the outside of the fridge.
- Wipe down the bathroom counter, sink, and faucet.
- Take out the trash.
- Light a candle.
Let’s Talk About Smells
Smells: this is an unavoidable topic you have to address when you have a home full of kids or pets (or both).
Kids? Scrub those toilets, including all around the splash zone (the floor, the walls, and behind the toilet). Consider replacing the toilet, flooring, or repainting the walls.
Cats? Daily clean out the litter box and clean or remove pet scratching posts.
Dogs? Go beyond vacuuming and deep clean both the furniture and the carpets with professional tools. Wash or replace the dog beds, and wash your bedsheets if your dog sleeps with you.
Cooking fish? Think again. Strong odors that linger like garlic, fish, curry, or onions can greet buyers before they have a chance to admire the freshly-painted living room. If you have a planned house viewing, choose your dinner ingredients carefully. Wash dishes promptly and air out the home if smells continue to linger long after dinner’s over.
Minor Repairs and Minor Renovations
All of the honey-do items that you’ve put off will need to be addressed. Minor repairs aren’t a deal-breaker for a homebuyer like a leaking roof would be, but if you have dozens and dozens of minor repairs, when it comes to negotiating your home’s price, it’ll seem like death by a thousand price cuts.
Spend a few weekends to repair:
- Leaky faucets
- Running toilets
- Holes in the wall
- Broken doors or windows
- Cracked light switch covers
- Damaged door handles
Lock Up Valuables and Medicines
You don’t know who’s going to tour your home when it’s on the market. For peace of mind, lock up valuables, sensitive documents, and prescription medication while you wait for your house to sell. Even if you’d like to think that buyers would respect your privacy, there is no guarantee that they will.
The Bottom Line
By focusing on curb appeal, clearing out the clutter, deep cleaning, and making minor repairs, you’ll feel much more prepared to list your home. If you’ve done the necessary prep work before listing your property, you can be confident when buyers walk through that your home’s best features are on display.
