5.8 million houses were sold in May of 2021, which was up 44.6% from the previous year.
The pandemic has made it an excellent time to sell your house, as you’ll most likely sell it faster and get more for it than ever before. However, even with the real estate market soaring right now, there are important things you need to do before selling your home.
If you want the process to go as smoothly as possible, read this guide to learn what to do before putting your house on the open market.
1. Declutter Common Areas
Potential homebuyers do not want to walk into a house full of clutter. Even in the early stages of showing your home, you need to make it as appealing as possible.
Clean off all counters, tables, windowsills, and clean out your closets, areas behind doors, drawers, and cupboards. Even if you think it’s hidden, buyers have a tendency to inspect hidden areas.
If a homebuyer enters a house full of clutter, they won’t feel comfortable or be able to see themselves in it. It will also make the space look and feel much smaller.
Getting rid of your excess belongings can solve this problem and make your moving process more manageable.
2. Curb Appeal
Curb appeal matters more than you may think. The outside of your home is a buyer’s first impression, so even if the inside is magnificent, your house is getting judged by your curb appeal.
While your home is listed for sale, always keep your yard freshly mowed, bushes and trees precisely trimmed, and sidewalks swept. Consider investing in landscaping and power washing any dirty siding or walkways. If relevant, you might want to touch up trim or do an exterior paint job.
There are many relatively easy and cheap fixes you can do that will make a significant difference to your home’s curb appeal.
3. Depersonalize Your Spaces
A smart homeowner knows how to remove distractions to help potential buyers better see themselves in the space.
It’s advisable to remove family photos, take down bold artwork, and remove any well worn pieces of furniture.
You want to offer the homebuyers a blank slate so that they can picture themselves and their family living in the home. The harder this is for them, the less likely they will be to move forward in the homebuying process.
4. Staging
Now that you’ve depersonalized your space, you have the blank canvas needed to do staging.
If you are staging the property yourself, then keep your rooms open and spacious. Feature your best (that is, your newest and most tasteful) pieces of furniture.
Consider purchasing a few blooming plants or borrowing a compelling piece of art from a friend to use as focal point.
If you have the budget to hire a professional staging company, then they will handle this step for you. It is often well worth the investment, because they can often make your home look spacious, modern, and trendy for quite little money.
5. Smell Tests
You want your home to have a good, neutral smell when potential buyers visit it. Bad, negative, or strong odors can be an immediate deal breaker, so it’s best to deal with this issue as soon as you can.
Have an unbiased third party walk through your home to check for any foul or lingering pet odors. If you do have an odor problem, prepare to do some deep cleaning. Using candles usually won’t cut it, and you will have to address the root cause of the smell.
Things to Consider Before Selling Your Home
To have the best success with selling your home, use this guide to learn what you need to do. You want your house to be as appealing as possible, which may take a little bit of work but will be well worth it in the end. If you’re ready to learn more about real estate, like how to avoid closing costs, explore this article next.