Making the decision to sell your house is a big step, and it often comes with a long list of things to do before you’re ready to have prospective buyers through. Once you have decided a change of scenery is in order, it’s time to mentally prepare yourself for the workload ahead.
Find the right real estate agent
Your real estate agent is amongst the most important people involved in this stage of your life because they can become the difference between getting what you want and missing the mark.
Before you make any hard and fast decisions, do some research online and check out agents in your area with reviews from other sellers.
Choosing a local agent will give you the added benefit of their experience with your particular town and the surrounding homes, but the most important consideration is their results in the field.
You can find sales records for your area listed online, along with the agent who managed each deal, so be sure to take each agent’s track record into account.
Take on those renovations
Renovating a house might sound like a scary prospect, and the process can be challenging, but it can also boost the potential asking price at just the right time.
Renovations can be as big or as small as your budget and still make a positive impact on your valuation, as long as you know where to focus your energy.
The kitchen and the bathroom have long held the title of most valuable rooms in the home, and they can be expensive to renovate, but even simple changes like a fresh coat of paint for the cabinets or a new feature sink can give your valuation a well-deserved boost.
Clean, repair, and repeat
It might seem obvious, but when you’re trying to maximize your selling price, cleanliness really matters.
Ideally, you want your home to look as new as possible, so treat this step in the same way a property manager might treat a bond clean at the end of a tenancy – with great attention to detail.
Start by checking for any built-in features that need replacing, whether it be the oven or the tap fixtures, and call in a handyman or plumber if you need one.
Then, give all the usual culprits in the bathroom and kitchen a thorough soaking, as well as the floors and carpets. That first impression will mean a lot more if your home is in great condition, so consider this step a top priority.
Depersonalize it
It’s only natural to make small changes to the style of your house over the years, especially if it has been a long-term home for you.
The problem is that potential buyers are likely to have different tastes, and anything that’s too particular or unusual might turn prospects away at the thought of additional work to be done after the sale.
Things like an unusual wallpaper or artwork are easily replaced with a more generic alternative, and the right choice could change a buyer’s position on the property entirely, which is why it’s so important to return to neutral wherever possible.
It’s all about showing your home in the best possible light for as many buyers as you can.
Boost that curb appeal
The garden is easily forgotten when you’re busy putting all of your energy into the interior, but it’s worth investing some time into your home’s exterior appeal.
Traffic and pedestrians walking past will get a snapshot of the property from the view of the yard and front exterior, and you can make it that little bit sweeter by adding some new plants, laying down a neat garden path, or even freshening up the fence.
Another area to think about is the driveway. If your driveway has all kinds of potholes or cracks throughout, you should learn about your driveway installation of new concrete or asphalt to give it a full makeover and maintain the rest of the garden and fences look optimal to passer’s by.
Native plants are likely to be especially attractive to buyers, since they fit in with the landscape, thrive in the local weather conditions, and attract native wildlife.
And if you think now you can get away with those cracks in the pathway or driveway because you’re selling, you might be surprised how much of a difference this will make to a potential buyer. If they see there is a lot of work to be done it may put them off completely. So hire a concrete contractor and make sure the exterior fixes are all done before you invite people into your home.
A lot of curb appeal problems are easily fixed, but if there are major issues you can spot from the road, the people viewing it will too!
Get professional photos taken
The internet is a powerful tool in the world of property sales, and getting the perfect photos couldn’t be more important since they will make the first impression on many of your potential buyers.
A professional photographer should know all of the right angles and positioning techniques to make your home look as spacious and attractive as possible, and with modern technology, the possibilities are endless.
You can even hire a photographer with a drone to capture images from all of the spots you can’t reach or produce a seamless video tour of the property.
Selling your house is a lot of work, but the rewards can be huge if you keep your potential buyers at the front of your mind. Just make sure that, if you are doing a renovation, everything is done to perfection – this is not a time for low-stakes DIY jobs.
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