Putting time and effort into your home before you sell will reap significant financial benefits at the closing table. Prepping your home to sell will make the house more appealing to more potential buyers and often results in a higher purchase price. In fact, if you do it the right way the potential return could be more than $400 for every $100 invested.
By following the six recommendations below, you’ll be well on your way to presenting the perfect home for a prospective buyer.
Curb Appeal Perhaps the most important seven seconds of the showing is the “curb to car” walk, which sets the tone for the rest of the showing. If prospective customers pull up to a home that looks messy and disheveled, with dead plants, clutter and dirt, they’ll walk inside with negative preconceptions.
Stand in front of your house and take a long look. What needs to be cleaned, painted, pruned or lit? Pressure clean your driveway, walkway, roof or patio; trim or add shrubs, flowers and greenery; replace your mailbox; declutter; change light bulbs; open patio umbrellas and awnings; and maybe add a new welcome mat. Make your potential buyers want to walk into your home.
While a positive curb appeal can lead buyers to overlook negatives during a showing, a negative mindset will cause them to point them out.
Clean Scrub the house until it sparkles. This especially goes for kitchens and bathrooms. Tackle grout, grime, grease, hard water stains and mold. Then recalk, paint and perhaps replace curtains. Make it look like new!
Cut Clutter Clear off your counters, furniture and tables of knick-knacks, personal photos, and all the “stuff” that you may not even see anymore. Hide trash cans, replace light bulbs, and put away soaps and shampoos. Minimize furniture by putting a few items in storage. A clutter-free environment combined with less furniture will open up your floor plan and maximize space. The less obstruction, the larger the room will appear.
Closets and Cabinets Less is more! Donate what you don’t need, neatly organize everything you do. Think matching baskets, cloth bins, shoe racks and other storage ideas. Homebuyers love their closet space, so show it off.
Pets Deep clean your pet’s area so it’s spotless with no lingering odor. Wash and put way stinky pet beds, crates, toys and litter boxes when prospective buyers drop in and never have them show in sales photos.
Calm and Inviting Amp up lighting. Open all the blinds. Light your fireplace. Refresh with paint, especially baseboards. Burn a lightly scented candle or bake a batch of cookies. Make your home a must-have place for buyers.
The time spent on working on preparing your home will be well worth it. It helps create a state of mind for buyers that too often gets overlooked. You’ll sell your house faster and hopefully create a multiple offer scenario placing you in the driver’s seat.
Author Bio: Whitney Dutton, owner of The Dutton Group@Re/Max First, a full-service residential real estate group, is the number one realtor in Fort Lauderdale, based on total transactions closed.
For more information, call (954) 440-2333 or email Sales@WhitneyDutton.com.
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