Preparing Your Home to Sell
Preparing your home for the real estate market comes with a checklist that feels miles long. It’s easy to lose track of what’s important and how to get the most money from your house possible. It’s also easy to overlook simple interior design tweaks that could be flipping that “for sale” sign over to “sold” much faster, so we wanted to share some of the best prep-for-market tips we know when it comes to selling that sucker fast!
Maximize Lighting
The brighter your home can appear, the better. This means natural light as well as installed lighting. If you can avoid having dark corners of your home, it will look like a larger, more welcoming space which can only serve you well in a competitive real estate market like the one in the Denver metro area.
Half-Full Closets
If your closets aren’t bursting at the seams, it helps potential buyers see and understand that there’s a lot of room for storage, and home buyers are always looking for storage options. Especially when square footage costs the pretty pennies it does these days, knowing they’ll have enough room for all their stuff without having it out in the open or having to purchase storage space is a big selling point.
Eliminate Pet Evidence
Sure, your pup or cat makes your house feel like home, but that doesn’t mean it’ll do the trick for potential buyers. When you know you have showings coming up, keep the space free and clear of fur, chew toys, and food bowls. No one wants to walk into a home they might buy and be greeted with the smell of a litter box or tufts of fur that never seem to disappear.
Small Upgrades
Sometimes it really is all about the little things in life. When you do small upgrades to your home, it can have a big impact in the overall impression your home makes, which can translate to a faster sale. This can be as simple as updating doorknobs or handles on cabinets, applying a fresh coat of paint where it might be needed or replacing your curtains if cleaning them doesn’t do the trick.
De-Personalize It
This might seem a bit counter-intuitive, but when you’re trying to sell your home, people need to envision themselves in it, not walk in and be reminded instantly that you and your family lived there. If it feels heavily “lived-in” it creates a barrier for the buyers. If it feels a bit more like a blank slate they can make their own, it becomes much easier for them (and your real estate agent!) to make it their own in their minds.
It’s not easy work, selling a house, but with these small extra touches, you could see great returns and indulge in that sigh of relief that comes from having your home listed for only a short time. If you’re trying to get ahead of the game, prepping your home for a sale that might not happen for a year or two, check out our renovation tips that can garner huge return when you finally decide to pull the trigger, and don’t forget to have a foundation inspection well before you ever get to implementing any of these tips!