These are our best tips for preparing your home for sale:
- Disassociate Yourself With Your Home.
- Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house to be sold”.
- Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
- Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners!
- Say goodbye to every room.
- Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.
- De-Personalize.
Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see past personal items, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if yours are there! You don't want to make any buyer ask, "I wonder what kind of people live in this home?" You want buyers to say, "I can see myself living here."
- De-Clutter!
People collect an amazing quantity of household items. Consider this: if you haven't used it in over a year, you probably don't need it.
- If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
- Remove all books from bookcases.
- Pack up those knickknacks.
- Clear off everything on kitchen benchtops
- Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.
- Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets.
It is natural for buyers to investigate the internal cupboard space and will open the cupboard doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organised. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well.
- Rent a Storage Unit.
Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Since your bookcases are now empty, store them. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don't want buyers scratching their heads and saying, "What is this room used for?"
- Remove/Replace Favorite Items.
If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them now. If a buyer never sees it, they won't want it. Reduce buyer unnecessary conflict in the negotiation stage. Pack those items and replace them, if necessary.
- Make Minor Repairs.
- Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
- Patch holes in walls.
- Fix leaky taps
- Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
- Consider painting your walls neutral colours, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don't give buyers any reason to remember your home as "the house with the orange bathroom.")
- Replace light bulbs that have blown
- If you've considered replacing worn bedding, do so now!
- Make the House Sparkle!
- Wash windows inside and out.
- Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
- Clean out cobwebs.
- Polish chrome taps and mirrors.
- Vacuum daily.
- Mop floors
- Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
- Bleach dingy grout.
- Replace worn rugs.
- Hang up fresh towels.
- Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odours are a huge deterrent on inspection.
- Scrutinize.
- Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house welcome you?
- Linger in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
- Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around if you need to.
- Make sure window coverings hang level.
- Does it look like nobody lives in this house? You're almost finished.
- Check Curb Appeal.
- Keep the sidewalks cleared.
- Mow the lawn.
- Paint faded window trim.
- Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number
- Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
- Trim your bushes.
- Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.
