9 Easy tips to prepare your home to sell

Before you list your house on the market, it is important to prepare your home to be viewed by potential buyers. Thankfully for you, this doesn’t mean renovating your kitchen and adding a pool. Just a few minor fixes can go a long way in wooing potential buyers. Getting your house in tip-top shape will ensure that it sells quickly and for the best price possible.

Here are a few low-cost tips that will get your house into selling shape:

1. Disassociate yourself from your home. Before you start cleaning your house and making repairs, it’s important to mentally disassociate yourself from your home. Try to think of it as a product instead of your home. Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, and walk around the house as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Make notes on what needs fixing.
2. De-clutter and de-personalize. You want potential buyers to be able to picture themselves living in your house. The more personal paraphernalia that you have in your house, the less they will be able to do this. A good way to de-clutter is to go through the house and get rid of anything you do not want to keep on the move. If you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it! Take family photos, memorabilia collections, and personal keepsakes and place them in storage.
3. Tidy closets, cabinets and drawers. Buyers are known for snooping! They will be looking into all the nooks and crannies of your house, and if they see messy closets, drawers and cabinets, they might think the house lacks adequate storage space.
   
4. Repaint the walls. Give your walls a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color, such as white or beige. Tone down any bright or dramatically colored walls because they will not appeal to the majority of buyers.
5. Make repairs. Most potential buyers don’t want to worry about making a laundry list of repairs when moving into a new house. Make quick fixes and replacements, and take care of any issues that may discourage buyers—such as leaky faucets, squeaky doors, broken cabinets, or cracked windows.
6. Clean until it sparkles. Clean or replace carpets, bleach grout, wax floors, wash windows, replace fixtures, and clean every possible surface until it sparkles.
7. Stage the interior. Rearrange your furniture to maximize space and showcase your home’s layout. Your furniture should fit the scale of the room, using just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose. Homes with less furniture show better because they have an illusion of spaciousness.
8. Create good lighting. A little bit of lighting can go a long way in making a room appear bigger and brighter. Open blinds and curtains to bring in the natural light and add floor or table lamps to brighten dim areas.
9. Maximize curb appeal. Create a warm welcome by cleaning or repainting your front door and purchasing a new welcome mat. Consider adding some potted plants near the door, and investing in new house numbers or a new porch light. If you can’t get a buyer excited about the exterior of your home, they might not ever step inside! Upgrade your curb appeal by mowing the lawn, trimming bushes, clearing sidewalks, cleaning the patio and outdoor furniture, clearing toys, and adding some perennials for a touch of color.