Selling your home can bring up a whole mix of emotions as you try and disassociate from the place you have made your own so that you can relocate. It can feel unnatural to try and make your home a place that appeals to someone else, but this is a necessary part of marketing your home to a buyer. Here are specific and practical steps you can take to help you get your house on the market and sold as quickly as possible.
Depersonalize the Space
While it might feel uncomfortable to remove the dozens of photos of you and your family and friends, depersonalizing your home will help create room for a potential buyer to imagine themselves in your home. This goes for your decorating style as well. If you have very unique decor, you might consider replacing those things temporarily with something a little more generic. Again, this helps give potential buyers the opportunity to see themselves and their own style of decor in a room. It can often be really difficult to look past someone else’s loud furniture or quirky trinkets and see the actual space for what it is. While you should be proud of the home you have created for yourself, keep in mind that you will be able to re-nest in your new place after the sale is done.
Declutter
Moving is the perfect time to take Marie Kondo’s advice and tidy up your space. Sometimes, we do not even notice the amount that we accumulate over time, but packing it all up for a move can be eye opening. Try and imagine someone walking through your house for the first time. What will they see? Because you live in your home every day, you might be overlooking (or even straight up ignoring) highly cluttered areas that might overwhelm someone’s first impression. You don’t want a potential buyer’s attention to be drawn away from the positive aspects of the space. If you can’t seem to declutter your home by getting rid of things, consider renting a storage unit in the meantime. This will allow you to hold on to whatever you want and will let your home have that open and decluttered look that helps buyers make offers.
Repairs
While some repairs won’t add to the value of your home from a buyer’s perspective, some do. Anything that detracts from the space will cause a potential buyer to reduce their offer. Many of these repairs are purely aesthetic, but they help brighten up the space and helps the buyer feel more comfortable. Even a fresh coat of paint can do wonders, especially if you are covering up bright colored walls with a more neutral tone. Perhaps there are a few cracked tiles or a stained back splash in your kitchen. While these repairs do not cost you much, it can make a huge difference on the offers you end up receiving.
Be Aware of First Impressions
Chances are, a potential buyer will decide if they don’t want to make an offer before they ever step foot inside of your home. Their first impression has a lot to do with curb appeal. Are the bushes trimmed and grass cut? Do they have to step over toys left on the sidewalk, or is there a crack in one of the front windows? While these are minor things and have nothing to do with the true value of the home, a potential buyer’s first impression will absolutely set the tone of the rest of their walk through. In order to ensure you get really great offers for the home you have loved, cover all of your bases prior to listing the house by giving a potential buyer the best first impression possible. All it takes is a little extra attention to the finer details, and the offers you receive will reflect your efforts in time.
