Preparing Your House
It’s time to roll up your sleeves and attend to anything you have meant to get around to get the house ready.
Fix
During your meeting with the real estate agent, they may have suggested minor improvements. Does your home need any tinkering? For example, if it could use a paint job or servicing, get it done now before a home inspector points it out, and make sure all burnt-out lightbulbs are replaced. Another helpful suggestion in hotter markets is to get a pre-inspection done. Either use this to identify areas you need to improve or if everything is up to par, you can make this accessible to potential buyers. This can help smooth the process.
De-Clutter & Depersonalize
Next, if you haven’t already done so, it’s time to de-clutter. Have a garage sale or sell your wares online, but get rid of anything you don’t need. Is your home still very full or personal looking? Consider renting a storage unit. Removing personal photos and identifying material, such as diplomas hanging on the wall, is a good idea. The less your home looks like yours, and more like a blank slate for the next person, the better off you will be. And the more prepared you will be for the actual move.
Stage
As mentioned, ensure your home doesn’t appear too cluttered or personalized. Put stuff in totes, storage, or organized neatly in your crawl space or garage. Prospective buyers should only be able to see nicely arranged furniture, window coverings and anything you choose to make your home more appealing. If your favourite couch is an oversized one covered in cat scratches, you might consider renting furniture or looking into professional staging. Be sure to bring up these concerns with your realtor.
How about the little things like a bowl of fruit on the counter or fresh plants and flowers? Why not? They won’t sell the place on their own, but they will undoubtedly make it more inviting.
If you have children, prepare them in advance about how their rooms will look and have a go bag packed for showings filled with their most valued stuffies. It is good enough to tuck their stuff away so it is not messy; people understand children live there. Plastic totes are super handy here as well.
Pets, on the other hand, can turn some people off. If you have pets, please ensure food bowls and mats are put away, and your home does not smell like an animal. Back to the tinkering and fixing, if the area surrounding the food bowls is warped or water damaged, it is a good idea to repair this before showings so buyers don’t think something more serious is causing damage.
Regarding smells, do not spray any type of deodorizer. This can be a red flag for buyers who may suspect the spray is covering something more sinister such as mould. Scent diffusers are okay if they are not overpowering and are turned off before showings.
You want your home to be easy to walk around and look through. Ensure that there are no obstacles blocking access to closets, crawl spaces, sheds, garages, outbuildings etc. unless you and your realtor specify in the listing that these are closed or second viewing only. Making it as easy as possible could mean a quicker offer.
Once your clutter has been stored, your surfaces are cleared off, and everything is accessible, this inside is ready to go.
Apply the same instructions to your yard. This is a great time to make some trips to the dump with anything that could clutter your yard, making it look smaller. More importantly, if you are taking anything with you from the yard or the home (think trampoline, play set, dog run etc.), remove it before the photos and showings, or someone will think it’s up for grabs and write it into an offer.
Now that you are ready for photos, depending on where you live and the weather, it’s a good idea to take a photo of the outside of your house when it is sunny and have that on hand in case the photo day comes and it is not. Bright pictures are always better than grey ones.
Once the photos are done and the listing is up, it’s go time! Stay tuned for ~ Open Houses and Showings.