If you are thinking about selling your home there are a few things that you should take care of before you contact that realtor and get your home listed on the market. You have to think from a buyer’s perspective occasionally, what would they like to see when they look around a home. Buyers don’t often want to move into a cluttered fixer-upper. So be sure to take care of these three things before you open up your house to buyers.
Decluttering
First and foremost you should take some time to declutter your home. That includes the junk drawer and the garage, the places where everything gets thrown and avoided. Decluttering is important as when you open your home up for viewings the buyers don’t want to see your stuff lying around the property. Everything should have a place and anything that doesn’t should be put away. The reason for this is that potential buyers need to be able to envision their own belongings in your home. Another reason to declutter is that it opens up the rooms and makes the space look and seem larger than it is.
When you are decluttering it is worth sorting your belongings into four piles. These should be:
- The keep pile
- The throw-away pile
- Stuff you want to donate
- Items you want to sell
Repairs
When you sell your home new buyers must be moving into a home that doesn’t need any repairs. You may lose a sale if potential buyers find things wrong with your home that they don’t want to sort themselves. You might have a long list of repairs that you have been putting off, well now is the time to get them done. Two essential parts to look at are the roof and the walls. If the roof is leaking this will end up causing huge bills and repairs either for yourself or the new buyers. When checking the walls make sure there are no cracks, if there are make sure you fill them in.
When people are interested in buying your home they will send around a surveyor to check your home for structural damage. If they find anything on the report that they don’t like then they may well pull out of the sale.
Deep Clean
Finally, once everything else is done and before you get the photographer in to take photos you need to make sure your home is thoroughly cleaned. Nobody wants a home with someone else’s dust and dirt in it. Cleaning will remove everything that has built up over the years and get rid of the dust that has been missed during your weekly cleans. One notorious place for dust to gather is oven hoods, this is because they aren’t regularly cleaned.
Along with the rest of the house, you must not forget to clean the floors. If you have hardwood flooring this will need to be swept, mopped, and steamed to get rid of leftover dust. If you have carpets then these should be hoovered and then shampooed. Shampooing ensures all ground in dirt is removed and makes the carpets and home smell beautiful. If you are worried about using chemicals in your home then think about hiring a professional to carry out eco-friendly carpet cleaning throughout your home.
Love,
Jenna ♥
These are excellent tips! I hope you have a wonderful week <3