What Do I Need to Do to Prepare My Home to Sell?

Maintenance, cleaning and staging are the most important preparations when selling a home.

Getting the highest possible price for your home requires a fair amount of preparation on your part before listing it for sale. While you can't do anything about the location of your home, you can focus on its condition. Clean, well-maintained and tastefully staged homes fetch higher prices and sell more quickly.

Repairs

Small repairs are well worth the trouble to fix. Prospective buyers will notice missing or worn shingles on the roof, cracks in the drywall and dripping faucets, and note them all when attempting to negotiate a lower price.

Landscaping

Landscaping can greatly improve the curb appeal of a house. Although potential buyers know an unkempt lawn does not affect the quality of the house, it does put forth an impression of slovenliness and makes buyers less motivated. Cut and trim your lawns, weed flowerbeds, plant attractive flowers and prune dead branches from shrubs, bushes and trees. Repair broken fences and remove clutter or junk from the exterior of your property.

Cleaning

Before listing your house, you need to clean it more thoroughly than you have ever cleaned it before. Vacuum not only the floors but the walls and furniture. If you have pets, consider loaning them to a friend or family member while your house is on the market to keep the interior hair-free. Scrub all sinks, faucets, floors, grout and showers until they look as new as possible. Wash all your windows, inside and out, and dust or launder window coverings.

Staging

Staging is the process of laying out the interior of a home so it appeals to the highest number of buyers. This means clearing out all clutter and any signs of personal touches, such as knick-knacks, family photos and notes or art projects on your refrigerator. Then, accent rooms with just a few pieces of high-quality furniture. If your furniture has seen better days, consider moving it out early and replacing it with rented or borrowed new-looking and trendy pieces. This helps buyers envision the house as they would like it, and makes it look like a more expensive house.

References

• Canada Morgage and Housing Corporation: Getting Your House Ready to Sell
• National Association of Realtors: Get the House Ready