Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in 9 Easy Steps

2. Set the perfect price for your home

Your home’s listing price can be the difference between selling fast and watching your home sale drag on for months. It sets the tone for a sale right away. If the price is too low, you may end up losing profit you otherwise would be pocketing. Set it too high, and your home could end up sitting on the market untouched. That’s why it’s so critical to set the perfect sale price as you’re getting ready to sell your home.

Not sure how to nail down your sale price? Getting a top agent on board can help you set a pricing strategy that fits your goals. They can also provide valuable advice on market conditions and what buyers are looking for.

You can also get a head start by checking your home’s value before listing it. HomeLight’s home value estimator gives you a quick and accurate idea of what your home is worth with just a few clicks. Here are a few things that can lower your home’s value to watch out for:

• Damaged roof
• Poor workmanship
• Noisy spaces
• Outdated rooms
• Deferred maintenance

3. Tackle those neglected weekend maintenance projects

You probably have some projects on your to-do list that you haven’t gotten around to yet. As you’re getting your home ready to sell, it’s important to complete these tasks. They help paint a complete picture of your home for buyers. If someone notices even minor repairs that still need attention, they might wonder if there are more issues lurking, which could hurt your sale.

As you get your house ready for a sale, take care of any repairs, big or small, before a home inspector or appraiser finds them. All of those little annoyances you’ve grown accustomed to — like the leaky kitchen faucet, the squeaky door hinges, or the broken refrigerator drawer — could lead buyers to assume that the rest of the house hasn’t been well-maintained.

“This will save you money because you won’t have to pay the appraiser to come do a reinspection of your repairs,” points out Angela B. Miller, an appraiser with Miller Appraisals in Chesapeake, Virginia.

4. Deep clean your home

If your house isn’t clean and attractive, it could turn off buyers or deflate your home’s final sale price. That’s why it is essential to give the entire house a thorough cleaning as you get it ready to sell. Connie Taylor, a top real estate agent based in Amarillo, Texas, suggests tackling one room at a time to make it more manageable.

As you deep clean, be sure to pay special attention to the hotspots that tend to get a lot of eyeballs during showings. That includes these critical areas:

• Carpets
• Windows
• Kitchens
• Bathrooms
• Doors and walls
• Baseboards

5. Declutter and depersonalize your home for buyers

As you’re getting your home ready to sell, it’s important to remove clutter and put away personal items. Marty Basher, an organization expert with Modular Closets, explains, “You want prospective buyers to see the space; not your stuff.”

According to Basher, your plan should be to clean up, depersonalize spaces, and create a blank canvas, so your buyer can easily see themselves living in your home after the sale. “The goal is to get rid of all the junk that prevents someone from truly seeing the spaces within the house,” Basher says. “If there is clutter everywhere, it will be difficult for a buyer to visualize their own furniture and décor, and how they might use the spaces.”

When it comes time to get your home ready for a sale, you can declutter by traveling room by room and tidying up spaces. Here are a few tips to help you organize and depersonalize your house before you sell:

• Consider renting a storage unit
• Remove expired food and wipe away messes in your fridge
• Tidy up your pantry and kitchen cabinets
• Clean and organize your closets
• Clear floor spaces
• Store less-used items in plastic totes
• Hang shoes on the door with shoe racks
• Use fabric storage cubes to hold scarves, hair tools, and other small items
• Hide messy cords
• Remove any traces of your pets

6. Swap out old light fixtures and brighten spaces

Upgrading your light fixtures is a quick, affordable way to get your home ready to sell. “This is a super simple and very effective way to add value to a home and attract buyers,” notes Andrea Walker, a certified professional organizer in New Jersey. “Replacing a dated chandelier in a dining room with a more modern fixture will immediately improve the appearance of the space, even if the furnishings are dated.”

There are a few simple ways to improve lighting in your home:

Remove dust from existing light fixtures
To enhance lighting, dust fixtures weekly with an extendable duster to prevent build-up. For deep cleanings of glass-encased fixtures, carefully remove the glass, dump out any debris and dead bugs, and soak the glass in a bucket or sink full of warm, soapy water.

Check and replace your lightbulbs
Go on a lighting audit to make sure all of the bulbs in the house are working and that the bulbs match in each individual light fixture. Also, check the color temperature of your lightbulbs. Most home staging experts recommend using warmer shades of light.

Also, make sure the foyer entry light fixture is fresh and modern. This will set the tone for the rest of the house tour. Walker recommends visiting a big-box home improvement retailer or checking online for inexpensive, but stylish, light fixtures.

7. Paint your home’s interior with fresh, neutral colors

It may not be necessary or cost effective to paint every room of your house, but adding interior paint strategically can drive up your home’s value. Taylor recommends touching up paint on interior walls where it’s needed.

If you don’t have extra paint on hand — or if the paint you do have is past its prime — you can use a razor blade to shave off a 1” portion of paint and then take it to the hardware store to have it matched with the appropriate color. From there, use a Q-tip or a tiny brush to touch up small areas.

If you want to paint entire rooms, Taylor suggests choosing a neutral, timeless color that will appeal to a wide range of buyers. She says Sherwin Williams’ Agreeable Gray is her go-to shade.

8. Touch up or upgrade your home’s exterior

Your home’s exterior hits your potential buyer with a first impression that could make or break a sale. That’s why it’s so important to examine your home’s exterior before you list it for a sale. Start by power washing your home’s exterior. Look out for any spots with chipped paint or siding damage. From there, you can add value by applying fresh paint to your home’s exterior, which can increase your home’s financial value by 2 to 5%.

Additionally, you can improve your home’s exterior by removing any objects cluttering your yard. Just like you did inside the house, survey your lawn and driveway with a critical eye, and remove outdoor eyesores, such as kids’ toys, knick-knacks, trash cans, or other items that could be distracting. Sweep off the porch and walkway, and clean out the gutters. If you have an outdoor seating or entertaining area, clean out the grill and freshen up the furniture cushions.

Once you’ve taken care of those basics, here are a few more ambitious home exterior additions you may want to consider as you prepare to sell your home:

• New garage doors
• A patio or deck
• New or repainted front door
• Fresh or repaired windows

9. Tidy up landscaping and boost curb appeal

A final way to prepare your home for sale — and drive up value — is to tidy up landscaping. Not only does beautiful curb appeal lure buyers in, but it also encourages them to offer more money for your home. An investment of a few hundred dollars can lead to an enormous return on investment. Here are few simple enhancements you can make to sharpen your landscaping and boost your home’s curb appeal:

• Trim shrubs and trees
• Add outdoor accent lighting
• Plant some flowers and blooms

When getting your home ready to sell, a few small upgrades to entry spaces can create a strong first impression, capture a buyer’s attention immediately, and set your home up for a fast sale.

Get a Free Home Value Estimate

Enter a few details about your home and we’ll provide you with a preliminary estimate of home value in less than two minutes. This won’t be a guarantee of what your home will sell for, but it is a helpful starting point.

Input Address

Prepare now for a smooth selling experience

When you’re ready to sell your home, a little preparation can make a big difference. It might seem like extra work at first, but taking proactive steps early in the process can lead to significant rewards. Invest some effort now, and you’ll likely sell your house faster and enjoy a smoother, stress-free experience.

Header Image Source: (R ARCHITECTURE / Unsplash)