The Ultimate 6-Week Guide to Getting Your House Ready to Sell

Week 2: Hire a top real estate agent

Rima Rafeh, a leading real estate agent in Los Angeles County with more than 375 transactions under her belt, stresses the importance of hiring an agent as soon as possible: “Sellers should consult an agent right away because that agent is going to be able to come up with a game plan for what the seller is aiming to accomplish. No matter what circumstance, your agent is going to be able to guide you through your sale from A to Z.”

While you take care of your end of the sale process, your agent will handle crucial tasks that require professional expertise. Some of these include:

• Marketing
• Pricing
• Staging
• Sourcing professionals like contractors and photographers
• Fielding offers
• Negotiating with buyers

HomeLight’s analysis of thousands of home sales across the country reveals that the top 5% of real estate agents typically sell homes for 10% higher prices than their peers.

When you’re ready, HomeLight can connect you with top real estate agents in your area. From there, we recommend that you interview these agents to determine which candidate can best help you meet your selling objectives.

Week 3: Deep clean and declutter every room

Your home might feel comfortable and clean to you, but it’s likely not up to listing standards. You want to create a neutral space that buyers can envision living in. That means you’ll need to declutter, depersonalize, and deep clean your interior and outdoor spaces.

Not only is decluttering a top pre-listing task recommended by Rafeh, but a HomeLight report shares that decluttering can add an average of $8,000 in resale value.

The best way to tackle this sizable chore is to break it up over several days and focus on one room at a time. Here’s a rundown of what you need to cover:

• The bathroom: Start your decluttering campaign in the bathroom, the smallest and easiest room in your home to clean. Remove everything but the essentials, thoroughly clean the floors and surfaces, move your toiletries into cabinets, fold your towels, and you’re ready to move on to the next room.
• The bedroom: The bedroom is also relatively easy, as it’s normally only filled with your clothes and other personal items. Don’t worry about decluttering your closets just yet. Just put away any loose clothing, nightstand items, and personal effects. Clean blinds, behind your headboard, and under the bed.
• Closets: Are your closets packed with neglected items that you haven’t touched in years? Revisit your closet’s content and donate and toss things you no longer need. Aim to declutter your closets until they’re only two-thirds full to enhance the appearance of storage space. Pack up any extra items into moving boxes and store them in the garage or a storage unit until your home sells.
• The kitchen: Kitchens are areas of constant activity, and if you’ve been living in your house for some time, yours is likely jam-packed with cooking tools and knickknacks. Again, be discerning about what you’re going to keep around and prepare to part with anything unessential. After you’ve cleared old food and unnecessary items out, thoroughly clean every cabinet, shelf, and surface.
• The rest: After you’ve decluttered the primary spaces mentioned above, tackle the rest of the house, including office spaces, living rooms, hallways, and entryways.

Week 4: Complete necessary repairs

You can proactively address repairs by conducting a pre-listing home inspection. An inspection costs $343 on average, but the actual cost will depend heavily on your location and the size of your home.

During this inspection, a licensed professional will examine your property for defects like cracked foundations, faulty electrical systems, moldy walls, and HVAC issues.

After you’ve received a report from your inspector, you can determine which repairs to complete and which to leave for future buyers. You’ll need to disclose these known issues and may want to consider adjusting the listing price to reflect the cost of any significant repairs needed.

In most cases, Rafeh advises sellers to complete the repairs themselves. “If a property is in good condition, it’s going to have more interested buyers, better exposure, and the potential to receive multiple offers. Even little repairs that cost maybe $3,000 can generate thousands more at the point of sale.”

Week 5: Enhance your home with upgrades and curb appeal

After you clean and repair your home, it’s time to start sprucing it up to make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers. However, there’s only so much you can do on a timeline, and not every project is going to have a worthwhile return on investment (ROI). Your agent can advise what renovations are most effective in your local market, but here are some suggestions that exhibit a high ROI nationally:

Landscaping

According to a HomeLight research report, agents estimate that a landscaping upgrade adds $7,312 in value. Angi lists the average cost of a landscaping upgrade at $3,523, so homeowners can expect a 108% ROI when investing in landscaping upgrades.

Garage door replacement

The garage door is another big part of curb appeal and can serve as an understated but effective eye-catcher for buyers. In the 2024 Cost vs. Value Report, Remodeling found that garage door replacements have an average ROI of 193.9%. If you don’t want to pay to replace your garage door, consider cleaning, repairing, and applying a fresh coat of paint to your existing garage door.

Front door replacement

Your front door is your buyer’s first chance to interact with your home up close and personal. If it’s rundown or the lock jams, they might question how well you’ve taken care of the rest of the property. Fortunately, replacing your front door is relatively cheap and, according to NAR, can have an ROI as high as 188%.

New house numbers

Sometimes small details can have a big impact. You probably don’t think about your home numbers all that much, but a set of modern, clean home numbers is an affordable way to make a statement.

Neutral paint

According to HomeLight, a fresh coat of interior paint adds $8,000 of value to the sale price of a home. When painting your home, opt for a neutral tone to appeal to the largest pool of buyers.

Attic insulation

Energy Saver reports that heating and cooling represents more than half (52%) of a household’s energy consumption. You can improve your home’s energy efficiency and attract buyers by insulating your attic for around $1,500.

Week 6: Stage your home and hire a professional photographer

At this point, you’ve done all of the major work to get your home ready to sell. Your final task is to get your home ready for listing photos, open houses, and showings.

Staging is the process of rearranging furniture, adding decor, and generally dressing up your home to appeal to potential buyers. According to HomeLight, well-staged homes sell for 13% more than an unstaged space.

Most real estate agents advise hiring a home staging professional at an average cost of $1,500 to $4,000.

Once your home is looking stellar, it’s time to show it off. Most homebuyers use online tools during their home search, so you’ll need professional listing photos to grab their attention. Your agent can refer you to an experienced photographer. Professionals typically charge $150 to $350 per hour, and many agents wrap this expense into their commission.

In case you want to take the photos yourself, here are some tips to remember to produce high-quality listing images:

• Illuminate the space: Let natural light in whenever possible. Combine it with the interior lights to make the space bright and more welcoming.
• Shoot during the golden hour: Early morning or late afternoon are the ideal times for capturing the space.
• Frame the space right: Use wide angles to capture more of the space in each shot.
• Focus on key features: Emphasize standout elements, such as fireplaces, modern kitchen equipment, and unique architectural details.
• Show the lifestyle: Include images that demonstrate how spaces can be used, for example, inviting dining setups or reading nooks.

Now you can relax and let your agent do the heavy lifting

You’ve just done everything you need to get your house ready to sell. From this point forward, your agent will take the reins on your home sale. They’ll craft a compelling listing, market your home to buyers, and arrange showings. All you need to do is maintain a clean house and watch the offers roll in.

Header Image Source: (André François McKenzie / Unsplash)