10 Ways to Get Your House in Tip-Top Shape
Prior to Selling It!
What are the best ways a home owner can prepare their house for sale? By taking a few simple steps and following a few guidelines, it’s easy to increase your property’s appeal to potential new buyers. Here are our top tips for preparing your Okotoks home for sale.
1. Paint the interior! A fresh coat of paint goes a long way to giving the appearance that something is new and that’s no different in a house. Bright, neutral colours make the walls of any room look cleaner and just give the whole space a refreshed and revitalized feel. Try to stay away from making a statement with bold colours and keep things neutral and bright; new home owners don’t want to move in and have to paint over your colour choices.
2. Paint the outside! The outside of your house takes a beating from the sun and all sorts of weather and can look worn. Wash and paint the siding to bring life back to the exterior. Touch up the trim, paint deck railings and surfaces and consider giving the front door a more vibrant colour to make the entryway “pop”. Try to keep the rest of the house neutral, however, as with the inside; potential buyers don’t want to have to repaint the exterior.
3. Pick up any outside debris, trash or clutter! Curb appeal is everything and the front yard is the first thing potential home buyers will see. Make sure to tidy up any toys, lawn equipment and general clutter that may be sitting around the front. For the back, clean up any mess and make the yard inviting so that buyers can picture enjoying the privacy a back yard affords.
4. Reduce extras from your home! Remove the knickknacks and personal items that clutter your home. By removing the personal things that make your home “your home”, it gives buyers the impression of more space and allows them to envision their particular items in the rooms. The old expression “you can’t see the forest for the trees” applies here; let people focus on the whole room, not the things in it.
5. Be sure and open blinds and draperies! Next to location, lighting plays the most important role in buying and selling a home. Open the blinds and curtains, clean the windows and trim any exterior landscaping that may be blocking windows. Try to get as much natural light into the house as possible and add interior lighting in those darker areas with a few lamps.
6. Avoid playing music! While you may love having background music on while you putter around the house, your taste in music might not be everyone’s. Keep the house music free and let potential home buyers get a feel for the “natural” sound of your home without background noise.
7. Price your home correctly, right from the beginning! Nobody wants to have to go through the stress and anguish of spending months waiting for their home to sell. Homes that are priced properly for the market and the area sell quicker and draw more viewers in the first weeks of a listing. Homes that are priced incorrectly tend to sit on the market longer and go stale giving potential buyers the impression that there must be something wrong with the house. Price it right from the beginning and your house should have no problems getting offers.
8. Have your carpets cleaned! Clean carpets and polished wood floors show that your house is well cared for and well maintained. People tend to notice what’s underfoot and having clean flooring is a must for giving the right impression.
9. Hire a staging company! A professional stager can rearrange your existing furniture and even bring in some new accents that turn your house into a show home. Moving furniture around to showcase the space in a home adds to the appeal of a room.
10. Purchase new linens and towels for bathrooms! Nice fresh sheets on the bed and folded white towels in the bathroom give the impression of luxury in a home. Think of high end hotels and how indulgent the linens and towels seem; offer that same feeling to buyers
*Adapted from an article written by John D. Mayfield ABR, ABRM, GRI, e-PRO, CRB.
Contact us for more tips on selling Okotoks real estate.