When you list your home you want it to be the most amazing thing to buyers, so much so that you’ll have multiple buyers in the first week. Now, of course, a lot of this has to do with the market. If the market just won’t support a seller’s market, it doesn’t matter how appealing your home is, but, regardless of how hot the market is, homeowners should prepare, stage, and list their home to appeal to the majority of homebuyers out there.
While there might be 100 things you could do to make your home more appealing, these top five remain tried and true for nearly every homeowner.
#1. Clear the clutter.
You’ve probably heard this a lot, to Declutter a home and to make it less personalized. Well, this is really one of the top things homeowners should do to appeal to buyers. If your home just has too much “stuff”, it’s time to clear it out. Take one room at a time. Have boxes to pack up and move, boxes for donations and a big box or garbage can for things that need to be tossed. There should only be one to three items on every flat surface such as nightstands, counters, dressers, and tables. There should only be one or two tasteful and neutral decorations on the wall. Remove all personalized photos, family heirlooms, certificates, and awards. Remember, you’re going to be packing up things anyway, start now by clearing out the rooms wanted a time. Clear out closets, cupboards, drawers, and pantries. Keep things as minimalistic as possible, clean, and clutter free.
#2. Address bad odors.
Living in a house for a long time means you’ve probably gone nose blind to your own scent. This is where you’ll need a trusted friend to give you some honest advice. What does your house smell like? Do you have pets, is there a smoker in the house, what about mildew and mold smell? Either seek out the source of the smell and eradicated completely, fix any issues that could be causing the smell such as a water leak, and create new smells with warm scents of apple, cinnamon, and vanilla. Even a nice, clean smell is better than the “lived in” smell as long as it’s not too harsh of ammonia or bleach.
#3. Fix all minor issues.
If the buyer walks through the house seeing minor little home repair issues, they might think there are bigger issues that you haven’t addressed. This could mean replacing a chipped tile, broken door handles, torn window screens, holes in the wall, peeling paint, or damaged door jams. Again, sometimes we become blind to a lot of things we’ve gotten used to, so either have your agent or a trusted friend go through each room in your house making notes on things that a buyer may notice that will need to be addressed.
#4. First impressions matter.
When listing the property the very first photo should be of the outside of the house. This is where you need to grab buyers from the beginning. How is your curb appeal? Make sure the grass is green, neatly trimmed and mowed, plants and flowers trimmed back away from the house, clean and clear access to the front door, and color tones that either complement or contrast to the house. This doesn’t mean buying flowers in every color of the rainbow but simply having one or two green or solid colors that complement the color of your house.
#5. Stage rooms as they were meant to be.
Have you turned part of the dining room into a home office? It’s time to turn it back. Each room needs to be staged and set up as it was originally intended. Set the table during open houses and showings, extra bedrooms can be an office if tastefully laid out, formal living rooms and dining rooms should look like they’re ready for the family game night, and a quiet sitting area should have reading glasses and a good book close by. Stage environments and settings so that buyers can see themselves performing those actions in the room it was designed for.
Again, we could break these five points up into a lot of additional points, but if you start with these five key tips, you’ll appeal to the majority of homebuyers.