How to Prepare Your Home to Sell (Quick!)

Every seller wants their home to sell quickly and for the highest price they can obtain. Little do many know, there are quite a few things you should do to prepare your home to sell. Not only does it take careful planning, but it oftentimes requires a professional’s opinion to give you some tricks of the trade and some unbiased advice to help. Some of our tips are no-brainers, while others will bring some fresh perspective. The good news is, if you do these things, you’re in a really good spot for a buyer (or several) to write up a great offer.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The first and most important thing to do when you’re going to prepare your home to sell is to research the local housing market. You may have some general sense of how your neighborhood is doing on resales, but it’s good to know how many homes are on the market, how fast or slow they’re moving, and the prices these other homes are achieving.

Once you have a good understanding of value, it’s time to find a listing agent. It’s 2020; everyone knows a Realtor® but do you know a GOOD Realtor®? Keep in mind, there are big firms, boutique firms, and independent brokers. First & foremost, you should focus on the person who you trust, who offers good and hearty advice, and has the experience and tenacity to get your home the exposure it needs to sell.

The internet has been a huge equalizer between big and small firms. Your market’s top agents are going to bring in buyers even if you don’t hire them. If you flip through a magazine, look online, or drive through your neighborhood, the choices of who to work with can be overwhelming. There are plenty of well-qualified agents that focus on specific neighborhoods or segments of the market. However, when you choose to work with a firm like FREEBIRD (hey, that’s us!), you will see ALL of the options available to you for listing your home. We maintain non-competitive relationships with all of the area’s best agents, so we can potentially bring you a buyer through them.

SO, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR HOME?

We look at this as a 5-step process and we promise that getting your home ready to sell does not have to be difficult or extremely time-consuming nor do you necessarily need to dump a ton of money into making updates

Depersonalize your home. This doesn’t mean remove every picture, but use common sense (or we’ll advise you) on what to leave and what to keep so that it is tasteful when showing your home
Clear the clutter. Store, save or donate as much as possible to give your home a more minimalistic look. Think about what you can do with a lot of your belongings that add to the clutter. It’s important to be able to see the floors and ceilings of your closets (without things falling out and/or hitting potential buyers on the head!)
Give your house a deep clean. Your home should not only look clean but also smell clean. Also, consider the outside of your home; mulch is a cheap and easy way to enhance your flowerbeds and landscaping to give it a more polished look.
Maximize lighting. When we show listings, we like to light the place up as much as possible. Make sure all the bulbs in each room match one another and are the brightest wattage and color tone possible. We recommend stocking up on extra lightbulbs, in case one should go out during the duration of your home’s listing.
Have a plan for your pets. If you think it’s awkward for the potential buyers viewing your home, it’s most definitely awkward (and weird) for your little critters, too! You also never know who could be allergic to or afraid of animals. It’s best to have a plan to get your little furry ones out of the house when showing your home.

SO, ARE YOU READY TO MOVE?

At FREEBIRD, we consider everything and bring nothing but professionalism and expertise to the table. Our clients receive a full red carpet rollout that consists of professional photography, marketing to the right demographics, properly staging your home, and making key recommendations on simple fixes to put your home in the best possible position to sell. So, what are you waiting for? Contact your FREEBIRD agent today so we can roll up our sleeves and get to work.