6 Tips to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

Thinking of selling? Make it quick and easy with our experts’ advice and top home staging tips.

So you’ve decided to sell … now what? That’s the same question all homeowners face when they start the journey from “for sale” to “sold.” But don’t panic. Learn how to get your home ready to sell with these expert tips.
 

How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell Fast

1. Price it right

Only you and/or your REALTOR® know what that right number is.

But here’s a big hint: It’s the number that hits the sweet spot between your home’s fair market value and what you are hoping to make off the sale. Lots of times, homeowners who are unfamiliar with the sales process put their list price a little higher in the beginning hoping that they’ll land in the right place after negotiations. If you really want to sell fast and potentially get multiple offers, resist that urge. Generally speaking, your first 30 days on the market is when your listing will get the most attention. If you turn buyers off with an inflated asking price, they may not give your home a second thought.
 

2. Hit them with your best shot with great images

Buyers are visual and most start their search online. Naturally, pictures are a great way to get their attention. Although many smartphones have amazing cameras, your snapshots and impressive selfie skills may not be enough to do your home justice.

A professional photographer will know just the right angle, lighting and lens to use. Paying for pro shots when you're getting your home ready to sell is a wise investment.

3. Make a good first impression

Before you even think about putting that “for sale” sign up in your yard, be sure to amp up your home’s curb appeal. When looking at real estate for sale, buyers often like to do “drive-bys” to check out the neighborhood and get a vibe about the place. If they don’t like what they see on the outside, chances are they won’t make the time to see the inside.

Put your best foot forward with cleaned up landscaping, a fresh mat at the door, easy-to-read house numbers, a fresh coat of exterior paint and, if space allows, a pretty potted plant or seating by the front door.

Take care of any exterior maintenance you’ve been putting off i.e., • sagging gutters,
• broken fences,
• removing dead foliage
• See more quick tips to boost your curb appeal.

4. Get the word out

Today, getting the word out is more than just getting your property on the MLS (multiple listing service). It also means taking advantage of social media sites like Facebook. If you’re working with a real estate agent, they likely have a Facebook page for their agency and an individual business page that can showcase houses for sale.

These days, plenty of buyers find what they’re looking for on Facebook first.

5. Stage your home

The difference between house staging with home decorating

• Decorating is something you do to please yourself.
• Home staging is done to please others (and to get them to buy your home).

When you get your home ready to sell, keep in mind that you want buyers to see your home, not your personal style. That may mean toning down your Tuscan touches or trading in your kitschy vintage accessories for accents that are more today. Remember, this is a “means to an end,” and when you start showing your place, you’ll probably feel like it can’t end soon enough. The great news is, the sooner you sell, the sooner you can take your awesome sense of style to your next home.

But don’t get too carried away carrying away your things. Empty spaces actually look smaller and buyers need to get a sense that your house is homey. They won’t see that with bare rooms and walls. Of course you’ll want to de-clutter, but that doesn’t mean out of sight, out of mind. When looking to buy a house, serious prospects will peek in your closets and cupboards. Buyers are not being nosy, they just want to see how much storage there is. If you’ve stored (er, tried to hide) things in those places, buyers won’t see your home’s true storage potential. Instead, you may want to purge whatever you can or rent storage for things you can’t bear to part with. In the meantime, get more great advice from our Home Matters experts on staging your home and learn how to stop buyers in their tracks.

6. Be flexible with showings

Trust us, buyers rarely want to come look at your home at the ideal moment. Nine times out of ten, it will be right when you were planning to jump in the shower, just sitting down to dinner or finally got the baby down for a nap. Of course, it won’t always be possible to drop what you’re doing at a moment’s notice. But the more you can make your home ready to show when it’s convenient for buyers, the better. That may mean early mornings before work or just after work or even in the middle of the day. Bottom line, if you want to sell your home fast, make showing your house simple for agents at times that are best for buyers.

These six tips for getting your home ready to sell are sure to help your home go from “for sale” to “sold” in no time at all.

Want to sell faster and for more money? See how an American Home Shield® Home Warranty Plan can help boost buyer confidence in your home.