Preparing to put your St. Louis home on the market? Then there are things that you need to do! Selling your home involves a lot more than just simply placing a “For Sale” sign in your front yard or putting some pictures of your home on a website– especially if you are hoping to get the most money.
So before you put your home on the market, look over this checklist of things you should do to prepare you home. Some of these ideas are remarkably easy, while others might require a bit more effort. However they are bound to payoff once buyers start viewing your home– and hopefully make a fantastic offer.
1. Consider your curb appeal.
Buyers do tend to judge a home by it’s curb appeal. You will want to make certain that the buyers’ first impression of your home is a good one. It should cause them to want to come to the open house or schedule a tour– so they can see more.
By investing some time and effort into some reasonably simple fixes, like planting flowers and repainting your front door, the outside of your house can cause prospective buyers to want to take a look inside.
If you are uncertain as to how to enhance your home’s curb appeal, ask your St. Louis Real Estate Agent for suggestions on how others in your area have enhanced the outside of their homes prior to placing it on the market.
2. Find a terrific St. Louis Real Estate Agent.
You might believe you can offer your home “for-sale-by-owner” and pocket the money you would otherwise have paid an agent.
It can be appealing, particularly in a hot market, but it might be in your best interest to resist the urge. A “for-sale-by-owner” transaction can many times be a disaster, leading you to sacrifice both cash and time.
That said, do not just blindly hire the real estate agent who mails you the most advertisements or the friend of a friend. Do some research to find a real estate agent who is experienced in your specific market, and then interview them to make sure they are an excellent fit.
Your real estate agent needs to be someone you feel comfortable dealing with, whom you can depend upon to sell your home for top dollar. Don’t be afraid to talk with a couple of real estate agents prior to picking one.
3. Declutter living areas.
Less is certainly more when it concerns getting your home prepared to show.
Do a clean sweep of countertops, shelves, tables, and all other noticeable areas, and after that tackle spaces behind doors: closets, drawers, and cabinets– considering that virtually nothing is off-limits for curious buyers.
If the home is overflowing with things, buyers might worry that your home won’t have adequate space for their own things. They won’t buy a home if they believe they will also have to rent a storage unit.
Take your excess things and contribute them to charity, or pack them up to be stored off-site. Not only will clearing clutter make you home look spacious and appealing to buyers, it will also assist you once it’s time to move into your new home. Moving will be that much easier with some of your things already packed.
4. Depersonalize your space.
Sellers need to eliminate any distractions so the buyers can imagine themselves living in the home.
Sellers should remove personal pictures and items, in addition to bold artwork and furniture that may make the house less appealing to the general public. The goal is to develop a blank canvas on which buyers can see themselves living there.
5. Repaint walls to neutral tones.
You might love that bold colored accent wall, but that could be a total turnoff to prospective buyers.
It’s the seller’s task to allow buyers to picture themselves in your home. If they do not feel at home, they’ll probably take a look at other real estate options.
6. Retouch any scuff marks.
Even if you’re not completely repainting your home, pay unique attention to scrubbing and then touching up baseboards, walls, and doors to make your home looks clean and well maintained.
Selling any house can be challenging, however, selling a home with lots of little issues and small repair needs can be downright hard. When buyers come into an open home, or go on a house tour, they want to be “wowed” by the house, not make a list of small repair work that the home needs.
In order to impress buyers (and sell your home quickly), spruce up your home before putting it on the market.
With a home that is in “move-in ready condition,” you will more than likely see more interest, and may even see numerous offers.
7. Repair the little things.
It’s a small thing, but you would be surprised by the impact a loose handle or missing lightbulb can have on a buyer.
For a buyer, writing a contract and subsequently committing to a home loan, is a big deal. When you are selling your home, you don’t want buyers to question whether or not your house has been well maintained and will make an excellent home.
8. Consider staging.
Absolutely nothing updates a home like some new home furnishings or perfectly chosen accessories. The secret is getting your home staged by an expert.
Home stagers will examine the existing condition and the items in your house and identify what elements might raise the bar. They may suggest you buy or rent some furnishings or accessories, or they may just rearrange your knickknacks and furniture in a brand new way.
St. Louis stagers know the the St. Louis real estate market, and what appeals to buyers, so it is necessary to take their recommendations and not take offense when they make big changes. Their job is to attract interest from potential buyers, which is always great news to the seller.
9. Include some plants.
When staging your home, keep in mind that green is good: Plants create a more inviting environment. An arrangement of flowers or bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter or dining table can also do the trick.
Some plants and natural elements will impress buyers by bringing some extra color and life to your decor.
10. Conduct a smell test.
Bad odors, even slight ones, can be a deal breaker, and the issue is that you may not even know they are there.
It’s recommended to invite an unbiased third party in to attempt to identify any pet smells or lingering cooking smells.
If the smells are prevalent, prepare to do some deep cleansing. Trying to mask the smell with candles or plug-in space deodorizers might actually cause the buyer to wonder what the seller is trying to cover up. Plus, covering up smells with a stronger scent could backfire if the buyer doesn’t like the smell of lavender or fake citrus.
11. Clean, then clean some more.
As soon as you’re done cleaning your home, clean some more. You will want your home to look spotless.
You will most likely have professional photos taken of your home when it looks its best. Naturally, you’ll want your home to always appear like it does in those photos.
When selling your home, it is necessary to keep it neat at all times because you never know when a buyer is going to want to schedule a showing. Don’t forget the bathrooms. Make sure the mirrors, tile, counters, shower, and floor shine.
12. Hide or remove valuable belongings.
From art to jewelry, make sure your valuables are out of sight, either locked up or stored off-site.
You can not trust everyone who enters your house, even when you are trying to sell it. Often things vanish during an open home, and there’s little the seller can do to get those things back. Take care to conceal your belongings or move them to someplace safe away from your home.