As military families many of us move around quite a bit. Some of my fellow military wives have bought and sold homes with such aplomb they can give professional realtors a real run for their money.
While buying or building a home is one thing, selling your home in a down economy and a poor housing market is quite another. My husband and I can definitely attest to this. We had no say in his change of duty station, as most of you didn’t. And while I’m excited to build our new home and live together again like a “normal” couple, I must admit I’m anxious about selling our current home.
Many homes in our neighborhood have been on the market for more than a year, mostly due to overpricing. While this gives us a bit of an advantage over our competitors (we can offer a lower price and still make a pretty penny) I still wanted our house to be perfect. Thanks to a few tips from my realtor and a lot of elbow grease, I’m confident our home will show well and (knock on wood) sell quickly once we put it on the market. Below are a few steps I took with guidance from my realtor to put our home at the top of buyers’ lists. Happy selling!
1. Clean from top to bottom. Before you considering selling your house, give your home a good cleaning. Wipe down cabinets, clean windows, sills, ceiling fans, shelves, baseboards and mouldings, your oven and the inside of your microwave; vacuum furniture, rugs and draperies, scrub baths and eliminate pet hair. You wouldn’t welcome family and friends to a dirty home and you definitely shouldn’t welcome potential buyers that way, either.
2. De-clutter. This is just as important as showing a clean house. Go through piles on counters, tables and desks; shred what you don’t need and file important documents out of buyer’s sight. Recycle old newspapers and magazines and organize shelves, closets and cabinets. Buyers will open closet doors so don’t try to stow it all in there.
3. Put away toys. Walking into a home where toys are strewn about or stacked in corners is a total turnoff for buyers. Narrow your child’s stash to a few favorites and store the rest. The same goes for pet toys. I bought a small basket for my lab’s toys which I plan to put in the closet during showings.
4. Double-check your carpeting. There are plenty of inexpensive alternatives to replacing your carpeting. We had ours stretched to get rid of rolls and then rented a steam cleaner from Ace Hardware to shampoo it, saving us thousands of dollars. If you have tough, dark stains, holes or ripping, you may, in fact have to replace, but make sure you check all other options first.
5. Paint. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do. It gives new life to shutters, front doors, baseboards, shoe moulding and spackled spots. If you’re going to paint a room be sure to use a neutral color.
6. Add some curb appeal. The front of your house is the first thing buyers see so be sure to make a good first impression. Trim hedges, mulch flower beds, paint shutters, clean patio furniture and add some color with potted plants or flowers. You only get one chance to make a good first impression, so do it right.
7. Put away personal items. The verdict is still out on this one. Some realtors say it’s hard for buyers to imagine themselves in your home if your pictures are all over, while others believe it helps make the home feel more complete. I put most of my pictures away just to be safe but use your judgment.
Always be thinking of what potential buyers would think. Sure, you can’t control whether or not they’ll like your decor or paint colors, but those are easy for buyers to change. Put your house on display and buyers will want to make an offer!
Photo by thinkpanama
