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Prepare Your Home
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Back to Selling
Prepare Your Home
First Impressions
Remember
what first attracted you to your house when you bought it? What excited
you about it most? When deciding how best to present your home for
sale, it is helpful to try to get back into that buyer's frame of mind.
A spruced-up house makes a great first impression on potential buyers.
An attractive property grabs their attention and makes them excited
about finding a house that looks and feels well cared for. Because
buyers believe they'll encounter fewer problems if they buy it, your
house becomes more appealing and stands out from the competition. So if
you prepare your home correctly, you'll save time selling it when it's
on the market.
A good first impression makes an impact on a
number of levels. It's not just the way your house looks to potential
buyers, but how it feels and smells to them, how their friends and
family will react, how they imagine it would be to live there.
With
simple improvements throughout your house, you can grab the attention
of potential buyers and help them see why your house is right for them.
Plan Ahead
Create
a plan to enhance your property. Keep a notebook, and as you stroll
through your home and yard, make a list of what needs to be done.
Consider what your property looks like to people driving by or walking
through your door. What will they like or dislike? What needs fixing,
painting, cleaning? What can you improve? Whether you paint your house
or fix up the yard, your efforts don't need to be costly; even
inexpensive improvements and minor repairs go far towards attracting
serious buyers. But remember, those seemingly insignificant problems
you've learned to live with can actually discourage potential buyers.
Curb Appeal
The
"Wow" factor-that first visual, high-impact impression your home makes
on potential buyers-can turn a looker into a buyer. To determine your
property's curb appeal, drive through your neighborhood and note other
properties; then approach your own house as if you were a potential
buyer. How does it look? Does it "wow" you? Will its curb appeal
attract buyers? Note what needs improving, such as trimming trees,
planting shrubs, or painting gutters. Little things convey that you've
cared for your home, and this is your opportunity to sell that
important message to buyers who are shopping from the street, simply
cruising neighborhoods looking for houses for sale. To get them through
your door, do what you can to make your property look like someone's
dream home.
Beyond the curb appeal, clean everything and make
repairs and improvements where needed. Buyers expect a spotless house,
inside and out. For more details regarding the preparation process, you
may download our PDF on Selling Your Home - Where to Begin |
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