Preparing your house for sale
We've all heard the saying, "You never get a second chance at a first impression." before. Now that you are getting ready to put your house on the market, it shouldn't be far from your brain.
The final decision to purchase a particular property is driven by a combination of logic and emotion, even while rational considerations like price and location reduce the number of homes a potential buyer will consider. Emotion also frequently prevails. The same might be said about the home selling procedure.
Buyers are looking for a "home"—a place where they will feel safe, secure, and happy, a place where they can start a family, move their family into, retire into and so on. Our objective in listing your home is to foster these emotions. Consider your home a valuable commodity. The emotional response of a buyer is set off early, so you want to be sure you've done everything you can to promote a favourable response to your home right away. Buyers have already developed an opinion of you within minutes, maybe even seconds, of turning into your driveway, and they'll hold that opinion throughout the rest of the showing and beyond. Remember that this perception will affect not just whether or not they make an offer, but also how much they value the property.
If you have ever visited a model home, or seen a model home on TV, then you have experienced successful presenting techniques. The goal when listing is to take the same approach and make your home’s appearance and presentation as nice as that model home. Though you may not be able to make your home look exactly like that model home, the approach in preparing your home is the same, regardless of size or age.
Of course, that model home likely had a significant budget to help it look that way. Rest assured, there are alternatives to spending money that will produce the same results in your own house. Homes that have this kind of immediate emotional appeal have a tendency to sell more quickly and for a higher price. You'll be well on your way to a successful listing if you follow the steps listed below designed to get your home marketable before you list the property.
1. Depersonalize first
One of the first things you should do when getting ready to sell your house is “depersonalize”. A house will unavoidably become permanently inscribed with the life of its owners through time, adorned with personal touches that have shaped it into their home. But when listing, you want potential buyers to see it as a home they could transform into something special, into their own home. A buyer's capacity to envision their own lives in the space is disrupted when they go into a room and notice these personal details, such as photos on the walls or trophy collections, which reduces their likelihood of having a positive emotional reaction.So, the first thing you should do is get rid of all the family photos, awards, memorabilia, and trinkets. Rent a storage unit and keep these things there for the time being. Do not merely move these objects to a different location in your home. The next phase in prepping your home is to reduce clutter, and these parts of your home will all be targeted, so don't stash them away in a closet, basement, attic, or garage.
2. Remove all clutter
Cleaning out your home of the extra objects that have gathered over the years is the next task on the list. For many people, this is the most difficult aspect because they have an emotional attachment to many of these objects. After several years of being in a home, personal items begin to accumulate. This accumulation is frequently so slow that you are unaware the space is becoming cluttered. Bring in an impartial friend or company if necessary to help you identify areas that can benefit from being cleansed. Try to take a step back and consider how a buyer may view your home. Survey shelves, countertops, drawers, closets, the basement—all places where clutter often accumulates—to determine what needs to go. Use a method to guide your decision-making: pack up everything you haven't used in the past year and get rid of anything you haven't used in the last five years, for instance. Even if getting rid of some things could be difficult, strive to do it guilt-free. When you move, you'll have to go through this procedure anyhow, and when you get rid of boxes, the room and your storage space both appear bigger. To make it easier for you to focus your efforts, we've divided the procedure into several rooms in your home:
Kitchen
The kitchen is a great location to start because the clutter that tends to build there is simple to identify and get rid of. The drawers and cabinets in your home will be opened by potential purchasers who want to see if there is adequate space for their own possessions. They will believe there is not enough room if the drawers look crammed and messy.
Remove everything on the counters, including the toaster (which may be placed in a cabinet and used as needed).
• Organize all the drawers and cabinets. Set aside all of your infrequently used pots, pans, and dishes, then package them up and store them in the storage facility you rented (again, not in the basement or a closet).
• If you have a "junk drawer," like many people do, clean it out.
• Clear up the pantry of any food items you don't use. Start using up the food you already have and base your menus going forward on what's on your shelf.
• Remove all unused cleaning products from the cabinets under the sink. Ensure that this space is clean and empty as possible. Additionally, you should scrub this area carefully and search for any water stains that can point to leaking pipes. Most cabinets will be examined by buyers, who will check for any obvious signs of damage.
Closets
Examine all of the clothing and shoes in your closets. Get rid of whatever you aren't wearing anymore. We all own items of clothing that we only occasionally wear but can't bear to part with. Put these things in boxes and keep them in the storage space for a while.
• Check the closet's other personal belongings. Be brutal. Remove anything that isn't a need.
• Take out any ugly boxes from the closet's back. If necessary, put them in storage. Closets should appear to have adequate space to accommodate additional goods.
Furniture
• You should do some online research to get a sense of the furniture that design teams used to create a roomy yet cozy ambiance. Take note of the way the furniture is positioned to evoke a particular mood.
• Once you are equipped with some inspiration, step back and examine each of your rooms. What will you have to take away? Just keep in mind that most homes have too much furniture for showings. These are things that have become a part of your daily life and with which you have grown familiar. However, some furniture will probably need to be put in storage because each room should seem spacious.
Storage Areas
• The "junkyard" portions of any given home include the basement, garage, attic, and shed. Simple clutter can be arranged in an organized fashion, but rubbish should be removed. Select the boxes and things you actually require first. Can some of the clutter be boxed up and placed in storage? Can some of it be brought to recycling or the dump?
• Have an estate sale. One person's trash can be another person's treasure, as you may have heard. Give these things a better home. You can sell your items on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You can also consider an personal online auction house such as Maxsold.
• Move as many things as you can to a rented storage locker. To make your property appear roomy to potential buyers, you should clear out the storage spaces as much as you can. Buyers are looking to ensure that their possessions will have a place to live in their new home.
How Dave can Help
Whether it be a declutter specialist that can assist you in strategizing and organising all of your things or an interior designer that will provide staging advice, I have a team of consultants that can assist with preparing your home for sale.
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