Selling your home isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it when you do it right. There are a few things you can do to ensure the home looks its best for potential buyers. We have the five most critical steps for selling your home.
1. Find A Good Realtor
If you don’t have a good realtor, it will be harder to find potential buyers for your home. You need to make sure your realtor has a great knowledge of the market. They will know the trends and what to change in the home to make sure it’s ready for new owners. They’ll know how to stage the home and what buyers are looking for in the area. They will know about good contractors in the area to do work on the home. You also want to ensure they know how to market your home.
They need to have a good reputation for selling homes. These are the professionals you put in charge of putting a face to your home. You want to trust them with your future. You must be able to trust their advice and their knowledge of the real estate world. Watch for red flags like if a real estate agent suggests an astronomical price for your home. This means they are just looking out for their paycheck and don’t care if the house sits on the market forever. They should know their market well enough to know how to price your home.
2. Home Staging
Home staging is very important to sell a home as it makes a potential buyer see themselves in the home. This includes arranging your furniture in a certain way, organizing, decorating and removing personal items. It’s important to stage the home without any clutter. It should look like a home in a magazine. If you have too much junk in rooms, it can feel small and crowded. If there are too many personal items on display, a potential buyer might have trouble seeing themselves living in the home.
There are different types of staging. You can do the basic or you can even hire a professional. The main thing to remember is to keep it clean and basic. Put away children’s toys and pet items. It can be tough with kids to stage a home, but it’s most important to make sure there are not piles of toys everywhere.
3. Upgrades To The Home
It’s almost impossible to sell a home without any upgrades. Whether you put your time and effort into it or hire a professional, it’s always good to do a few improvements to the home. You want buyers to fall in love with the home. There may be small improvements like chipped paint or broken tiles. You can also do large upgrades like adding on to rooms or painting the interior and exterior. You can add home features like shower additions, special kitchen appliances or radiant heating. Make sure to get a pre-inspection to know if you need any major repairs or upgrades. This will help avoid any surprises in the final process of selling. Your real estate professional can help guide you towards the best upgrades for your home and your exact area.
4. Landscape And Curb Appeal
Your yard and entire curb appeal is all part of the staging of your home. The first thing potential buyers see when they drive up to a home is the exterior and yard. It’s important that it grabs their attention in a good way. If a potential buyer drives up to your home and sees overgrown grass, broken cement and debris all over your yard, they will be less than impressed. They certainly won’t agree to pay a higher price for the home.
The sidewalks and driveway should be power washed. There shouldn’t be any clutter or debris in the way. Add some plants and flowers if it’s in season. The lawn should be cut and the landscaping around the home should look flawless. The trees, bushes and shrubs should be cut back so they look fresh. This sets the stage for the potential buyer so they understand once they walk through the door of the home, it will be as fresh and taken care of as the outside of the home.
5. Photography/Video/Virtual Tour
In today’s digital world, potential buyers want to see your home without even setting foot in it first. You should have professional photography done in your home. The pictures alone can sell a home if done in the right way. There should be videos of the home as well as a virtual tour. A virtual tour is a great way for a potential buyer to take a “walk” through the home first so they can decide if it’s worth going for an actual visit.
These visual representatives of your home are important because they can highlight the best features before the potential buyer steps through the door. You may have people fighting over your upgraded flooring or new appliances just because they loved them in the pictures. When potential buyers see things in a list online, they might skim over it. When things are in visual form, they’re able to potentially place themselves in your home visually.
Summary
Selling real estate is a process. It’s important to ensure the home is looking and feeling its best. Potential buyers want a place that feels like home to them before they even get the keys. A professional real estate agent will help you through each process of selling your home.
