Before approaching the experienced Destin realtors about listing your Florida home for sale, there are crucial steps that everyone should take to prepare their property. Seemingly insignificant tasks, repairs and upgrades have the power to increase your home’s value by thousands — even tens of thousands — of dollars. These same jobs can also help you sell your home in near-record time.
By following these expert tips, you won’t leave money on the table, and you’ll sell your home as quickly as possible.
Boost curb appeal
The importance of curb appeal has become common knowledge. Having a glowing exterior is paramount for catching the attention of prospective buyers. However, too many home sellers neglect this critical piece of information before listing their properties.
Before you take professional pictures of your home for your listing, do everything in your budget to spruce up your home’s exterior. What are some of the top things you should attend to? Take care of your landscaping (or install new landscaping, if applicable), repaint your front door and update the hardware, update your mailbox, powerwash your driveway and siding, and make minor repairs that affect the overall appearance of your home.
Touch up minor blemishes
Think that prospective buyers won’t notice minor imperfections? You might be surprised to discover how diligent individuals can be. Even if you think that a small blemish won’t matter in the grand scheme of things, it could become why someone lowers the offer they initially intended to submit.
On your home’s interior and exterior, touch up chipped paint, nail pops, minor floor scuffs, dents, and the like. When you show potential buyers how much attention you’ve paid to the details of your home, they will be far more likely to make as high of an initial offer as possible.
Repaint brightly colored walls
Are any of the walls in your home painted a color that perhaps only you are excited about? If any of your rooms are pink, purple, blue, or another bright color, repaint them to a more neutral color.
Brightly colored rooms can, unfortunately, make a prospective buyer less likely to make an offer on your home. With rare exceptions, the person buying your property will have to change the color upon moving in. Having a home improvement project from the start can deter some individuals.
Also, neutral colors help potential buyers picture themselves in your home more easily. Keeping every wall colored cream, tan, or light pastel makes it easier to envision one’s furniture and decor in a given space.
Declutter and organize your entire home
The home selling process can move shockingly fast. As such, it is important to fully declutter and organize your home by the time you take photos and list your property.
If the cleaning and organizing process seems daunting, break it down room by room. You can also enlist the help of professionals to make the process more efficient and streamlined.
Assess every room for critical repairs
Aside from cosmetic repairs, assessing every room for critical repairs is essential. These are the types of repairs that could cost you thousands on the list price if left in their current state.
What are some of the essential things you should fix before listing your house? Going room by room, check for necessary repairs to your HVAC system, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, water heater, bathtub, shower, cabinets, roof, foundation, plumbing, and kitchen appliances. If you aren’t sure what you are looking for — especially with specialized systems such as the HVAC or plumbing — reach out to a trustworthy, local professional for an inspection.
Make your house smell incredible
Oftentimes, the smallest details can make the biggest impact when it comes to selling your home. One such detail is the scent. For decades, researchers have known the importance of various aromas in the selling process. From stores that spray signature scents to the strategic varieties of aromas used, the art of smell is now a science.
The same is true for selling your home. Researchers have studied and identified what scents are most powerful when trying to sell a property. Top picks include citrus, clean smell, baked goods, all-natural essential oils (such as lavender), and pine. Berfore listing your house, use a spray, wall plug-in, or diffuser with your favorite scents from the above list.
Remove wall decor
Although certain pieces of artwork may have wide appeal, you want to make it as effortless as possible for potential buyers to see themselves in your space. To do this, remove all wall decor before having pictures taken of your home. Much like painting your walls a neutral color, the same goes for keeping walls free of paintings, pictures, and decorative pieces.
Perform a deep clean
An absolute must-do task before listing your home is having it deep cleaned. For this step, you can take a DIY approach, hire professionals, or combine the two. This is different from your work of organizing and tidying your belongings.
At this stage, you’ll want to create a separate room-by-room checklist of all the things that you need to deep clean. If you plan to make this a DIY project but aren’t sure where to begin, here are some great suggestions. Make a plan to deep clean all toilets, countertops, baseboards, appliances, cabinets, mirrors, hard surfaces, rugs, carpets, and walls. Due to the time crunches involved with buying/selling a home, this is often a project best left to a team of experts. Hiring a cleaning company is convenient for many reasons, especially since they bring the supplies and expertise needed to get the job done right.
Have your home professionally staged
Once your home is in top shape, consider professional staging. Professional staging (i.e. decorating your house with high-end, neutral furniture pieces) is another excellent way to make your home as appealing as possible to potential buyers. Although there are expenses involved with these services, the higher offers you’ll likely receive are worth the investment.
Hire a top-rated local real estate agent
Last but not least, hire a top-rated realtor who knows the local market before listing your home. An experienced real estate agent can help you with the ins and outs of listing your home, ensuring that you receive top-dollar offers for your property. Trying to sell a home by yourself is far more stressful and time-consuming than you may believe. Instead, leave the job to a seasoned realtor who can guide you through every step of the process.
Ready to get started with your home listing checklist? Contact Yvonne Summerfield today to begin the process of selling your property. Named as a top real estate agent in the United States by the Wall Street Journal, Yvonne will truthfully answer your questions and help you navigate the Florida real estate market until you sell your property for a great price.
