Home Selling Tips- How To Get Your House Ready To Sell

When it comes to selling your home, what things should you be doing to prepare it to sell it quickly, and for the most amount of money? Well, that is what we will be talking about today, and we are going to get started right now!

Hey everyone! Welcome back to my channel. I’m Ledeana with Homes by Strand, and RE/MAX Town and Country in Port Orchard, Wa.  And again, If you are new here, consider subscribing to my channel by hitting that little button down below,  and that little bell for notifications for  when I post my future video’s, because I talk about a lot of really cool stuff related to real estate in Kitsap County, and I don’t want you to miss anything. Well today you guys I am going to be talking about the things that should be done to get your home prepared to sell quickly, and for top dollar.

So let’s get started!

I just have to start this off by saying that You only have one chance to make a great first impression, I know that sounds so cliché’, but it is so true in real estate. so let’s start with what buyer’s will see first, which of course is the outside of your home. Curb appeal is critical if you want to sell your home fast and for top dollar! And I will be diving more into the importance of curb appeal, and how it can make your home stand out in front of the competition in my future videos, so stay tuned. 

So first things first, you guys, is it’s easy to get used to things that might turn a buyer off. So, your task is to put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, and try to think and feel how they would about your house when they see it for the first time.

So, you need to pay attention to things such as the landscaping, how does it look? How about the exterior?

Now talking on the subject of curb appeal, lets discuss the basics of it. As you walk up to the front door, is the pathway in good shape, and appealing? Is the front door striking or blah? Maybe it needs a fresh coat of paint, or if it’s in really bad shape, it may need to be replaced.  Also, Its’ amazing what some fresh flowers, some new bark, a pressure washer, and a simple coat of paint can do.

Next, As you go inside the house Stop. Look around. Don’t just go through the motions of walking where you normally walk when you come home. Buyers won’t just rush in; their going to pause for a moment or two, and take their time. So, my suggestion is to Walk around your home as a buyer would, and ask yourself, what would they see in those first few moments?

Now be honest: How would it look? Would you buy your house? Would you be willing to pay top dollar? Would you be worried that if you don’t hurry and make an offer someone else will come along and scoop up your dream house right out from under you?

If you’re being honest, there’s probably at least a few things you can make note of  that need to be addressed before putting your house on the market.  But before you go knocking things off that list, let’s talk about a few of the most common things sellers overlook.

One of the first (and most important) things you should do is, declutter. I can’t stress this enough. There is nothing worse than taking a client into show a home, and there are piles of laundry on the couch, or dirty dishes on the kitchen counters, or just stuff stacked all over the place… just clutter! And, yes believe it or not, I have seen this on more than one occasion.

So, you will want to go room by room and get rid of anything you don’t want, use, or need. Think of it this way… this is the best time in life to rid yourself of stuff you never even realized you still had. Then put away whatever stuff you still want or need (but don’t actually use on a daily basis). Yes, that includes the pile of mail bills on the kitchen counter!

And I don’t mean stuff it all in a closet or the garage either! Remember, buyers will look in those places too. If you have too much stuff and not enough room to keep it all in a tidy manner while you sell your house, rent a storage unit. You can reunite with all your stuff once your house is sold. You wanna remember this is just temporary. Tidy it up, and make it show worthy!

The next thing is, you want to do is de-smell your house… Ok, “de-smell” probably isn’t a real word. But just hang with me for a moment here…

Does your house stink? 

Whether it does or not, it’s unlikely that anyone would actually say yes. We get used to how our house smells, so it’s hard for most people to honestly answer that question.

Now the best way to determine if you need to address an odor is to ask someone who doesn’t live there. Try not to ask someone who visits your house regularly though.

The best suggestion I could give is to ask a real estate agent to come by and give it the sniff test. We’re in houses all the time, so we know when something just doesn’t smell right.

The most common smells are going to be pet odors, Pungent or distinct food odors from cooking, teenage sons, (oh yes, I know how that goes, I have one of those myself). And cigarette, or cigar smoke.

Even when people are aware of an odor they should deal with, they often think that masking it with candles, potpourri, or air fresheners is a good solution. It just isn’t you guys. Even though they smell nice, doing this can trigger curiosity from buyers about the smells you might be trying to hide.

The best thing to do is to eliminate the source of the smell (if possible) prior to putting the house on the market. Obviously, this isn’t easy to do with pets or teenage sons, but, if and when possible, get rid of the source. Like, stop cooking tuna fish and onion sandwiches while smoking cigarettes. And maybe convince your stinky son that camping outside in a tent with the dog would be loads of fun for a while. Just kidding…lol!

But in all seriousness, you should also give your house a thorough cleaning. This is probably a good idea even if there’s no distinct smell. If you’re a good cleaner, this involves just a little time and elbow grease. If not, this is a great reason to splurge and hire a cleaning crew to come in and freshen things up.

If that doesn’t work, sometimes people have to replace carpeting or repaint in order to eliminate extremely foul odors. Hopefully you won’t have to go to that extreme. But if you do, it’s worth the money because a house with a smell will not sell…

…at least not for as much or as quickly as it might have.

The next thing is “Don’t Take it Personally, and what I mean by that, is Most people have heard that you should “depersonalize” your house when you’re selling it. That term gets thrown around a lot. Most people think it just refers to pictures of themselves or family.

But taking down some pictures isn’t the whole picture; it also means removing any decor that’s more of a personal taste.

For example, you might be super proud of your hunting skills, but displaying your taxidermy trophies on the wall might be off-putting to some buyers. Or you may just have some really interesting or artsy furniture. While it may be hip and stylish, it could be distracting to the average buyer.

Buyers need to be able to come in and focus on how their own furniture and belongings will look. If they can’t overlook your personal flair, they could be less likely to make a strong offer (or one at all), because they just can’t envision themselves there, with their own belongings.

As proud as you might be about what makes your house your home, make it as easy as possible for them to feel like it could be their home.

The other thing you need to ask yourself, should I fix it or forget it? It’s easy to learn how to live with certain little issues around the house. Many people don’t even view certain things as an issue until they’re selling their house. But here’s the question: Should you fix those little issues before putting your house on the market? Like leaky faucets, that small leak in the roof, etc.

The popular and most standard answer in the real estate industry is, “Yes.” And let’s just say that it can’t hurt to fix the little issues around the house. If buyers see smaller issues around the house, they might also wonder about what else you haven’t taken care of. 

But, on the other hand, you may be able to ignore the minor fixes and just see if the buyer brings them up during home inspection requests. It may be less costly and easier to negotiate a credit or agree to repair something only when a buyer actually asks for it to be repaired.

The same goes for more serious issues like an HVAC system that’s not working properly. You should probably fix that sort of thing prior to putting your house on the market, but it could make sense to just wait and see how buyers react.

There’s no absolute answer to this. So, the best thing to do is make a list of all of the issues around your house and ask your agent for their advice, and what they would recommend that you do, or don’t do.

I hope this video gave you some tips, and things to look for and do, to get your home in tip top shape, and ready to sell fast, and for top dollar. Even doing some of the little things that don’t take a lot of time, and money, can make a big difference.  If you would like even more great tips, such as renovations, do they increase a homes value? Prepping with pets, and funding your next home, you are welcome to download a guide that I have called ‘How To Prepare Your House For Sale. It’s an easy read, and it is packed full of great tips to help you get your home to be shown in the best light, and to make that great first impression. I’m going to post the link to download it, down below this video. I hope you find it as helpful as all my clients have.

Thank you for watching, and I will see you on the next one. Make it a great home buying, and selling day!