Top 5 Things to Do Before You List Your Home
You have decided to move. Now, your focus turns to selling
your existing home. Not easy in this economic climate and
with fussy buyers rejecting your home by online browsing,
before they even step a foot into it.
Your top priority should be to make your home look spotlessly
clean. Cleaning your home top to bottom will make the biggest return
in home selling price, a whopping 592% of the cost of cleaning,
according to HomeGain. This means de-cluttering closets and storage
areas, carpeting, cleaning light fixtures, fans, and appliances until
they sparkle. Animal odors, smoking, and food odors will turn off
potential buyers as soon as they walk in the door. Those plug-in
fragrances won’t fool buyers, either.
Lightening and brightening your home is second on the list.
This means painting over dreary or stained walls with a fresh coat
of paint and replacing burnt out light bulbs. If you have dark rooms
in your home, purchase some floor lamps to light up the area.
Home Staging is the third most important item you can do.
If you have too much furniture, or overly large furniture, it makes
your home look crowded. If you have collections and
accumulations of stuff, it doesn’t look like there will room for the
new buyers furnishings. Remember: Less is More, more room for
the new buyers home furnishings.
Landscaping in the yard is the fourth largest payback for sellers
compared to cost. Take time to refresh bark in beds, trim overgrown
branches and foundation plantings; new buyers don’t want to move
in with a project list. A pot of fresh flowers by the front door is also
a sign that you are proud of your home and take good care of it.
Electrical and plumbing repair is crucial to the new buyer.
Take care of any issues because they will probably show up
on the inspection and that just gives buyers a chance to
bargain your home price down. Most common is tub and shower
caulking that looks moldy. Get it replaced with new caulk. If
you have been considering upgrading your electrical system,
buyers will appreciate this as one more thing they don’t have
to do.
If you do these things, buyers will be more comfortable in
purchasing your home. And why not enjoy the improvements
while you wait for the right buyer to come along?
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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,
the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in
West Michigan. We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate
Contact Terry 616-292-7263
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