First impressions matter, more so when it comes to selling a house; potential house buyers are more inclined to purchase a home with curb appeal, sometimes even at a higher price. Many house sellers make the mistake of just entrusting everything to their real estate agent, or selling their house at its current condition at a price could’ve been significantly higher if only it had undergone the necessary repairs and improvements.
So, if you’re keen on making it easier and faster to sell your house, here are a few house-prepping tips that you’ll want to take note of:
Clean Up
Nothing turns away a potential buyer than a dirty and disorganized house. When cleaning, make sure you cover the interior and exterior of the home. The interior of the house should be spotless, free from stains and clutter (and also any unpleasant smell). It may take a while to cover every inch of the house, but a clean home isn’t only visually appealing for buyers, but it can also help you detect any issues with the structure and have the necessary repairs performed.
The exterior of your home has probably seen better days as well, so consider pressure washing your house for sale in Raleigh to remove layers of grime, dirt, and dust that have accumulated. Pressure washing is also necessary if you’re planning on repainting the exterior of the house to make it look brand new. If you’re too busy to do the cleaning or want to make the house sparkle and shine, consider hiring a professional cleaning crew to do the work for you.
Don’t Make It Personal
You may have already made some repairs and improvements to the exterior and interior of your home to make it more appealing, but there may be items within your home that can hurt your chances of selling the house — items of personal value and sentiment. Believe it or not, picture frames, photo albums, and even posters of your favorite band or movie on bedroom walls can dissuade potential buyers.
A house for sale should look like it’s ready to make new memories for the family that’s going to move into it, a clean slate. This lets your potential buyers visualize living in the house and personalizing it with their photographs, posters, and other items — and any personal and sentimental objects in it can distract them from that.
Neutral and Simple
If you plan on repainting and redecorating the house, make sure that you keep the décor simple, and utilize neutral colors in painting the walls. Intense and contrasting colors, as well as niche artwork and ornaments, may turn off your buyers. You’d want them to feel like the house is their canvas and ready for them to personalize and modify based on their preference. You’ll also want to consider removing any bulky or space-occupying furniture, not only are they unappealing, but they can make the room look smaller than it is.
Landscaping
Dry patches of grass, tall weeds, vines crawling all over the fence — these are things that should only be on the lawns of haunted houses in horror movies and don’t belong in a house for sale. So hire a gardener or professional landscaper to beautify your front lawn and backyard. Remember, the first thing your buyers will see (apart from the house) is the lawn. Any trees in the property should also be properly pruned as extended branches won’t only look unappealing, they’re considered unsafe.
The Takeaway
What you need to remember when preparing your house for sale is to make it as appealing and inviting as possible; after all, no one would want to buy a poorly maintained and unpleasant-looking house. So if you’re looking to dispose of your house quickly and fetch a reasonable price for it, take the extra steps to make it look like a place worth calling home.
