Thinking of listing your home? What will help you sell quickly?

Many of us have a hard time deciding what to update when you decide to list your home and what to leave for the new owner to update. There are several things that will help your home sell fast and are worth the investment. I recently listed my home for sale and it sold within 8 days. I did all the things, I usually ask my clients to do and it paid off.

 Some of the easiest things to do when listing your home is DECLUTTER. Think of it as, you’re moving anyway, so go ahead and pack. Even if you do not get a storage, make the garage, or even one bedroom for nothing but boxes. Remove all nick nacks, family pictures, decorations that you have been collecting over the years, etc. Leave only one picture or mirror in each room with one or two things on the mantle and very few items on the bookshelf, possibly one lamp on the end table. Put minimal furniture, couch, love seat and end table. In a bedroom, put a bed, night stands and one dresser. Remove all that other stuff you’ve been storing in the corner, lol. You don’t want to make it look like it’s vacant, just make it look like you recently bought your first home and you are beginning to invest in decorations. It makes a world of difference, to be honest, it may not even “feel” like your old home.

Clean out your closets, yes; all of them. Pack everything that you will not need within the next 3 months. Make sure the linen closet is cleaned out, wall units that have photo albums from when your kids were little, all of it. If you have small children, pack their toys. Leave only a few. When you pull them back out at your new home they will feel new again. Make sure you put dryer sheets in closets that smell musky. Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It doesn’t matter if the new owners change the colors as soon as they move in. Everything looks clean, neat and well taken care of if it has a fresh coat of (light & neutral color) paint.

Next comes the more expensive part. Look at the three major areas below:
Exterior: Make sure all rotten eaves, fascia and railings are replaced and repainted. Make sure you repair anything an inspector would find. My house had many, many small items, but it only added up to less than $1,000 to repair everything. Make sure your roof is in good shape. Check your windows. If they have lost the gas seal, replace them. Most windows are $5,000 or less and usually yield the return on your investment.

Kitchens and baths: Most kitchen remodels can be done for ½% of the sales price. This is one investment that usually yields more than the investment. Make sure faucets are attractive; replace if badly discolored, they leak or they are just out of style. Do the small things. Make sure faucets don’t leak, make sure the toilet is not wobbly and loose. Add frames to old mirrors in bathrooms, or just simply change the color of existing outdated ones. This is one of those times that creativity pays off.

Flooring: make sure all flooring is in good shape, clean and up-to-date. New or refinished floors puts the buyer in the state of mind that it is a well-cared for home. Without spending a ton of money, these are my recommendations for preparing to list your home. Although it took me 2 months to prepare to list, I received multiple offers within 8 days of listing.