Deciding whether or not to sell your home isn’t easy. However, the process of getting it ready to sell isn’t nearly as hard. Sure there will be some work involved, but it won’t be as stressful.
Selling a house that’s part of an estate is just like selling any other kind of house. Whether it’s part of an estate or not, a home is often sold because of an elderly family member passing away. Frequently this means that the house is older and not maintained very well.
Follow the steps below so that you can sell your home fast and at the best possible price. That way, you can move onto the next phase of your life.
Analyze Your Local Real Estate Market
The first thing you need to do is do some research on the value of your home. Begin by looking at your local housing market on Realtor.com. See what other homes in your neighborhood have been sold for. Important factors to look at are square footage, location, and house features. Then, consider how those factors compare to your home. For instance, your neighbor’s house might have sold for 1 million, but if your house is smaller than theirs, then you’ll probably have to sell It for less. A professional realtor can also help you determine a reasonable listing value for your home.
Make Your Home Inviting Before Inviting
Remember this pun before putting your home up on the market. You might think that potential buyers should expect to renovate the property first before they choose to rent it out. However, in today’s hot real estate market, not every buyer thinks this way, and many of them are actually turnkey buyers. These are buyers who are looking to buy a turnkey property, which is a fully renovated property that they can purchase and immediately rent out.
Declutter
The first thing you can do (which is also free) is clear out any personal belongings from the home. When everyone has had their pickings from the house, sell, donate, or throw out any remaining items. The reason for this is that you’ll want potential buyers to feel like they have an empty canvas upon which they can imagine their ideal home.
Depersonalize
When it comes to depersonalizing, a balance must be struck between making the home a blank slate and creating a welcoming atmosphere. Some of the right steps to take are getting rid of most framed photos, personal items (magazines, awards, photo albums, equipment, etc.), and bulletin boards. However, you can leave up a few framed photos to give the impression that your home is inviting and livable.
Deep Clean The Home
As you know, first impressions are important. The most common causes of bad impressions are bad smells, disgusting floors, and dust covering the surfaces of the home. So before you sell your home, you must give it a deep clean. Deep cleaning entails scrubbing the bathrooms, cleaning the toilets, cleaning the rugs, wiping off all surfaces, and of course, mopping the floors. If you’re not an experienced cleaner, you might also consider hiring professionals so that your house is in tip-top shape for viewing.
Other Important Tasks: Repairing, Repainting, and Replacing
If you don’t make the necessary repairs or replacements, then you’ll have to be ready to lower your final sale price. That’s because if you have an experienced buyer, they will want to do a home inspection before signing the contract. For example, if your home needs a new furnace and water heater, you’ll likely have to install them beforehand or settle at a lower price.
Repainting will also make a big difference in creating a good impression, but be sure to stick with neutral colors.
If you want to maximize your potential, then you can also replace the old light fixtures. When you show your house to potential buyers, you’ll have to turn all of the lights on. Therefore you’ll need to be sure that all of the lights will work properly.
And finally, consider curb appeal. A few things to remember are:
- Mow the lawn
- Trim the shrubs
- Add seasonal flowers for a spot of color
Doing all of these things will help give the home that vibe that says “welcome” to new visitors.
Stage Your Home
Staging means that you and your agent will try to look at the home from an outsider’s perspective. Staging will also be your chance to see if any other repairs, updates, or decluttering will be needed, as well as to know if you’ve done a thorough enough deep cleaning to make the home show-ready.
Also, when you stage the home, remember to rearrange the furniture to make the house look bigger than it is. Remember, too, that curb appeal is essential in creating a good impression on potential buyers.
When potential buyers can see your home in the best possible light, then you’ll have a better chance of selling your home faster and for a better price.
Once again, utilizing a professional for this can be the best course of action. A cleaning service and a professional staging service both will maximize your home’s value in the eyes of buyers.
Professional Photography is a Must
You must consider the fact that increasingly buyers are searching for homes online. That’s why high quality professionally taken photos are a must. If your photos aren’t in high resolution, many buyers will just overlook your listing. That’s why you should arrange to have a professional photographer before you plan to put your home on the market. They will take photos of your cleaned and staged home. Your realtor should also be able to assist in finding a photographer, so that’s a question that you should ask the realtor during the interview.
If you opt not to hire a professional photographer because you think you can do it yourself, just keep in mind the following three tips.
- Ensure that there’s plenty of lighting
- Use a wide-angle lens
- Put front and center the features that make your home unique.