When you are preparing to sell your home, you want to make sure that the whole place looks as attractive and appealing as possible to any prospective buyers. Having strangers looking around your property, and to some extent evaluating and judging you, can be a nerve wracking experience. Fortunately, there are a number of relatively simple things you can do that can make a big difference to how your home appears to an outside viewer.
Your realtor will probably drill this into your heads themselves, but even a perfectly good home will struggle to sell if it isn't presented in the right way. The following tips will help you to ensure that you have all of your bases covered, and that your home is sparkling and shining in all of the right places.
The Exterior
Take a few minutes to just stand in front of your home and look over it. Ask yourself what areas are looking good and which areas look like they could use a bit more love and attention. Try and remain objective and look at your house much like someone who is seeing it for the first time would. This means that you may start to see blemishes which, to you, might be part of the house’s character and charm, but to an outside viewer might look like poor maintenance.
Pay particular attention to your lawn, especially if it's something that you tend to neglect often. In the run up to anyone viewing your house you should trim the grass and make sure that any plants and flowers are presentable. You should also look into getting some fertilizer to ensure that the soil is healthy, and everything is looking revitalized. There are different types of fertilizers out there, so make sure you get the right one for your lawn.
Depersonalize
Many of us put a considerable amount of time and effort into creating at home that is distinctly our own. It can therefore feel very counterintuitive to start on doing this work. However, a stranger wandering your home will not feel the same connection to any family photos or other personal items that you have on display.
Decorative items and pieces of artwork that you feel genuinely have some aesthetic value to your home should stay up. But anything whose value lies in its meaning to you personally is probably best put away as it won't help to sell your home to a potential buyer.
Have a Spring Clean
Most of us clean our homes on a reasonably regular basis anyway. However, in almost every home there are certain nooks and crannies that, for one reason or another, the homeowner just never seems to be able to clean. When you clean your home in preparation for a viewing, try to pay attention as you go round to anything that doesn't normally catch your eye. Once you start consciously looking out for things that you are missing as you go along, you begin to realize how many small areas slip through the cracks sometimes.
Selling your home can be a stressful time, after all no one likes the idea of it being judged by strangers. However, if you take the time to prepare your home beforehand, and get it looking as clean and as attractive as possible, you will find that you feel much calmer and relaxed in yourself.
