If you’re planning on selling your house, you would probably want it sold for the highest price possible, right? If everyone goes well, you might even end up with a sizeable plus on your bank account, making you able to realize some of your dreams, without having to save up for years.
While it isn’t always easy to sell a house, there are a few easy things you should know before putting it up for sale. They take only a minimal budget and effort, but your house will become much more attractive.
1) Clear the clutter
This is especially important, if you’ve been living in the same house for a few decades. You would be surprised, if you dragged everything out of the cabinets, closets, pantries, drawers, basements and attics, and laid it side by side on the lawn. In fact, you might not even “see” the clutter before doing this, which is probably why it’s a great place to start.
Here’s how to do it:
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- Go through one room at a time.
- Divide all your things into 3 piles: Keep, sell, trash.
- Put back all things in the “keep” pile.
- Find a spot in your house for all “sell” items.
- Throw out the “trash” pile.
Bonus tip: This is also the best time to bring in the vacuum and do a thorough cleaning of every room of your house. You might want to follow this list of the 15 dirtiest spots in your home, for tips on how to clean them the easiest way.
2) Dark curtains out - bright curtains in
This is another easy task, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot either. If your curtains are of a dark colored heavy fabric, you should get rid of them and put up new curtains in a bright color. White curtains are preferred, as they only block out part of the natural light, but still enough to make it bearable on a hot summer day. Bright curtains don’t absorb as much of the sun rays, keeping them cool as well.
If you still want to be able to block out most light from either your bedroom, living room or any other rooms, you can put up blinds or similar behind the curtains. That way you can still block out light efficiently, which is highly beneficial in areas where days are much longer than nights.
3) Get rid of bulky, heavy furniture
That big old recliner chair you bought 10 years ago is probably as comfortable as it is clumsy. It takes up an incredible amount of space within the room, making it look smaller than it actually is. Same goes for a large black couch, big wooden tables, big lamp shades, and most dark furniture as well.
Now is probably the best time to get rid of excess furniture, so your house will appear much more spacious and appealing to a potential buyer.
You can rent furniture for home staging, if you don’t want to buy new furniture before putting your house for sale. That way you can get the perfect furniture suitable for your house, for those appealing photos that will lure potential buyers to come and see for themselves why YOUR house is so amazing.
4) Paint your walls in bright colors
This takes a little more effort, as it might involve a bit of labor. But it will definitely be worth it, especially if your walls are painted in multiple strong colors, because it might end up scaring off a potential buyer, if they step inside a palette of colors they don’t like.
Painting the walls in bright colors will light up even the smallest rooms, and again make your house look more spacious than it is. It will make it easier for potential buyers to see the different opportunities, and it will take less effort on their side to move in, which for some people is very important.
5) Keep the garden neat and clean
You don’t want potential buyers to be greeted by an overgrown pathway or a hedge that hasn’t been trimmed properly, so this is a great time do to some garden work, and get back in shape as an added bonus!
Mow the lawn, water the plants and keep those hedges trimmed before putting your house up for sale. When the “for sale” sign is up, you want your house to look good on the outside, and keeping the garden well maintained is very important.
