The goal of every home seller is to sell their house quickly and for top dollar. That rarely happens by chance. Getting buyers to scramble to the bank all comes back to planning and preparing well.

To ensure home buyers are interested in your house and make you an offer, you will need to do some preparation once you have decided to sell.

The majority of home sellers worry about what repairs they should make and how much money they will have to spend getting their house ready for sale.

In this article, I will offer strategies for homeowners who are trying to improve their home pre-sale without breaking the bank.

1. DEPERSONALIZE
Family photos on the mantel and diplomas on the wall make it very difficult for potential buyers to envision their family living in the space. The first step in pre-sale home prepping is to devoid your home of any personal mementos.

Neatly collecting all of these items throughout the house, and placing them in a labelled box is a simple way to start your packing journey.

2. DECLUTTER
When viewing a home for sale, not all people have the ability to look past the clutter, and instantly disregard the home as a potential option. Clutter can prevent viewers from seeing finishes in the house, and make the space look smaller. A great selling feature is large open spaces.

While DECLUTTERING, begin tossing items you no longer want. Filtering through your belongings and downsizing can make for a much easier and faster move.

3. MINOR REPAIRS
Walking into a home with dirty walls, or burnt-out lightbulbs is a sure-fire way to turn off a potential buyer. Envisioning yourself living in a beat-up home isn’t the most inspirational sales pitch. Start by changing light bulbs to white spectrum, fixing leaky faucets, holes in the walls, and if necessary, re-painting walls that are dirty or scuffed.

Painting yourself might be a challenge due to time constraints or physical limitations, but hiring a painting company can be accomplished at very reasonable rates. A fresh coat of paint can transform a space for very little money. My professional recommendation is to hire a painter.

4. DEEP CLEAN
Nothing is more inviting than a sparkling home that smells fresh. Spend the time to deep clean your home before listing it on the market. Cleaning out closets, disinfecting bathrooms, pulling out appliances, and even scrubbing tiles is a tried and true strategy for creating a sense of comfort for guests.

Clean the grout in between tiles in the foyer, kitchen and bathrooms. While you’re cleaning the tiles, you might as well clean the baseboards. These simple things will brighten up the area and help it to look sparkling.

Potential buyers need to feel comfortable when viewing your home. Seeing dishes in the sink, and dirty floors will encourage one to believe that the house was not taken care of on many levels.

5. CURB APPEAL
How demotivating would it be to show up to a listing with garbage on the front lawn and grass unmowed? Purchasing a home is a huge life event. Many do not want to purchase a home and immediately start working to bring the home up to a basic standard of living.

Take the time to freshen up your curb appeal by pulling weeds in the garden, cutting the grass, a fresh coat of paint on the front door, and if you are feeling motivated add some beautiful planters filled with colourful flowers. Maintaining curb appeal throughout the process is important.

Lastly, STAGING your home for a showing can be so compelling to a potential buyer. Simple gestures such as placing fresh cut flowers around the house are always lovely, leaving candies out on the kitchen counter, and of course new linens in the bathrooms and bedrooms.

If you put these strategies in motion, you will increase your chances of receiving greater offers, in a much more timely fashion.

Hopefully, you have learned some tips and tricks to bring your home up to listing standards that you will put into practice. Please feel free to contact me if you have any more questions regarding pre-sale strategies or would like to discuss your real estate goals or would like a referral for a painter.

I will be with you every step of the way,

Truly, Dee Sarwan