1. Price: Get it right!
In order to get top dollar for your home you do not want to overprice your it. This will often result in lower interest in your home and lowball offers. While underpricing will certainly drive up the interest, you could end up leaving money on the table and your pockets a bit emptier.
2. Fix Anything That Needs To Be Fixed Before You List
Fix any home repairs before you list. If a buyer asks you to do it, the costs will rise.
3. Smells
Get rid of them. There is nothing that will drive a buyer out of your home faster than a bad smell. No one wants to pay for stink. We become desensitized to the way our home smells, but a person who has never been in your home is not. Their nose is primed – pets, dirty diapers, trash, body odor, cooking odor, stale air. The worst of all, cigarettes, will have a buyer retreating onto the next house. Do what you can to avoid these offenders like boarding your pets for a few days during home showings or renting an air purifier. Do not think that just plugging in a scented wall fragrance will do the trick. All that does is smell like you are trying to hide something. A home that smells bad, can sit on the market a whole lot longer than a home that doesn’t.
4. Cleaning
In order to get top dollar for your home, you want to clean it like the president is coming to visit your home. If you do not like the president, then any other important person to you. Wiping down the counters and mopping the floors is not quite enough. Dust the ceiling fans and clean inside the refrigerator, microwave and stove. Wipe the walls and the corners, the baseboards, and attack the spider webs. Clean the outside and inside of your windows. Get all those areas that are often neglected in a regular cleaning. You can do this yourself or hire someone to do a deep cleaning of your home. If there is mold in your shower or tub and you cannot clean it to get it white, remove the caulk and re-caulk the shower and tub.
5. Carpets & Rugs
Have them cleaned. Getting a professional in is money well spent. Clean carpets and rugs give a really good first impression. Nothing may be more off-putting to a buyer than other people’s dirt.
6. Windows
Open them up! Open up the curtains & blinds to show off any gorgeous views your home may have. If you do not have any gorgeous views, do not worry about it. It will also bring in more natural light to the space and people like to connect with nature.
7. Curb Appeal
– Maintain regular mowing, edging, and weeding schedule.
– Add fresh mulch to all beds.
– Remove any dead plants and replace them with seasonal plants, when appropriate.
– Remove lawn décor and equipment.
– Make sure the front porch/entryway is clean and inviting. Remove cobwebs that form overnight and leaves from the porch. Take
care of your flowers or buy a pot and put some in the entry by the door. Colorful flowers make your home look fresh and lively in
person and make it stand out.
– Repaint or refinish the front door, if needed.
– Update house numbers, if needed. Numbers need to be visibly seen, bright and fresh.
8. Update Porch Lighting
Make sure it lights up well and is bright and not yellow. Get all the bugs out of the lights too.
9. Maintain Snow
If it is winter, make sure your driveway, walkways, and patios are maintained when it snows. Buy a new mat for the door too.
10. Cracks
Fill Them In. Whether they are on the walls, the tub surround, or the concrete drive. Cracks scream something is wrong with the foundation when it might not be or the home has been neglected. So to get top dollar for your home, grab your caulk and gun, walk around the house and fill cracks in. Just make sure to use the right substance for each location.
11. Air filters
Replace them. It will be found on an inspection report and dirty ones look plain gross.
12. Lighting
Update it and brighten your home! Updating the kitchen, living, and entryway lighting can make a big impact. Replace your light bulbs with brighter lighting, especially in basements that may not receive a lot of natural light. You want the lighting to be very inviting. The scale on the back of the box will help guide you to stay on the warmer side between 2700-3000.
13. Paint Is $ In A Can
Go lighter inside! Buyers are attracted to spaces that feel light and bright. Bold colors distract buyers from seeing the potential of a room. If you have scuff marks on your walls, a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for increasing the appeal of your home. To get top dollar for your home, paint is the least expensive way to update a space and makes the biggest impact on first impressions that no amount of decorating can match.
