With so many properties on the market in the Carolina Forest area, you need to make sure that your home stands out for buyers. When selling your property, there are some important steps that if taken, will make your home the most appealing and desirable in any crowd of competitors. Follow the tips below and your home will sell faster and for a higher price!

Separate Yourself from the Home

I am going to start with what is probably the hardest thing to do for most home sellers: getting into the right mindset. Before you can sell your house, you need to truly let go of the house, and look to the future. Remind yourself of the reasons you are selling, and that the house is simply a business deal. This will make the process much easier.

Remember, contrary to popular belief, your home is not perfect. It is not the greatest house on the market in that price range. Every buyer has different taste. Don’t be upset if a buyer doesn’t like a certain part of your home. Keep reminding yourself it is just a house.

Curb Appeal

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Keep the exterior of your home trim, tidy, and inviting. There are several simple ways to improve the exterior appearance of your home:

1. Mow the lawn, trim the bushes, weed, and edge where needed.
2. Make sure that the plants and trees pop and are full of life. Do this by watering them regularly, and possibly replacing them with more colorful and vibrant plants.
3. Pressure wash the sidewalks, driveway, curb, and exterior of the house.
4. Make sure the front door is clean, easy to access, and will open easily. The last thing you want is a buyer’s agent standing outside with their client fighting to open a dirty door.

Clean House

Sounds obvious, I know. However, everyone’s idea of clean is different. Also, what you may overlook everyday, is an odor that you and your family are used to. This will be very distracting to potential buyers, you can turn them off to the property immediately.

1. Vacuum carpets and clean hardwood & tile floors. Have your carpet professionally cleaned if necessary.
2. Make sure the entire house smells fresh. Odors are a major turn off to buyers.
3. The kitchen and bathrooms need to be cleaned thoroughly, including toilets, tubs, showers, floors, and mirrors.
4. Wipe down windows inside and out, cleaning both the glass and the frames.
5. Dust EVERYTHING. Including the baseboards, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, shelves, and blinds.
6. Make the beds.
7. Pick up clothing and shoes, etc.
8. Hang up fresh towels in bathrooms and kitchen.

De-clutter the House

A simple way to do this is to start packing! Don’t let too much clutter block the buyer from seeing what they should be buying. Simplifying spaces within the house allows the buyer to visualize their furniture, their paint colors – their stuff in each room. Plus, by removing excess clutter, regular cleaning and keeping the spaces tidy becomes a breeze! You may need to rent a storage unit, but it will be well worth it when the house sells faster and at a higher price.

1. If you don’t need it, pack it up or get rid of it! Any items that you do not use on a regular basis need to be removed and out of sight.
2. Remove all unnecessary items from countertops, tables, and floors. These items make the house feel smaller.
3. Clean out closets. Yes, buyers WILL look into your closets, so remove unwanted clothing and shoes. Organize what is left so that the closet looks as large and spacious as possible.
4. Remove personal items such as family photos, books, magazines, and knick knacks.
5. Remove any furniture that blocks or hampers walkways. Open areas that flow nicely are much more appealing than cramped or awkward spaces.

Make Minor Repairs

Deflect drawbacks by eliminating them before a potential buyer even sees them. These take little effort to fix, but in a buyer’s eyes, they are seen as more work they will have to do, which equals less money they will offer.

1. Replace cracked floor tiles or counter tiles.
2. Patch and paint holes in walls.
3. Fix leaky faucets.
4. Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
5. Replace burned-out light bulbs.

Paint & Wallpaper

Give the buyer a clean canvas for them to see all they can do to make your house their home. Pay special attention to bathrooms, the kitchen, and bedrooms. These are the rooms that really sell a house! Make sure that they are desirable to people with all kinds of taste!

1. Paint walls with neutral colors. Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as ”the house with the hot pink bathroom.”
2. Remove busy or outdated wallpaper, and repaint walls that are not fresh and clean. You don’t want buyers referring to your house as the one with the Nascar wallpaper any more than the house with the hot pink bathroom.

Lighting

A light, bright, and airy home is an inviting home that will welcome buyers much more than a dark and dreary home. More light allows for a room to feel larger also. So be sure to follow these tips:

1. Turn on all lights and open all the blinds when your home is being shown.
2. Update fixtures if necessary. Old or out of style fixtures can add more to the mental list of work buyers will have to do if they buy, which will adversely affect the amount of their offer.

Garage & Attic Space

Your garage for your car, not for storing all of your stuff! Box up unused items and put them in your attic. Straighten shelves, organize bins, wipe down walls, and sweep floors. Let the buyer see how much room there is for their car, and all their stuff!

Stage Your Home

Orgnanize the furniture in each room to create as much space as possible. Also, each room needs to be staged for its intended use. You don’t want the buyer wondering what rooms are supposed to be used for. If you have trouble doing this, hire a staging professional.

Set Your Home Apart from the Rest

If you want to sell your home quickly and for the highest possible price, follow the steps above. I can assure you that one of your neighbors is – and their home will sell before yours at a higher price. If you commit to completing the steps above you will allow yourself a much easier, much quicker, much more profitable, and much less stressful selling process!