Get Your Home Ready To Sell

In this competitive market, first impressions are essential. When preparing to sell your home, start by looking from a buyer’s prospective. The best place to start is from the outside. Since many buyers will not even enter a home that looks trashy or overgrown, you need to ask yourself: What type of curb appeal does my home have? Sometimes, adding some flowery plants for color, laying a fresh coat of mulch, or pulling weeds is all you need to do. Other ideas are to paint worn objects such as mailboxes, light fixtures and even your front door. Also look at your exterior paint. Is it chipped or faded? A couple days of hard work, can really pay off!

And don’t forget to tidy up such areas as cleaning the roof and gutters, sweeping the walkway and washing the windows. Stand back and imagine you are looking at your home for the first time….would you want to buy it? And don’t forget the garage or basement. Investing in some organizers or shelving can take a junk filled space into another functioning room of the home. I have been in homes where the three car garage looks like a trash zone. It’s time to clean out! If needed rent a storage unit, but you want to make sure buyers can see the space and everything it has to offer.

Next go inside. Again, take a tour from a buyer’s prospective. Do the rooms look spacious or cluttered? Often times, removing a piece of furniture or scaling down on knick knacks can declutter a room and take it from cramped to manageable. Next, look at the carpeting. Is it worn and stained? Sometimes steam cleaning is all it takes! And other times you may know it’s time to replace the carpet. If this is the case you need to decide whether to replace it, sell the home as is, or whether you plan on giving the new homeowners a flooring allowance up front. This way they know they can pick out flooring that suits their style. Many people find putting in an allowance is the best answer. You would hate to replace your carpet with more carpeting, just to find out a prospective buyer is passing on your home because they wanted hardwood floors.

Another thing to consider is to look at indoor paint. Neutral tones tend to sell better. People feel as though they can just move in and won’t have to put in the time or cost of repainting. One of the biggest suggestions I will give you is to look at the kitchens and bathrooms. These are huge, selling features. An updated kitchen or bath can add thousands to the bottom line. Replace broken appliances, or chipped countertops. Paint worn cabinets if you cannot replace them. And many times replacing old hardware with newer modern styles can liven up a dull space.

Secure your sale even after you’ve been given a contract. Make sure broken appliances, leaky faucets and other damage is taken care of before it is found during the inspection. Many buyers will get a negative impression of the home’s overall condition if a large number of flaws are found during the inspection leaving them to retreat from the sale. The rather minimal expense of fixing small problems beforehand will pay off in the long run.

Bob Lipply and his team sell Tampa Real Estate - contact us if you have further questions about getting your home SOLD!