The Ultimate Checklist To Complete Before Listing Your Home
The Amy Jones Group
Selling your home? We have completed a step by step checklist to help guide you through the pre-listing process and to ensure you are receiving the most value from your home sale.
1. Hire The Right Real Estate Agent For YOU
Start by interviewing agents that specialize in the area where you are hoping to find a home. Read reviews and pay attention to how they treat their Clients from beginning to end. Finding an agent that truly cares about a Client's needs will make all the difference in a Real Estate Transaction. Home value, exposure to potential buyers, knowledge of the area and strong negotiating skills should all be on your list!
2. Make A Great First Impression
Curb appeal, curb appeal, curb appeal! When a Buyer pulls up for the first time, you want them to be impressed before they walk through the front door. If the outside is unappealing, they may not even choose to view the rest of the home. A few small and inexpensive changes can make a big difference!
Adding curb appeal can include a fresh coat of exterior paint, updating your walkway, replacing the gutters, adding plants or fresh flowers around the entrance and lastly, adding a bright colored lounge chair or two with pillows next to the front door. You'll always hear Buyers talk about how much they love the charm of an entryway when you personalize it with color, seating and plants.
3. A Clean & Clutter Free Home Sells Faster
This part can be overwhelming, and we get that. The best way to get started is to realize that you're going to have to pack up and put away everything when you move anyway. Start by clearing off table tops, shelves, counter tops, desks and putting away what you do not use on a daily basis in boxes. If your garage is already full, consider obtaining a small storage unit while your home is for sale. Once your home is clutter free, round up the family for some deep cleaning of baseboards, fans, light fixtures, dusting and steam cleaning. Visual mess or unpleasant smells will leave a Buyer moving onto the next house without a second thought.
4. Ditch The Family Photos
Replace them with abstract art, scenery or photos of items that compliment your decor. Buyers want to imagine themselves living in the homes that they are viewing. The fewer personal pictures, items and effects that are present, the easier it is for them to do so.
5. Neutral Wins The Sale Every Time
The best way to display the interior of your home to potential buyers is to make it as neutral as possible. If you have different color accent walls or green carpet, we highly suggest adding a neutral color of paint throughout the home and replacing that green carpet with a neutral tan or beige. This not only provides a visually pleasing interior, it also gives a fresh new smell that Buyers love. A lot of dirt and odor is easily trapped within carpet, especially if you have pets. Replacing the carpet will cover multiple checklist items!
6. Put Valuables Away In A Safe Place
Usually, quite a few Buyers and their Real Estate Agents will be viewing your home and normally, you won't have anything to worry about. Just in case, make sure you hide anything you have that is of value to your or your family. This can include jewelry, art, medicine, family heirlooms or other items of personal and monetary value. It's best to lock it up or take it off-site and always better to be safe than sorry!
7. Set The Stage
Once you clean, declutter and ensure that your home is neutral enough for Buyers to envision themselves living there, it's time to set the stage. Have you ever walked into a model home and thought to yourself, "I want this house and I want it exactly like this!"? That's because staging works - it invokes a feeling in you. Adding the right pillows, throw blankets, candles, plants, rugs, lamps and furniture in the right places will make any Buyer want to make an offer (and, a good one too)!