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Around 40 million Americans move home every year. Some are upsizing, some are downsizing, and some are moving across state lines for a fresh start.
No matter what your circumstances are, selling your home is always stressful. You often need to sell your home while finding a new one and the whole process can be time-consuming and expensive. Plus, what if you don’t find someone to buy your home and you’re stuck with it?
It’s a legitimate concern, but there are plenty of things you can do to increase the chances of someone falling in love with your house. Here are some top tips for selling your home so that you can move on to pastures new.
- Clear Out Your Clutter
This is one of the best home selling tips because it will help you sell your house and it will also help you move. If you declutter, you won’t need to spend as much time packing up your stuff.
Let’s be clear; there’s nothing wrong with having regular household items around the place when you’re selling your home. Vases, family photo frames, and neat bookcases will help buyers imagine themselves living in your house.
But your daughter’s lego on the floor, piles of laundry, and paperwork covering the dining room table? Not so much. Seeing mess and an excess of stuff will give prospective buyers a bad impression.
There are lots of ways you can tackle the clutter in your home. One method is to play The Minimalists‘ 30-day minimalism game. On day one, remove one item from your home, and on day two, remove two, etc.
Continue with this pattern and by the end of the month, you will have almost 500 fewer items in your home than you did at the beginning. Enlist your family to play and offer prizes for anyone who succeeds.
If you do need all the items that are cluttering your current house, consider moving them into storage during this transitional phase.
- Paint the Walls Neutral Colors
The key to figuring out how to sell your home is for your house to appeal to as many people as possible. Most people paint their walls neutral or fashionable colors like white, gray, or navy. They don’t paint their walls neon green and hot pink.
If you’ve used striking colors in your decor, buyers will see it and think two things. The first is, “I would never choose that color” and the second is “that will need to change.” When you’re selling your house, you don’t want to do anything that would put buyers off so consider dulling eccentric decor choices.
- Step up Your Curb Appeal
One of the biggest mistakes sellers make when preparing their house for sale is to only focus on the interior. They forget all about the exterior which is a huge oversight because a buyer’s first impression is of the outside of the house.
Give the exterior of your house a fresh lick of paint (not neon green). Clean your front door and your windows. Borrow a power washer and clean your patios, driveway, and any brick walls.
It goes without saying that you should mow your lawn but you should also dig up any plants that don’t look healthy. And consider adding a simple flower pot with bright flowers like tulips or roses by your front door. It will help put buyers in a good mood before they see the interior.
- Make Rooms Look Lighter and Larger
Not disclosing mold and leaks to buyers is unethical. But switching up your decor to make the rooms in your home appear bigger and brighter? That’s playing the real estate game.
Swap out dark and heavy curtains for white blinds or sheer fabric ones. Consider moving the curtain poles above your windows higher to make your ceilings appear taller.
If you can, swap out your bulky furniture for furniture with legs as this will help the room feel like it has more space. Better yet, pull furniture away from the walls so it doesn’t look like you’ve tried to cram as much in that room as possible.
Adding mirrors is an old trick but a good one and buyers won’t suspect that you’ve added them only to give depth. Turning on the overhead light during the day does look suspicious, though. If you need more light then add a few standing or table lamps around the room instead.
Painting your rooms white and decluttering them, as already suggested, will help your rooms look lighter and larger too.
- Fix and Freshen Everything Up
Have you ever given your entire house a spring clean? Well, now’s your chance! You should clean and fix any little maintenance issues before selling your home so you can ask for a higher price.
Don’t throw everything into your closets and under your beds because you don’t know the type of people who will be coming to look at your house. If your house has built-in wardrobes, they have every right to look inside to see the condition. They might also want to check every plug socket and even look under carpets so there should be no dirt hiding anywhere.
Small maintenance issues give off an even worse impression than dirt. A leaking tap, a loose roof tile, and unsealed doors let buyers know that you have not maintained your house well. And if there are little problems that you haven’t fixed, buyers will think there are bigger problems with the house that you’ve also ignored.
- Add Finishing Touches Before Showings
Iced birthday cake can be delicious exactly as it is. But when you see a little red fruit sitting on the piped cream frosting too? Well, that’s the cherry on top.
Even if you have a beautiful home that any prospective buyer would be lucky to snap up, there is likely still more you can do. Consider addressing the five senses: sound, taste, smell, sight, and touch.
Sound
Do you live near a busy road or have noisy neighbors? Close your windows before inviting prospective buyers for a viewing. You could play soft classical music but this might be too conspicuous.
If you do live in a quiet place, ensure that you take them outside or open the windows and point out how quiet it is.
Smell
Everyone selling a house should invest in a diffuser. Choose an attractive one that spreads scent well. Infuse soft citrus or floral smells.
Avoid scents that might have negative connotations. For some, lavender and rose remind them of nursing homes. And it should go without saying but if you are a smoker then you shouldn’t smoke inside when you’re attempting to sell your home.
Taste
No, you cannot taste a house but you can still use this sense to your advantage. Realtors used to bake cookies in the oven before guests arrived so that the smell of delicious cookies would waft through the home. But too many people will catch on to that trick.
Instead, you should offer your guests fresh coffee and treats they can nibble as they walk around. It won’t affect the state of the house, but it will put your guests in a good mood.
Touch
It’s natural that buyers will touch parts of your house but they can also feel the room temperature. If you live in a cold climate, it will be important to buyers that your house is well insulated and can trap heat. Crank up the thermostat before viewings and light your fire if you have one.
But if you live in a cool climate, ensure the air conditioning makes your house feel fresh.
Sight
Your house is already clean and tidy (or it should be!) but there are a few extra details you can add to make it look even better. A vase of fresh flowers and an overflowing fruit bowl both look natural and pretty. Buyers will think that you are attentive homeowners who care for the house that they are going to buy.
- Hire an Expert Realtor
There is no reason why you cannot sell your house yourself. If you’re willing to do your homework and invest in a killer pantsuit, it’s 100% possible. It will help you save money on the sale and if that’s important to you, you can check here for more information.
But if you have other commitments and responsibilities, you can hire a realtor to take care of all the showings and legalities. They will know what buyers are looking for and how to show off your house’s great qualities.
Follow These Tips if You Want Success Selling Your Home
It can seem illogical to spend time and money fixing up a house that you want to sell but it’s worth the effort. Not only will these tips help you increase your chances of selling your home but they might also help you get a better price too. And you can use that money to spruce up your brand new home.
No matter how many times you sell your home and buy a new one, you can never learn enough about the real estate market or interior design. But you can try! Our website has tons of informative home-related articles to help you out.
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