The goal of most sellers is to list their homes to sell quickly and for the best profit return despite a competitive Houston real estate market. But in order to do so, careful planning and strategizing are required in order to convince buyers your home beats out the competition.
Some of the goals to keep in mind to achieve this include preparing your home by addressing issues surrounding the home’s condition. First impressions are critical, and ensuring your home is presented in a way to help buyers envision themselves living in it is important.
Following some simple steps will offer solutions for concerns you may have ahead of putting your home on the market. These are ways you can prepare your Houston area home to potentially sell quickly and for top dollar.
Identify repairs and improvements needed
Regardless of the condition of your home, most homeowners don’t have the time or energy to take on a major renovation. Not only is the endeavor costly, but schedule constraints for homeowners also don’t always make a remodel a feasible option for selling.
Instead, consider looking at individual repairs that require immediate address, and work toward remedying these concerns. If your home has wallpaper in the primary bedroom, consider removing it and opting for fresh paint.
If a kitchen needs re-tiling, look to home decorating ideas to identify contemporary choices for tiles to spruce up your kitchen. These types of changes will make a significant impact on the look of your home and will offer the best chances of creating favorable first impressions.
De-personalize your home
A home is an extension of who you are, with reflections of your tastes and interests. It’s also a place filled with deeply personal memories, and when the time comes to sell your house, it may prove difficult to disassociate from the home.
The process begins when you start packing away personal items including photographs, heirlooms, and other personal objects that distract prospective buyers and could interfere with a sale. Presenting an impersonal, clean home will let buyers envision living within the home.
De-personalizing your home also helps when the time comes to market your home including through professional photography and video walkthroughs. Storing away your personal mementos will help your home shine to the right pool of buyers.
Declutter and clean
An essential part of preparing your home to sell is discarding or donating items you don’t use and have contributed to creating clutter in your home. Books and knick-knacks occupying valuable space in your home’s interior can be distracting and interfere with a prospective buyer’s first impression of your home.
Many of these items create dust and buildup, so decluttering is a first step in the process of getting your house looking clean and orderly ahead of buyers viewing or visiting your home. Pack away items on your kitchen counters as well, as people consider counter and storage space important deciding factors when looking to buy a home.
Once you’ve pared down the look of your home, and removed all items taking up valuable space, a deep clean is in order. You may consider hiring a professional to do the job thoroughly and efficiently, and your Realtor will likely have recommendations and referrals for a reputable person or company to handle the job.
Organize closets and storage areas
Storage and closet space are big factors for buyers when they’re looking to buy a home. It’s not uncommon for prospective buyers to check closets and cabinets when they walk through a home at showings.
Make sure closets and storage spaces are clean and organized to maximize capacity. A buyer will observe every detail including how well a space is kept as a reflection of how well the house was cared for.
Consider neatly stacking dishes in kitchen cabinets, organizing your clothes precisely in closets, and arranging shoes neatly so that buyers are left with a positive first impression. If you find you have more items than space in your home, consider renting a storage unit to store items (i.e., boxes of winter clothes and gear, kitchen counter appliances not in use, power tools and lawn equipment, etc.).
Staging your home
One of the final steps involved when preparing your home to sell includes staging your home. The goal of a staged home is to create a good first impression so that buyers feel compelled to make an offer. On average, it’s recorded that 47% of buyers’ agents noted that staged homes had an effect on how buyers viewed them.
Sellers should note that it’s not necessary to stage an entire home. Rather, it’s important to focus on rooms likely to capture the attention or impress buyers most. This can include the kitchen, living room, primary bedroom, and bathrooms.
Simple solutions involve placing a fruit bowl at a kitchen table, tossing a decorative throw to a sofa or bed, or adding fresh flowers and placing them on an entry table or a dining room. You can also update bathrooms with fluffy new towels, or add a dish of decorative soaps for added allure.
Staging involves highlighting details and giving rooms purpose. For instance, decorating a spare bedroom to reflect its dual purpose such as adding a computer desk and chair can illustrate the versatility of the existing floor plan.
As you work through the process of staging, don’t forget to add design touches that will enhance curb appeal to your home’s exterior. A patio with an outdoor rug and patio furniture presents an inviting picture, and adding potted plants or flowers to your front porch creates a welcoming allure.
