So, you’ve decided to move and put your house on the market. You obviously hope it sells quickly and that you get a good price. But are you prepared? Is your home “show-ready?” Have you removed all the road blocks? As you’re scratching your head, trying to answer these questions, I can guarantee you there are at least a couple of things you haven’t thought about that can be a complete turn-off to a buyer.
On the outside, realtytimes.com says to look at other homes for sale in your neighborhood to determine if your home is as aesthetically pleasing or at least not appearing deficient in comparison. If your home needs repairs, isn’t “show-ready”, than it could be on the market a long time with very little foot traffic. For example, if you have vinyl flooring that’s peeling, replace it with a flooring that matches your home’s style and comparable to floors in neighborhood homes.
Another tip is removing YOU from the home. Take down personal photos and put away private items like medicines. Basically, take your personality out of the rooms and redo them to make them more neutral and appealing to buyers. Another example is a bedroom you turned into a meditation room or home office. It’s best to show the room as another bedroom. If the buyer is needing another bedroom and it looks like too much work to change the room, they’ll keep looking.
The same goes for the garage or kids play area. Find a way to show your garage as an extended living space but at the same time, show you can still park cars in it. In fact, an appraiser might knock thousands of dollars off your appraisal if cars can’t fit in your garage since it’s considered a loss of covered parking.
Remove any foul smelling odors, as well, from your home. This can include things associated with pets such as toys and food. But it can even mean removing candles or potpourri if the odor is overwhelming. Otherwise, super strong odors might come across as trying to cover up something bad in your home.