Preparing To List Your Home
Updating your home need not be extensive to make a lasting impression. Using a subtle fresh coat of paint, can revitalize any room.
To encourage potential buyers’ interest:
- Eliminate or contain any strong odors in your home.
- Since we become desensitized over time to odors, ask family or friends over to offer an honest opinion.
- Consider baking cookies prior to an open house; the smell of baked goods will linger in the home, offering a comfortable “at home” feeling to prospective purchasers.
- Clean your home thoroughly, and then keep it that way. Spend more time on the kitchen and bathrooms. Homes will sell faster if they look clean and free of clutter.
- Maximize the space you have in each room by removing personal items, pictures on walls, and excess furniture.
- Clean out your closets and donate items that you no longer use.
Prior to putting your home on the market, identify any needed repairs inside and out. The cost of a handyman for a day or two may encourage a buyer’s overall perception that your home is well maintained.
Please discuss with your Realtor any current issues with your home – it’s better to disclose issues than face potential legal battles later.
Be sure to provide the following documents to your agent:
- Recent Utility bills
- Upgrade receipts
- A land survey
- Mortgage balance
- If there’s an association, a copy of the HOA agreement
- Your agent will need a spare set of keys to allow other agents to show your home to interested buyers.