Selling Your Home? 5 Little Ways To Get It Ready
When it comes to preparing your home for the real estate market, there is so much to be done. You know that you need to make repairs, remove clutter, remove personal items, and stage the home. However, there are some little things that you can do to prepare your home as well. Here are a few out-of-the-box things that are so little that you may overlook (but can go a long way) as you prepare your home to sell:
1. Make the Front Porch Inviting
As potential buyers walk up to your home, you want them to feel welcome. To do this, power wash your front porch, including the front door. In fact, give your front door a new paint job. Also, invest in some new house numbers, a new doormat and maybe even a new porch light. Don't forget to add some potted plants, too.
2. Wash the Windows
Take the time to give all of your windows a good washing. This includes the inside and the outside. This will help let more light in, which will make your home look more spacious. It may be hard to believe, but buyers will notice. If you can't spare an afternoon to do this yourself, consider hiring someone to do it for you.
3. Spiff Things Up
All it takes are little things to make your house look bad to prospective buyers, such as worn out plate covers and aged cabinet hardware. Replace whatever you can, especially the outlet covers and switch plates because these can be picked up at your local hardware for really cheap. As for your cabinet hardware and handles, these are a bit more expensive, so it's okay to get by with polishing them. Also, make sure to look closely at your walls for any scuffs that need to be cleaned up, especially if you didn't give all the walls a new makeover with fresh paint.
4. Spruce Up Your Side Yard
If your home has a side yard, it probably isn't used. It is probably just a dead space that has nothing in it. Turn that space into something for your potential buyers and use it to your advantage. Believe it or not, it can actually help you sell your home, and you'll wish you would have thought about this while you still lived there. While this area may be small, it can be used as a kitchen garden where you can grow herbs or you can set it up with a small cafe table and chairs where morning coffee can be enjoyed while reading the newspaper.
5. Be Ready for Those That Pry
There is one thing that you can count on when you sell your home: snoopers. There are going to be some buyers that are going to pry into certain areas of your home that you may not like, but you can't do anything about it. There will be buyers that will sneak a peek into your medicine cabinet, open up your refrigerator and look to see what's underneath your sinks. So, it is important that you make sure that all of these areas are clean and that you have put away all of your medications before the home is shown.