In any market it is important to make sure that your home is ready for potential buyers to fall in love with; you want to present buyers with a home that they walk into and want to make it their own. So how do you do that? Below you will find a list of tips, put together by my team, to give you some insight into what steps you can take for successfully turning that listed sign into a sold sign!
1. Make your home accessible. If you are truly serious about selling your home you need to be willing to let people see it! It is understandable to have some limitations to showing times but remember that if you have too many limitations agents may simply decide to overlook your property and move on to others that have easier access times.
2. Declutter and depersonalize. If you want people to be able to see your home as a place they could make their own, you need to get rid of those things that make it yours! Start thinking of your home as a house and look at it objectively, removing items that are near and dear to you so that potential buyers will have an easier time envisioning what a space will look like when their personal items are in it.
3. Make sure the temperature inside offsets the outside conditions. If it’s cold outside, make it warm inside and vice versa. If your home is too cold in the cooler seasons potential buyers may assume that is a sign of furnace or insulation issues and if it is too warm in the summer you run the risk that potential buyers start thinking more about the cost of installing an air conditioner than the fact that you have a fabulous new kitchen renovation!
4. Light it up! Walking into a dimly lit abode is depressing. Open the window coverings, turn on the lights and make sure ALL light bulbs are working.
5. Kitchens and bathrooms are EXTREMELY important! Do not miss getting these spaces in tip-top shape as these rooms will definitely be important to prospective buyers. Make sure to give all bathrooms and your kitchen a complete and detailed cleaning. Think of these spaces as the heart of the home.
6. Fix any problems. Do you really think potential buyers will be inclined to buy your home if all they can think about is the Home Depot list they have to put together? Put on your handyman hat and fix those things that have been on your to-do list (or if you don’t have the time or inclination to do so, hire someone to!). Include tasks like; leaking taps, ill-fitting cabinet doors, loose banisters, chipped paint, ripped window screens and any drywall holes that may have happened over the years.
7. Don’t forget the outside. People will be put off by ill-kept front and backyards. Not only is it a reminder of all the work they will need to do to get and keep their new home in shape, it is also a signal to them of how much love and attention you have paid to the property over the years. If they think that you’ve done nothing before they have even stepped inside the house just imagine how they will view any shortcomings inside the house!
8. Clean! I debated about not expanding on this point as it is a rather obvious piece of advice, but I thought I should at least mention that cleaning includes not only making sure that all the surfaces and counters are clean and free of dirt and clutter, and that the floors and walls are free of grime, dirt and smudges but also includes making sure of some less obvious things. For example; ensure all of your cupboards/closets are organized, neat and NOT overflowing, make sure that strange smells and odours aren’t lingering throughout the house (put out those cigarettes and avoid cooking with strong-smelling ingredients) and have a second look at all baseboards and trim and make sure they are all free of dust and dirt.
9. Price it right! I’ve left this one for our last tip not because it isn’t important but because it is arguably the most important factor to getting your home sold in 2013 and I want to make sure you put some serious thought into it. You may present buyers with a beautiful location that is in tip-top shape and has everything they are looking for but if you price it unrealistically, they will not buy it. Not to sound redundant but it’s worth repeating here; you need to think of selling your home as a business transaction and to be successful in any transaction you have to be realistic about the value of the item you are selling.
I hope these tips help and if you need any additional information, clarification or are thinking of selling your property this season please feel free to contact me directly at chuck@charlesfrancis.ca or (416) 558-7273.