Seller’s Checklist: A Timeline to Prep Your Home for Sale

Seller’s Checklist: A Timeline to Prep Your Home for Sale

buying and selling, Selling, tips

Seller’s Checklist: A Timeline to Prep Your Home for Sale

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    Even a strong seller’s market doesn’t mean your home is guaranteed to easily sell. If you want to maximize your sale price, it’s still important to prepare your home before putting it on the market.

     

    Start by connecting with a real estate agent as soon as possible. Having the eyes and ears of an insightful real estate professional on your side can help you boost your home’s appeal to buyers. What’s more, beginning the preparation process early allows you to tackle repairs and upgrades that can increase your property’s value.

     

    Use this checklist to figure out what other tasks you should complete in the months leading up to listing your home. While everyone’s situation is unique, these guidelines will help you make sure you’re ready to sell when the time is right. Of course, you can always call us if you’re not sure where to start or what to tackle first. We can help customize a plan that works for you.

     

    AS SOON AS YOU THINK OF SELLING

    Whether you have months or weeks to plan your move, these first steps will help you get ahead.

    • Contact Your Real Estate Agent: We go the extra mile when it comes to servicing our clients, and that includes a series of complimentary, pre-listing consultations to help you prepare your home for the market.
    • Address Major Issues and Upgrades: Give yourself ample time to address any significant structural, systems, or cosmetic issues that could limit your home’s sales potential. We can guide you on the renovations that are worth your time and investment.

     

    1 MONTH (OR MORE) BEFORE YOU LIST

    Turn your attention to the minor updates that play a major role in how buyers perceive your home.

    • Make Minor Repairs: Tackle the ones you can and be sure to call a professional for any repairs you’re not comfortable doing yourself. We can refer you to local service providers who can help.
    • Refresh Your Design: A recent survey found that staged homes often sell faster and for more than their list price.[1] We can connect you with a local stager or offer our suggestions if you prefer the DIY route.
    • Declutter and Depersonalize: Start by donating or discarding possessions you no longer want or need. Then pack up any seasonal items, family photos, and personal collections you can live without for the next few weeks. Bonus: This will give you a head start on packing for your move!

     

    1 WEEK BEFORE YOU GO TO MARKET

    Now it’s time to focus on the small details that will really make your home shine.

    • Check-In With Your Agent: We’ll connect again to make sure we’re aligned on the listing price, marketing plan, and any remaining prep.
    • Tidy Your Exterior: Make sure your lawn is freshly mowed, hedges are trimmed, and flower beds are weeded. If you haven’t already, empty gutters and wash siding and windows.
    • Deep Clean Your Interior: Your house should be deep cleaned before hitting the market, including steam cleaning for all carpets. Also take some time to tidy up the inside of closets, pantries, and cabinets.

     

    DAY OF SHOWING

    Take care of these finishing touches to give buyers the best possible impression.

    • Pre-Showing Prep: Tidy up by vacuuming and sweeping floors, emptying trash cans, and wiping down countertops. Open blinds to let in as much light as possible. Don’t forget to secure firearms, prescription medications, and items of value in a safe or off-site. Finally, it’s best to have pets out of the house during showings.

     

    DON’T WAIT TO PREP YOUR HOME FOR SELLING

    If you want to get top dollar for your home, don’t put it on the market before it’s ready. The right preparation can make all the difference when it comes to maximizing the offers you get. Call our team if you’re thinking about selling your home, even if you’re not sure when. It’s never too early to seek the guidance of your real estate agent and start preparing your home to sell.

     

     

    Source:

    1. International Association of Staging Professionals

     

     

     

    5 Ways To Decorate with Colour On A Budget

    5 Ways To Decorate with Colour On A Budget

    First Time Home Buying, Listing, Selling

    5 Ways To Decorate with Colour On A Budget

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      5 Ways To Decorate with Colour On A Budget

      Sometimes, selling a home is inevitable and most of the times this happens when the money is tight. Here’s 5 tips to decorate your home to sell when you’re on a tight budget.

      1. Paint. Buy a contractor’s paint (yes, the big bucket from the home improvement store) and don’t skip on the primer especially when you are painting over a dark colour (red, black, green, navy blue… well, you get the picture). Although nowadays, you can buy a primer and paint combo, I still personally use a separate stain-blocking primer (my favourite is KILZ) if painting over a dark surface. If you’re painting over a neutral colour then a primer-paint combo will do. This will cut your painting time in half although you will pay a little extra for this specialty paint. The key to painting like a pro is in the preparation of the walls. Paint will only help increase the value of your home if it’s done properly. A sloppy painting is worse than leaving it as-is. Try to use a neutral colour, not necessarily white or beige, although those work nicely too. There’s a lot of sample swatch of paints you can get for free at your paint store. If you’re going for a warm tone BEHR’s Navajo white is a favourite. If you’re going for a cool tone, try a grey or greige shade like the BEHR’s Wheat Bread or Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter. Use an eggshell or satin sheen for living or dining room. There’s a paint to use specifically for kitchen or bathroom. Painting your home in one colour makes it bigger, cleaner and more harmonious to look at.

       

      7 Items To Leave Behind On Moving Day

      7 Items To Leave Behind On Moving Day

      Listing, Selling

      7 Items To Leave Behind On Moving Day

      It’s moving day! All the things have been packed and the moving truck is ready to go. Did you pack everything from the house? I hope not as there are items that you can and can’t take with you on your move.

      While furniture and other personal items are sure to go with you, there are things that are part of the sale, unless they were excluded and agreed upon by both parties when the contract has been signed and accepted.

      Appliances

       

      You just recently bought top-of-the-line appliances a few weeks ago in anticipation on bringing them to the new home that you will buy after the sale of your home. Should you take them? Definitely NOT. This is part of the sale unless it was excluded at the time of listing. If you really like your appliances, remove and replace them PRIOR to putting them on MLS and before the pictures are taken for the brochures. Thinking of excluding them? Think again — homes without appliances tend to not go well with buyers as this is another major expense they have to think of that they might not have budgeted for.

      Window Treatments

      Contemplating on taking the custom window treatment that you just spent a fortune on? Good for you – it helped sell your home and has to be left to the new homeowners to enjoy. Items that needs tools to detach from the house are called fixtures and has to stay, such as blinds, shutters, curtain rods, etc. If you decide to exclude them on the sale, you have to ensure that the damage to the wall has been repaired, patched and painted to match the current décor and it is stated in the contract.

      Landscaping

      Flowers, shrubs, trees and plants that are on your plant beds stay with the house including that beautiful water fountain that you cherished through the years. Potted plants can be taken with you. Rule of thumb is that if you have to dig it to take it, it is staying, unless it was previously agreed on to be removed. And yes, it happened!

      Light Fixtures.

      As the name suggests, it is a fixture and MUST stay in the house. This goes with the light bulbs, although it can be easily removed.

      Attached Furniture and Mirrors

      This refers to the mirrors, vanity cabinets and over-the-toilet furniture if it is affixed to the wall by nails or screws. Yes, attached walk-in closet wardrobe furniture has to stay as well.

      Wall-mounted Bracket for TV

      While this can be negotiated to be excluded from the sale, if you decided to remove it, it is your responsibility to repair the damage to the wall.

      Outdoor Fixtures Attached to the Yard

      This refers to the tool shed, greenhouse, clubhouse, gazebo, light pole, bird house, basketball hoops, above-ground pool and accessories if it is attached by screws, nails or cemented to the ground.

      Rule of thumb is that if you need tools to remove it, it is most likely a fixture and should stay in the house. If it is something precious, remove it PRIOR to listing as sometimes, the smallest detail is what makes or breaks the sale of the house. especially if the buyer has fallen in love with it too.
      Be clear about the things you will keep and exclude, in other words, put it in writing. The safest thing to do is NEVER put it out in the open in the first place.

      Some items like extra freezer, BBQ, electric fireplace, etc, although removable should be explicitly excluded for the same reason as above, unless you want to leave it for the new homeowner to enjoy. If you decided to leave it, ensure that the buyer knows in case the buyer has other plans already.

      Do you have other questions that were not answered by this post? Please comment it below. If you have moving experience that you want to share, please write it here and I will be glad to share it on another post.