4 Tips to Preparing Your Home For Sale
So you are getting ready to sell your home. Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know this is a tough real estate market to sell your home in. Unfortunately, you are competing with foreclosures and short sales. Both of these competitors are much less concerned with the price they ultimately receive for the property. Luckily, there are many home buyers that are not interested in dealing with these distressed properties. They really just want something they can move into immediately.
This gives you the advantage if you know how to capitilize on it. Your home needs to look, show and BE better than the short sale down the street that is 10% less than your listing price. Here are some quick items that can shorten your sales time and maximize your selling price:
- Consider doing a home inspection. Have a neutral 3rd party inspector come through your home and find items that need to be fixed, prior to putting your home on the market. You may be constantly be walking by that handrail that is falling off the wall or ignoring that leaking faucet, but a buyer will see that. More importantly, if you get an offer, the buyer’s inspector will find these items and it could mean the difference between saving and losing an offer. Make the repairs prior to putting the home on the market. Remember that you may need to disclosure any material facts that the inspector turns up. The cost for an average Eden Prairie home pre-sale inspection will run around $350.
- Make the minor repairs. Fix all the small items such as the dripping faucet, the squeaky door, the missing cabinet handle. You might spend less than $200, but those small items can make a big impression on a buyer. They see that as a proxy for the overall maintenance of the entire house, including the big ticket items such as the furnace and roof. If you are too busy or not good with tools, hire a handyman for 3-4 hours. Give him a long list and tell him to get as many done as possible in a set number of hours.
- De-clutter. I am constantly amazed when I go into homes and find they have 10 pounds of stuff in a 5 pound bag. Every closet is full, the garage is so full that you can’t park in it and there are too many pieces of furniture in each room. Even large 3-4000 square foot Eden Prairie homes can look tiny when full of clutter. Again, use a professional organizer or stager to come in and give you an assessment of your situation. Clean out, clear out. Don’t expect to do this 24 hours before you list your home. This is a longer term project that must be done months before. If necessary, rent a storage pod and fill it with extra stuff if you just can’t part with things.
- Clean, clean, clean. You may be OK with dirty windows and dog hair on the carpet, but your buyers are not. Clean the carpets and furniture. If you can’t get the stain out, replace the carpet or cover the furniture. Dust everything, wipe down the baseboards and tops of cabinets. Pull everything out of the refrigerator and clean it out. Clean the garage, wash the floor. Put things in neatly stacked boxes. Tell the kids they need to put their shoes and clothes away. If you can’t do it, hire a professional. For about $150-$300, you can easily have your home cleaned like you have never seen it before.
Doing these small things can help your home shine and compete against those foreclosures and short sales. This will allow you to maximize your sale price and minimize your time on the market.
I am a licensed Realtor in the State of Minnesota. This website is not a multiple listing service, but each Minnesota & Minneapolis real estate agent is a member of the Regional MLS of MN, inc., a provider of the Minnesota MLS.
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