How to Get Your Home Ready to Sell in the Spring

Are you prepping your house to be sold in the coming months? If so, you’ve come to the right place. While this is an exciting time, it can also be somewhat stressful. Having a checklist of to-do items that you need to complete before closing can help you sell your home successfully. Here are some of our best tips for selling your home in the springtime and a few essential steps that you’ll want to take to get ready.

Declutter and Donate

First things first. You’ll need to do some serious sorting and decluttering in your house to be prepared to move. As you’re organizing, sort your items into “keep” “donate” and “trash” piles. You can also pack up boxes as you go to make progress in your moving process. Try to avoid throwing items in the trash that could reasonably be donated. Donating old clothes, toys, furniture, and home items that are gently used and still have life in them is an eco-friendly solution when you’re preparing to move. Plus, you never know when your donated items could go to help those in need.

Deep Clean

Next up, deep clean! From scrubbing the walls to cleaning grout, you should be seriously cleaning almost every surface and tiny cranny that you can think of. Don’t forget about the inside, outside, and screens of your windows. You can also move your appliances (if you’re not taking them with you) and clean in, on top of, and around them. Make sure you inspect and scrub any areas that could possibly be growing mold. Thoroughly vacuuming and shampooing your carpet can also go a long way, making it look fresh and new. Just make sure you’re not walking back and forth over those carpets after they’ve been cleaned.

Do Repairs and Renovations

Once everything is freshly clean, you will have probably noticed a few areas that need to be repaired. You might have some door hinges that need to be oiled or some cupboards that need to be tightened, or you might have some marks on high-traffic areas that need to be painted over. (more on this later!) After you’ve completed those repairs, tidy up the area, and your home will look lots better.

If your home needs more in-depth renovations to be ready to be sold on the market, don’t be afraid to spend the extra time and money on this step. Even the simple act of replacing the hardware on your doors and cabinets can give your home a serious update, making it trendier and more modern. Other renovations, such as kitchen or bathroom renovations, while pricey, can increase the value and possible asking price of your home. So even though these types of renovations require time, they can provide you with great benefits.

Freshen Up Your Paint

Freshen up the paint in your home before you sell your home. A new coat of paint will cover any scratches, dings, or discoloration. Over time, the color of your paint can be bleached by the sun, damaged by mold, splattered by oil, and more. Even if you think your paint looks fine, you’ll be surprised by the significant improvement that you see in your home after painting it. While you’re at it, you can use the opportunity to update the paint colors in your home. Take some time to research the current trends and popular paint colors to make your home look more appealing. If you have painted siding on the exterior of your home, you might want to repaint that too. New paint will make your home look clean, open, and new.

Don’t Forget the Exterior

When you’re prepping your home to sell, don’t forget about the exterior! Curb appeal is everything when you’re trying to attract more homebuyers, and your home’s exterior significantly affects this. You can use a power washer to clean the brick, siding, or stone on the outside of your home. Give your lawn a fresh mowing, add mulch to your flower beds, trim and shape your bushes and trees, and pick up any debris or leaves. Taking care of these steps will make your home look like it’s practically new!

Stage and Photograph

Now that you’ve spent a few weeks (or months) fixing up the inside of your house, you need to document how great it looks! Staging and photographing your home can help your property to look more attractive in listings, which can help you to attract more buyers to your showings. You will likely receive more offers than you would otherwise if your listing pictures are professional, well-lit and attractive. If you don’t feel confident in your own photography or staging abilities, don’t hesitate to hire professionals. Believe us, it will literally pay off! If your home is cluttered with all of your own furniture or isn’t well-documented, potential buyers will have difficulty imagining themselves living in your home. On the other hand, if it is decorated in a current and timeless way and documented in crisp, clear pictures, it will appear much more attractive to potential buyers and they’ll be more likely to put in an offer on your home.

Schedule an Inspection

Once you have all of the necessary preparations taken care of, it is time to schedule an inspection. If you happen to be selling your home for cash, you might be able to skip this step. However, most homeowners (and home buyers) who are going through the traditional home-selling market will require an inspection. Completing a home inspection can give you and your buyer the peace of mind that there aren’t any hidden issues or expenses that you didn’t know about. Home inspectors look for all sorts of issues, from leaky pipes to cracked foundations to termite damage. Having a home inspection completed will help your home to sell more quickly since your buyer will trust the value and condition of your home really as you say it is.