Fill the holes and new paint

Walls tend to take a beating in a home. It’s just a fact of life. Whether it’s the scrape from moving the sofa out last year, or a dent left by a child’s toy car, or just the nails used to hang thousands of photos on the entry wall. Using a little drywall patch to fill them and putting on a fresh coat of paint can quickly brighten and freshen up your home.

Check for any repairs

Let’s face it, one of the worst parts of being a seller is getting to the inspection date only to have the buyer back out because they find something wrong with your house. While some repairs may just be worth negotiating, there are several quick fixes that can be made to cover some of your bases. Look at things like your gutters, windows, doorways, and even your electrical outlets and covers. They may be small fixes, but sometimes they can make all the difference in a home sale.

Decide what you will keep and what you will leave

Part of selling a home is deciding what you are going to leave for the seller. In the real estate world, these are called inclusions and exclusions. For you, the seller, there are essentially three options with every piece of furniture, decoration, appliance, and knick-knack in your house.

Option 1.
Take it with you. It doesn’t matter what you do with it, it just can’t stay. Move it to your new home, put it in a storage unit, or hide it away somewhere else. These items are all the things you can’t live without, down to the things you think you may want in your new home (until you move it in and realize that you actually didn’t want it).

Option 2.
Leave it for the “next person.” You may decide that you really don’t need that old refrigerator, and that your new home has the space for something twice as big. Remember that washer and dryer that were way too hard to install? If your planning on getting new appliances, give the buyer an opportunity to take them with the sale. Just remember, some of these things can be useful when negotiating.

Option 3.
Throw out the junk. That couch that you’ve kept for thirteen years that’s tucked away in a corner? You know, the one with the stains from your old beagle, and the three tears in the back? It’s time for it to go. If you don’t want to take something with you, and you know a buyer would never want it, then get rid of it. Declutter your home and don’t leave anything that (a) distracts from your house, (b) doesn’t go with the staging, and (c) is garbage.

Remember, the cleaner your home, the faster it will sell.

Freshen up your garden

Let’s talk Curb Appeal. Do you want to know what drops the value of a home in a buyers’ mind faster than almost anything else? DEAD. YELLOW. GRASS. Now here’s the problem. First impressions are a big deal when buyers go on their first date with a home. And if the outside isn’t well kept, you can bet they are thinking the same thing about the inside. Green up that grass, clean those flowerbeds, and make sure the sidewalk and outer walls of the house look fresh. It helps with your photo tour, invites buyers to walk in, and it brings up the value of your home. Who doesn’t want that, right?

Put your feet in the buyers’ shoes

Above all else, if you are thinking about your buyers and what they would like, then you’ve found the key to selling your home. Think about what you would be looking for if you were buying your home. What red flags stand out that would prevent you from putting down an offer. It’s not to say that every buyer will be interested, but with a ready-to-sell home, you are sure to attract a good crowd of qualified buyers. And, having more buyers means selling your home much faster and at a higher price.