You thought long and hard about moving. You know it’s a stressful situation between preparing the house for viewing, packing and making the place available. Now that you’ve made the decision to move, it can’t happen fast enough. That is why you should do these six things to get your house ready for a sale in Central Florida. Checking these off your list will make the process faster and help get a buyer sooner than later.
1. Get Rid of Clutter
Getting rid of clutter is the first step in preparing your house for sale. Toss out things you don’t need or are broken. Donate what you can and put knick knacks away. Keep the floors clear, windows open to light and countertops free of anything that doesn’t have a function to be there – you can keep the coffee maker on the kitchen counter. No one would believe real people lived there without one anyways.
2. Pre-Pack What You Can
You’re going to be moving when the house sells so why not get a jump on the packing. This could start with the things you pulled off of shelves and counters in the de-clutter stage. But you can take it further by packing books, seasonal clothing and kitchen items not regularly used. Get a storage unit for a couple of months if possible to organize your move as you pack and get the house as cleared out as possible for the sale.
3. Double Deep Clean
Once you have everything de-cluttered and packed away, set the furniture in way that stages the home in the most inviting ways. Your realtor probably has some great ideas about this. But once everything is up and put away, you can see exactly what needs to be cleaned. Don’t just vacuum; get the carpets cleaned. Scrub the toilets, showers and everything kitchen and bathroom until tiles sparkle and everything looks bright and clean.
4. Fresh Paint
Paint is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to freshen up a room. It also helps neutralize things so prospective buyers don’t have a judgment on your color choices but instead see how they would put their own accent wall here or paint trim a specific color. While white is considered a clean slate, you can choose other neutral colors. The most important rooms to consider are the main living spaces where people will get their first emotional impressions as they walk into the rooms.
5. Take Care of the Yard
Spend some time to ramp up the curb appeal of your home. This is the first thing buyers see when they come to an open house or home view. While you should make sure the entire yard, front and back, is mowed and free of weeds, spend most of your yard resources on the front. Make sure weeds are pulled, grass is green and free of brown spots and trees and bushes are trimmed. Windows should be seen from the street without being obstructed by hedges and branches.
6. Follow Your Realtor’s Advice
Your realtor is an expert on what is important to buyers in Central Florida. When he does his walk-through, he will help you prioritize the needs to get the house ready. Look at the list and have an honest discussion about what you can and cannot do. He might say you need to replace the air conditioner but if you don’t have the resources, this needs to be discussed so he can properly address it either in price or sales strategy.