A few quick steps before you list your house can ease everything that follows. Here are a few must-do’s before you list a house for sale.
1. Treat floors and walls. A new coat of paint and new or freshly cleaned carpets have immeasurable value in the sale of your home.
2. Declutter, then declutter again. Bankrate.com recommends to “clear out a third to half your stuff”. All countertops, cupboard, closets, and pantries should be clean, with a minimum amount of items. This will help your home look more expansive (and expensive). While you’re at it, also de-personalize your space. Make it as neutral as possible, so others can picture themselves living there.
3. Clean, clean, clean. No one wants to picture themselves living in your dirt. Your goal is to make the home absolutely immaculate (and that means it should smell fresh, too). This includes your yard, also. Simply raking up leaves and mowing the lawn can add to your curb appeal.
4. Have your home inspected. Yes, inspection is a step usually reserved for the buyer. But you get the advantage if you do it first, says Ron Phipps, principal with Phipps Realty of Warwick, Rhode Island, and past president of the National Association of Realtors.
5. Do some detective work - on your own home. Phipps recommends requesting your home's Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) report. Anything that slows the transaction can stop it, he says. "So if you know the issues and have documentation at the ready, you can keep that sale moving", says Phipps.
BONUS: Consider home staging. An inexpensive alternative is to hire a stager or organizer for a consultation. “For a couple of hundred dollars, they'll tour your home and make suggestions,” says Phipps.
Sources: Bankrate.com; Howstuffworks.com; Forbes.com
