7 Tips to Selling Your Home
The majority of homes go up for sale in the Spring!
Spring may not be in the air, but believe it or not, it will be here soon enough. Did you know that there are only 3 weekends left until spring?
If you are planning on putting your home on the market, here are a few tips to help you get your home ready!
1. Repairs/Paint
If your home needs minor repairs and a fresh coat of paint, it is wise to invest the money now, prior to putting it on the market. A home will show better, will sell faster and often sells at a higher market value if it is freshly painted, has minor updates and there is no damage showing. Consider changing door handles or cabinet hardware, leaky faucets etc. If you are considering renovations or upgrades, talk to your real estate agent first for his/her recommendation on whether it is worth your investment.
2. Lighting
Your home should show lots of natural light. Open all your curtains and blinds. Replace any old out dated curtains with new ones. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Replace all old and outdated light fixtures. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on these either. There are lots of low cost stores that sell curtains and light fixtures.
3. Declutter
This can be very overwhelming but so worth it in the end. Nothing worse than moving into your new home and realizing you do not need half your items.
* Tip 1 – You will save time and money in the long run if you start your decluttering now.
*Tip 2 – A clutter free home will maximize space and showcase the highlights of your home.
While going through your items, make separate piles for keep, donate, consignment, gift away, recycle, shredding, and garbage.
A. Bathrooms – Go through the medicine cabinet and check for expired items. If there are items that do not have an expiry date but have been in the cabinets for over a year, throw them out. Check your shampoos, lotions, soaps, make-up etc. Any items that have been around for a really long time and you don’t think you will use them (expired, no longer use, or tend to use a different brand), let them go. What about hair appliances? Do you have old hair dryers, flat irons lying around?
B. Kitchen – Any appliances or Tupperware that you have not used in over 2 years, you should consider letting go. Go through your appliances, dishes, utensils etc. and decide what you use the most often. Keep only what you need for the next few months and start packing up the rest.When showing your home leave only a couple of items on your counters (ex a fruit basket) and remove everything that is posted on your fridge!
C. Family room/Living room – Start with bookshelves and knickknacks. When selling a home, you only need a handful of books and knickknacks. You don’t want the rooms to look cluttered so remove as much as you can and just leave a few eye catching pieces. Toys? Go through the toys and decide what your children still play with. Let go of the rest. You will be surprised at how much you do not need. When it comes time to show your home, it is always best to put your toys away in containers, off the floors, on shelves or behind closed doors.
D. Bedrooms – If your bedroom has clutter, start decluttering and focus on it being a clean, tidy, bright and a relaxing room. Remove knickknacks and personalized items. Your nightstands and dressers should be cleared with just a couple accent pieces.
E. Closets – Go through your bedroom closet and decide which clothes, purses, scarves, ties, jewelry, shoes, etc. you no longer use or need. If you haven’t used it within a year to two years, time to let it go. Hang similar items together. If you have time, hang pants together, long sleeves sweaters together etc. You can even go so far as to colour code your items by hanging all black short sleeves together, all blue long sleeves together etc. Also, using the same hangers through out is recommended and wooden ones are ideal. *OK, so maybe you don’t have to arrange all your clothes in order to sell a home, but it doesn’t hurt, it sure looks great, and you will love how easy it is to find your items. It will also save you a bunch of time, and will be much easier when you pack and unpack!
Go through your linen closet and decide if you really need all your towels, face clothes, sheets, etc. Do you still use them? Are they stained or ripped? Fold neatly and keep like items together; same size towels together or same colours together, sheets together etc. Continue going through all your closets in your home and declutter!.
*Tip 1 – For easy to find sheet sets, put fitted sheet, top sheet and one pillow case, inside the other matching pillow case.
*Tip 2 – Have everything in your closet neat, organized and spread out. It will give the appearance of a larger closet space.
BIGGEST TIP OF ALL
***By decluttering and organizing now, your packing, unpacking and getting settled into your new home will be much easier and faster. Organize your items, put them in containers and label, pack like items together, and unpack and put away in an organized fashion. If you do, you will have a fresh start to an organized and simplified new home and life!
4. Depersonalizing
Buyers want to come into your home and see themselves and their family members living in your home. If you have a lot of family pictures, trophies, collectibles etc., it is best to start packing up your personal belongings as soon as possible. Unfortunately, your home may not feel like your home when you are selling, but it won’t be long and you will be in your new home, organizing, and decorating it to your taste.
5. Furniture
Do you have too much furniture? Maximizing space sometimes involves removing furniture. Also, if your room has too much furniture, clients see furniture, and not the highlights of your home (ex. stunning fireplace). Let go of items you no longer want or need, pack up and remove items (furniture, boxes etc) that you don’t need now but you want to bring with you. You can either put them in storage, have a pod delivered to your home, or if you have the extra space, put them in a storage area in your basement or garage. Not enough furniture? Does your home feel cold and vacant? There are options to make your home feel more warm and staged. Consider buying new or used items (only if you intend on keeping them), or if you can, rearrange the furniture that you do have so that all areas of your home feel warm and inviting. Renting furniture and household items are also an option.
6. Clean
I talk a lot about organizing but doing a good cleaning is really important prior to putting your home on the market. Remove all smoke odors and pet odors. I once had to replace my carpet because of my puppy. The things we do for our animals! Clean your windows, baseboards, dust your blinds, make sure your floors, bathrooms and kitchens are clean and sparkly! Everything in your home should be spic and span when it comes time to showing your home.
7. Exterior
The exterior of your home should be just as inviting as the interior of your home. Once the weather gets nicer, double check your front door and window trim and decide if it needs a fresh coat of paint, add attractive potted flowers, and a clean door mat. Lawns should be kept decluttered, mowed, raked and maintained.
Happy Selling!
Until next time,
Kathy
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613-454-5706
Kathy@secondsetofhands.ca
www.secondsetofhands.ca
Kathy McEwan, is a professional organizer, a senior move manager (cSMM) and believe it or not, has moved 11 times as an adult. She enjoyed every minute of getting her own homes ready for the market and continues to do so with her clients. You can contact Kathy for weekly moving plans or hands on help at anytime. She is more than happy to help!