Here are a few quick tips that you can implement to help your home sell much faster!
De-personalize
Help the buyers visualize the home as their own. Personal items and family photos distract from their ability to do so. Consider removing family photos, kids' athletic trophies, and any other identifying information throughout the home.
Our goal here is for the buyer to imagine what they would put on the walls, what they would fill the shelves with, etc. Replace these personal photos with landscape photos, generally appealing paintings, or even house plants where appropriate.
Modernize
We all loving feeling comfortable in our own homes, but making your home "comfy" is for when you are actually in it.
When you know people will be touring, you will want your home to feel as modern and as sleek as possible, since that is the look buyers are leaning towards with purchasing decisions these days. Think as minimalist as possible.
Greys and whites are big right now, and there is a reason for it. It is a blank palette that helps buyers envision exactly what they want, whereas a chartreuse wall and magenta curtains paint a particular image of the home in the buyer's head that is difficult to remove. So in the meantime, make the layout sleek and easy to navigate so that they can imagine the home with the furniture and decor of their dreams.
Deep Clean
You may not notice the few stray dog hairs stuck to the baseboards or the calcium buildup on the sink stopper, but I guarantee you that buyers walking through the house will not be able to walk past without making a comment or taking a mental note. Take a weekend or a few weeknights to specifically deep clean the entire house.
Dedicate at least a few hours to each room of the house to be sure it was cleaned thoroughly. My best advice is to start from the top and work your way to the bottom, preventing yourself from missing anything or having to go back and redo something that you've already cleaned because of the order that it was done in.
Landscaping
Landscaping is curb appeal, and curb appeal sells a home. This is the first thing that the buyer sees when they get to the house and what will set the tone for the rest of the tour.
Take some time and spend some money to spruce up the landscaping. Focus on maintaining a mowed lawn, well-edged flower beds with fresh mulching, and properly trimmed hedges. Bright flowers in the garden or flower bed are a nice touch to make the house stand a cut above the rest, and are a relatively small cash outlay compared to the level of impact that they have on the sale velocity of the home.
Check out these 5 Easy DIY Landscaping Projects
One item often overlooked is a clean driveway. Either hire someone to power wash it or do it yourself. Remove any grease stains, paint spills, or mud puddles and be sure there are no cars or trucks parked in the driveway when someone comes to tour the home. This will allow the buyers to envision where they will park, what it will look like when they come home from an evening walk with the dog, and what their friends and family will see when they come to visit.
Set the Mood
Everyone's home has a unique scent, and yours is not an exception. Take an extra minute out of the day to light a non-offensive candle or plug in an air freshener into the wall. Don't choose something overpowering, but go with something neutral and calming like lavender or vanilla. Spicy and citrus scents tend to turn more people off than they make feel welcome or calm, so be cautious if you are leaning towards one of these.
Conclusion
I hope you find these tips helpful the next time you decide to sell your home! Be sure to give me a shout if you are in the Lubbock, Texas area, and are looking to sell your home or move in the near future. Connect with me on social media and let's talk real estate!
