The 3 Focus Areas When Preparing to Sell Your House
People sell their homes for a range of reasons. You may have…
- saved over many years and are ready to upgrade your home for a larger version,
- or maybe your children have begun college and you’re looking for a smaller home that’s easier to manage.
Either way, selling your home can be a challenging process. Here are 3 areas you should focus on when preparing to sell your house. Our team at JAM Properties would like to share our expertise with you as we consistently focus on these things in order to sell a house within a very short timeframe.
Mental Attitude
The house is not going to be your home moving forward, so begin thinking about it in transient terms. It’s important that potential buyers be able to visualize their furniture in your home. The items of sentimental value such as family photographs, gifts from your grandmother, sports awards of the children and the tablecloth your aunt knitted… all need to be safely stored and moved out of the house. The only reason to keep any personal items of value on display is if they will encourage potential buyers to see the house as a family home. Other than this singular reason, depersonalize the house and disassociate your feelings from it. It’s just a building that you’re moving on from, and try to practice seeing the house as someone else’s. This will also help you talk with potential buyers as if it is their house – you’ll help them see it as their house faster this way and encourage them to make an offer.
Safety & Sequence
Imagine if a potential buyer looked through your house, checked in the cupboards or closets and old sports equipment fell on his or her head! Though this might be an exaggeration, it’s time to go through your house, inventory everything and throw away, donate or store every surplus item. Try your best to declutter and keep only those items that you need in your daily life.
The same goes for safety; doors, cupboards, windows, stairs, handles and switches all need to be checked for loose screws, broken hinges, cracked glass and loose fixtures. Everything needs to be working, clean and organized. Every time a potential buyer sees your glasses mixed up with jars, socks on the floor, or old bicycle parts in the garage corner, they are left with a feeling of disorganization and clutter. They’re left with the impression that there is ‘work to do’ before move into the house and make it a home.
Repairs & Finishing
Dusting, washing or replacing curtains, placing new rugs and cleaning the refrigerator are all important finishing areas prior to listing your house. Painting and having carpets cleaned will also help your home make a positive impression on potential buyers. In addition to the aspects noted above, ensure a plumber checks your pipes and fixes the dripping faucets. Replace all light bulbs and ensure an electrician reviews the fuse box and wattage available. If you know that appliances don’t work properly, or there are other issues in your house, call a handyman or do the repairs yourself.
The same goes for dark shadows on the ceiling or dampness in the corners. A professional builder will need to inspect your roofing for leaks, windows or cracks, and insulation or water-tightness.
For safety and repairs, you simply cannot skimp on these focus areas. They are critical to selling a house with integrity. Anything structurally wrong with your house could open yourself up to potential legal issues ‘if’ you did not make it clear to the new owner that there were specific problems. Most buyers will willingly pay for a damaged house. If you are unable to attend to safety and repairs, contact us at JAM Properties as we specialize in buying and repairing houses for sale. You can even partner with us in the process. We will help you find a new home and cover the closing costs in most cases.