Springtime in the Puget Sound
As we head into the middle of Spring, the market will continue to heat up. Statistically, the most homes sales occur in the spring time and homes tend to sell for a higher amount. More listings come on and more buyers enter the market creating a very busy and fast paced environment. If you are considering selling your home this year, now is the time to get it prepped and ready for sale. I thought it would be good to discuss some basic home prepping ideas to get you started! Of course, every home is different and requires unique attention, something I go through step-by-step with each of my sellers.
Paint Paint Paint
Anytime I work with a seller who is planning to sell their home, the one thing I will almost always recommend it a fresh coat of paint on the interior and exterior. The smell of freshly painted walls gives the buyer the feeling that the home has been taken care of. Typically, neutral colors like beige are ideal. While paint is aesthetic, a home that feels wore and old when it just needs a good paint job can cost a seller thousands of dollars. What we see with the new generation of buyers is that they like turn-key homes. Now this doesn’t mean that you must update everything from your kitchen to your bathroom floor, but proper presentation and marketing can net a seller tens of thousands of dollars.
Declutter, Stage, and Clean
Presentation is everything when a seller puts their home on the market. No buyers like to walk into a dirty/cluttered home. In today’s market minimalism is very popular. As the classic saying goes, less is more. Ideally, a seller can move out and the home can be professionally staged. Realistically though, most sellers do not have that luxury. To declutter, you will keep everything to a bare minimum, you can use this time to start packing things away. If you cannot move out, place things into your garage and if that is not an option, renting a POD or a storage unit of some kind will be very helpful. If my seller decides not to use a professional stager, I will help my client use their furniture to “stage” their home. Hiring a professional cleaner makes a world of difference and can completely change how the home is perceived from a buyer’s standpoint.
Everyone likes that fresh new feeling, if you can make buyers feel like your home is fresh and well taken care of, you will likely make a substantial return on investment.