Whether you are upgrading, downsizing, or moving halfway around the world or just around the corner, life has brought you to a place where you are ready to sell your home. No matter the scenario, you are likely feeling a wide variety of emotions as you start thinking about moving your life from one residence to another.
To make it easier on yourself and any other members of the household that are involved in the relocation, you want to do everything you can to make the selling process as quick and seamless as possible.
In order to do this, you need to put in some advance preparation. If you are unsure where to start, read on to learn four ways to prepare your home for a sale.
1. Invest in the minor repairs
For many buyers, minor repairs can be a “make it or break it” deal. You want potential buyers to walk into your home and easily imagine themselves living there. For this reason, your first step in preparing your home should be to invest in the minor repairs.
For example, patch any holes in the walls, repaint any rooms with old and peeling paint, and transform ones that have colorful walls to sport more neutral shades. If you have any flooring issues, replace them. Repair leaky faucets or wardrobe doors that are falling off.
While these are small repairs, the fact is that having these minor issues will lead potential buyers to think there are more severe problems with the house.
2. Hire a stager
In recent years, staging has gained a massive boost in popularity — mainly because it works so well. Not just for high-end properties, staging assists potential buyers to more thoroughly connect with your space, increasing the chances of making an offer.
One of the main elements of staging is depersonalizing the space. While you love seeing your personal photographs and family heirlooms in every nook and cranny, having them around the home makes it more challenging for buyers to see themselves living there.
The last thing you want to do is have your buyers be distracted; instead, you want to make it easy for them to imagine their own belongings and items on the walls and in the rooms.
A professional stager will be able to depersonalize the space (something that you, as the owner, will always have a difficult time doing) and also highlight the characteristics of your home that are selling points.
3. Ensure each room has a distinct purpose
When potential buyers are walking around your home, they want to see how they can use each area of the house and what value that will bring to their lives. While some rooms are apparent, such as your kitchen, master bedroom, and living room, other rooms in your home may not have such a distinct purpose.
If you have a basement that you only use for storage, spend some time turning it into a place that could be used as a workout area or a yoga studio. You can do this by clearing out the junk and laying down a yoga mat and some hand weights.
Or, if you have a spare room that you haven’t really been utilizing, turn it into an office, a guest bedroom, or a library. You want buyers to envision how they can use the room.
This is another step in which hiring a professional home stager can help — regardless of whether you are selling your home in Bolton or somewhere else around the world.
4. Put excess items in a storage unit
During the process of depersonalizing your space and getting it ready to sell, there is a good chance that you will have some excess items that should be taken out of the home. After all, no matter the size of your residence, every space looks better without clutter.
Instead, you want to leave sufficient furniture to demonstrate the room’s purpose, but also not too much that it feels too cramped.
Opt to rent a storage unit to store any excess furniture or personal items, and so that there is nothing blocking walkways or entrances. Additionally, on the advice of estate agents in Bolton, declutter your wardrobes, bookcases, and cabinets.
Have you recently sold a home? What did you do to prepare? Let us know your tips and tricks in the comments below!
About the Author
Sally Jones is a Director and Co-Founder of The Purple Property Shop, an award-winning estate agent serving Bolton, Bury and the surrounding areas of North West England. The Purple Property Shop was founded in 2010 and quickly grew to become one of Bolton’s leading estate agents, specialising in residential property sales, property lettings and management.
