Vicky Sanderson It’s where the walls hold memories, lives were lived, and love was shared. Corny, but true, and why the family home has so much sentimental value for people. But when it comes time to sell your house, the outside world only sees tangibles.
That’s why it’s important to make sure things are well maintained and look their absolute best before your home goes on the market. Here’s where home staging and maintenance come in. Investing to maximise your home’s best features and creating a space in which potential buyers can see themselves living will almost certainly bounce up the selling price. That matters, given it’s most probably your single biggest financial asset.
Personality purge
It may be hard to hear, but depersonalizing your home helps it to sell. While you may find yourself and your family endlessly fascinating, potential buyers may read personal photos and kids’ drawings as visual noise. Remove them, clear bathroom shelves, and tidy closets and countertops ruthlessly. This also goes for any stuff sitting on upper cabinets. At this point, you may wish to put things in storage. If you do, pre-pack these items to reduce moving chores and ensure they’ll make it safely to your new home.
Fix it
Do maintenance — such as re-grouting the bathroom tiles and patching holes — where necessary.
Keep, sell, or donate?
Use boxes to sort knick-knacks, utensils, and accessories into things you want to keep, things you want to sell, and things you want to donate. Do this as well in advance of listing as you can. To sell items, try listing them on eBay. There’s a double dividend- a few extra dollars for decorating your new home, and a space in which it will be easier to take the next, critical step.
Do a deep, deep clean
There’s simply no compromising here. Your home should be spotlessly clean. If you can, hire a professional firm to do a thorough deep clean of your house before viewings begin. If not, rope the family into a cleaning party. Take care of the details, including dusting and/or washing blinds, shampooing the carpets , and cleaning upholstery and window treatments. Sorry, but you should also probably wash your windows. Schedule this just before listing.
Make a grand entrance
It’s the very first impression a buyer will have of your home. So focus on it. Repaint the front door in a colour that says well, hello there!, sweep and wash the driveway, paths, and steps. Make sure your outdoor lighting fixture works, and time it to turn on when it’s dark. Consider giving tired fixtures or railings a quick spray of paint. Create an affordable focal point by grouping potted herbs and plants with cut flowers from the garden. Empty your mailbox daily.
Pic of door (top right) is George Becker from Pexels. Feature pic is Erika Wittlieb for Pixabay.jpg
This is a collaborative post. It was not reviewed prior to publication.
