A Decluttering Guide to Get Your Home Ready to Sell
Putting your home on the market isn’t as easy as slapping a “For Sale” sign on the front lawn. To get the price you want in the shortest time possible, you will have to do some work. Purging your clutter and cleaning your home will do a lot to win the hearts of buyers and help you land a sale quickly. Plus, decluttering will make your move easier and more affordable! Here are some tips to help you sort through your belongings, manage your clutter, and keep your home spotless while it’s on the market.
Start with a Deep Clean
Deep cleaning your home will play a very important role in getting it ready for sale. A clean home will appear much more inviting in listing photos and will attract more buyers to visit for showings or an open house. Cleanliness gives the impression that your home has been well-maintained, so buyers are less likely to worry about major repairs. While you likely clean your home regularly, Redfin recommends going above and beyond as you prepare for your open house.
The most efficient way to deep clean a home is to work from top to bottom, dusting off the tops of cabinets, fan blades, and high shelves and finishing with your floor. This way, you won’t have to wipe down the same surfaces over and over. Don’t forget to clean often-forgotten things like your sinks, baseboards, light fixtures, closet floors, and window sills.
If you own pets, take extra care to eliminate stains, odors, and hair. Even if your home appears clean and clutter-free, pet odors will scare potential buyers away before they even get a chance to explore your home. To tackle pet urine, use an enzymatic cleaner to release the stain from your carpet and neutralize the odor. If you can’t find any clear source of the dog smell, Kitchn recommends sprinkling baking soda on your carpets and upholstery and letting it sit for a few hours before vacuuming. This is a cheap and easy way to freshen up any home!
Say Goodbye to Stuff
When you’re ready to take your cleaning project to the next level, do some decluttering! Clutter — even if it doesn’t look like clutter to you — can distract potential buyers from seeing the best features of your home. Clutter can even make rooms feel smaller and darker than they really are, which is definitely not the image you want to portray when selling your home.
Decluttering will also make your move a lot easier. Why waste time — and precious truck space — to haul stuff you don’t want anymore? Getting rid of multiple moving boxes’ worth of stuff or bulky pieces of furniture can also save you money on your move, especially if you’re paying your movers by the hour. If you want, you could even sell some of the items you no longer want. You’ll be surprised by how quickly you can make money by getting rid of those odds and ends you’ve been hanging onto for so long!
Show Off Your Clean Space
Once your home is clean, decluttered, and organized, you can finally list it for sale. Make the most of your online listing to show off all the hard work you did! Hire a real estate photographer to take high-quality, professional photos of your home. You may even want to invest in a video walkthrough, especially if you’re selling during the age of social distancing. It’s also important to hire a good real estate agent who can help you market your home online and show it off to potential buyers during an open house or showing. Your agent can even offer staging recommendations and let you in on special tricks to highlight your home’s best features!
Selling a home is never an easy task. While at times, preparing your home for sale may feel completely overwhelming, the work involved is bound to pay off. Take it one day at a time, paring down your possessions, cleaning, and getting organized until you feel confident that your home is in shape for a quick and easy sale!
Contributing Homeownership Specialist/Author: Natalie Jones. You can find more information at Homeownerbliss.info