The process of selling your home can be physically difficult but knowing the end goal can make it worth it. Your goal might be to get out quick because of prior commitments or to take your time, like in the race between the tortoise and the hare. One thing to take note as you're creating your goals, more homes are sold during the summer season than any other season which means contracts are done during March-May.
How Can You Be Prepared For A For Sale Sign?
My family and I about 4 years ago needed to put our home of 10 years on the market. Our goal was to move quickly since my husband Eric had already moved to our new town Austin after 2 years of traveling back and forth. It was imperative we get down there with him and be ready for the kids to start school in August.
As the one in charge to make sure the house was sale ready, I've learned a few things that I wanted to pass on to you. It's not an easy task but I'm confident if I could do it, I know you can.
First you'll want to do your homework. I've put together my top 10 reasons to hire a realtor and questions to ask when acquiring them for their expertise. This one action can result in a 1 or 5 stars experience based on the research you do. You can locate that info here.
Congratulations your one smart cookie! You created a goal and did your homework.
Now here's the hard part, preparing the home. I've got 6 steps for you to focus on that will bring your for sale sign to sold.
Step 1 to prepare your home to sell
*Remember these 3 D's, Disassociate, Depersonalize, Declutter*
I can't stress enough how important this step is on your journey to selling. If you don't do anything else to your home to fix it up, this should be a priority. I believe in it so much that I've put together two detailed posts going through each room within the house. You can find them here and here.
Step 2 to prepare your home to sell
To Repair or not to Repair that's always the question when your looking at putting your home on the market. A majority of home owners can't make repairs on a home when they need them due to lack of extra money or time. So when wanting to put your home on the market there's some repairs that NEED to be addressed while other's might lean to updates with increased return on your investment. I've rounded up all these concerns in a post that can be found here.
Step 3 to prepare your home to sell
Mr. Clean for the win is like going for extra credit on a test. You know if you do it, it will give you a much better grade. However, I lean towards this extra credit as mandatory instead of optional. It's a big win for you as the homeowner to make sure your home is sparkling. You can find my tips here to get that 10 extra points.
Step 4 to prepare your home to sell
Staging your home can seem like it's just an extra step but this step is the piece de resistance without it, it leaves your potential buyers lacking the vision to see your homes potential. I've written a few posts on this topic which can be found here and here.
Step 5 to prepare your home to sell
Curb appeal might seem like something only HGTV does but I'm here to say it's not just for tv it's for your home too. You might be saying but Jacqueline I've already done everything else you've outlined, I just don't have it in me to do the outside of the house too. I know it's hard to muster up that strength, but I'm cheering you on. You can find some of my simple tips to spruce up your home’s curb appeal here.
Step 6 to prepare your home to sell
Smile friend, you're almost done. You and your home are smiling in this last step. For this step having your home picture ready is essential to the selling process. I've got all the details you need for this which can be found here.
NOW WHAT?
You've done all the work to get to this last step of the selling process, let your Realtor take it from here. That's why you hired them to get your home sold so you can go on and enjoy the next adventure.
Like I mentioned earlier there's no easy way to get your house sold but being prepared can make it all a little easier with an end goal in mind.
Thanks friends for taking the time to come along with me as I share my home selling tips. I do hope you got some good insights into how you too can endure this home selling experience. If you've also sold a home, I'd love to know what 's your number one tip.
