What Are the Things You Should Do before Selling Your House?

People like to buy houses that they don’t need to fix up after purchase, which makes home sales a serious business in the USA. Reports put the home sales figure in the country at 6.12 million units in the year 2021 itself—a figure that is expected to be crossed in 2022. If you are preparing to put your house on the market this year, there is a to-do list that needs to be checked off before you proceed with the listing.

In addition to preparing yourself for the sale of your house, the property itself needs a little facelift to help increase its market value. Let’s understand these in detail.

8 Essential Things to Do before Selling Your House

Right from hiring good assistance to handing the keys over, here is a list of 8 essential things to do before you sell your house.

1.   Invest in a Real Estate Agent

Find a great real estate agent. The one factor that can make or break this deal for you is a professional properties dealer. Based on the location of your house, its design, size, neighborhood, etc., a great real estate agent can connect you with the right buyers—serious buyers—who would love to move into your house and look after it. Since you can’t do this all by yourself, a real estate agent’s network can be greatly beneficial to you.

2.   Decorate Your Property

Referred to commonly as improving the “curb appeal,” this activity—although seemingly vain—can cast a great first impression on the potential buyers. Rather than showing your buyers dried-up gardens, attempt to plant some greens and flowers around your house. Paint up that door, facelift the exterior to make it look inviting. If you have ever been house-scouting, you know about the thoughts a dilapidated house invokes vis-à-vis a well-kept property.

3.   Make It Presentable Inside

Opening up your house to let the potential buyers take a tour inside requires more work than you would imagine. It is more about the space and what the buyer can do with it instead of how you have populated it. Keep the counters clean, declutter your living spaces—everything needs to go back to its rightful place. The house should exude a feeling of spaciousness, not a cramped, cluttered space.

4.   Remove Any Traces of Personal Touch

If your house is on sale, there shouldn’t be anything in there that speaks of its past owners. It should be a white canvas on which the potential buyer can visualize their new life. The presence of old artwork, family photos—anything personal, for that matter—works to hinder this visualization and can potentially impact sale favorability. Ensure that all items that display past ownership are removed.

5.   Repaint the House

Just like you had your house repainted in colors of your choice, the new buyer would like to do the same. Before listing the house for sale, repaint all the walls in neutral tones that help the potential buyers visualize their own favorite colors in the house. Albeit psychological, it does help the ultimate buyer decision on whether to pursue a property or consider other options.

6.   Fix Up Scuffs and Scrapes

One sure-shot way of gaining buyer favor is to make your house look cared-for. In addition to having it repainted, also request for minor repairs that fix up the visuals of the house. Scuff marks, scrapes, dents, stains—have all these removed or fixed before you invite buyers indoors for a tour. Positivity flows where a house appears to have been well looked after, and it is an important consideration in influencing the buying decision.

7.   Oiling, Plumbing and Electricals

It isn’t necessary to go into full-blown repairs but make it a point to fix all the leaks, drips, creaking and jiggling around the house. Just like well-oiled machines that works efficiently, the buyers should be sure that utilities in your house are functional and problem-free. Additionally, having a handyman look into the electrical stability or issues beforehand so they can also be fixed before the house is finally listed is a wise idea.

8.   Tidy Up and Clean More

The importance of cleanliness, hygiene, and tidiness of your house can’t be stressed enough. Buyers tend to sway away from properties where there is dirt or dust visibly settled on countertops, or where disused clutter hides out in the corner of the backyard. No matter what, ensure that the house is as picture-perfect as it can get. It is best to always keep it ready for a surprise visit from potential buyers.

Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your House

Having taken care of all the essential things that make your property desirable to the buyers, there are still a few potential mistakes you could end up making that could impact the sale. It is wise to avoid these mistakes at all costs.

Debating on Hiring a Real Estate Agent

It may look tempting at first to save the 5%-6% commission that you would otherwise pay to a real estate agent. However, you get massive convenience in return. It isn’t a good idea to sell your house yourself if you haven’t done it before. A good real estate agent always has the best interest of their clients in mind, and will work towards getting you the best price possible.

Bad Pricing

Setting an unrealistic price—and expecting the buyer to pay you the asking price—is another mistake most house sellers make. Overpriced houses seldom sell. You may have invested a lot into making it saleable but unless a buyer sees value in the price they are paying for your house, they won’t purchase it. Working with your agent to determine a fair price is recommended to avoid this scenario.

Not Getting Homeowner’s Insurance

There have been incidences where potential buyers had accidents on a property and sued the owner for damages. To avoid this situation, ensure that you have a valid Homeowners’ Insurance to protect you from such unpleasantness.

Out-Of-Sight Issues

The property will be inspected by the buyer before a sale falls through, so you don’t want to conceal issues that may crop up later. Instead, invest in fixing any structural or quality issues to avoid problems later on.

Keep these essential things in mind before you sell your house. If you’re looking for real estate agents to help you sell your house, have a look at The Blazer Team of Cummings & Co. Realtors.