Three good things to do to prepare your home for sale
Putting your home up for sale can be quite stressful. The prep work is usually rushed, troublesome, and typically require a lot of hard work. That's especially so if you're like most people and prepare your home for sale the weekend before putting it on the market.
Plan ahead
Attempting to do everything at once immediately prior to placing the house up for sale is an invitation for disaster (or at least a lot of unnecessary hassles and expense). Make a list of things around the house that need to be fixed now, and deal with them one by one every few months. By taking a little time to do a few tasks in the year or two before placing your home on the market, you will be saving yourself a lot of unnecessary stress when it comes time to put that sign in the yard. Not only will you feel more prepared, but you won't be as hasty in trying to get things working, and you'll do a far better job. If you hire someone, you'll also save some money by hiring them during their slow times, rather than waiting until the middle of the summer when most contractors will have more expensive rates. Painters are not as busy in the winter so negotiating a painting contract in the winter months will allow you to get the work done for a better price. The same goes for heating & air conditioning contractors and renting storage space.
What buyers see from the curb
If you know in the fall that you might be selling in the spring, be sure to plant bulbs in September/October so your buyers can see a beautiful flower garden when they visit your home. Many homeowners focus so much on the inside of the home that they forget that the yard will be the first thing that potential buyers will see when they come to view the home. Some pretty flowers, and maybe a porch swing will go a long way towards convincing potential buyers that your house is the right house for them.
Getting a good listing photo
In the online age, buyers can instantly view all the details of innumerable homes for sale. With all this instant information, reading it all can tend to zone them out. They like pictures. One thing you can do is to keep a camera handy for getting just the right shot in the optimum lighting conditions. After a rain, under clearing skies see if you can get a dramatic picture with fluffy clouds in the background. Another good time is in the morning or evening light. One sure thing is that if you wait until the last minute to take a picture for your home, it will be gloomy weather when your agent comes to take the listing shot. Have your own all ready, and save the worry.
With just a little advance planning, you can get as much as possible done with the least amount of effort in preparing your home for sale.
Content contributed by Colorado real estate experts -- Automated Homefinder.
54-624 Oak Tree
La Quinta, CA 92253
Office: (888) 518-2078 Toll-Free
Fax: (760) 771-1950
Email: info@laquintarealestate.com
