Preparing Your Home To Be Sold? Remember These Essentials

It is a big decision when you realise that it is time to move home. It can be a difficult and a trying time for everyone involved. There are a lot of emotions involved in such a process. This is magnified if there are any children around at the time. But, however emotional it may be, you have to keep your head to a certain degree. Even if you are very attached to your home, soon enough you will need to let go of your attachment to it. This is an important part of the process which is often overlooked. However, there is much more involved which needs to be taken into consideration as well.

Getting your home ready to be sold can be a long and taxing affair. A good idea is to start organising your home as early as possible. Ideally, you should start even before you begin looking for your next home. You should definitely get things in order well before you put your home on the market. That way, when it is time for potential buyers to visit, you will be ready. Being ready early will give you the confidence necessary to successfully sell your house. So what are the things you should bear in mind when you are getting your home ready? Let’s take a look at the essential ones now.

Exterior Appeal

The outside of the home is, obviously, the first that anyone will see of it. For that reason, you need to ensure that it has as much appeal as possible. There are numerous ways to achieve this. To start with, it is a good idea to simply approach your home as if you were a potential buyer. Look for details which you might not notice yourself. When you live in a certain home, little things often become overlooked because you get used to them. You might like to consider enlisting the help of a friend, in order to get a clearer picture of the exterior.

The exterior appeal begins long before you reach the front door. If you have a front garden, then you need to ensure that this is taken care of. If you have not cut the grass recently, that should be the first step. An untidy lawn has a surprisingly huge effect on the overall appearance of the house. You should also take care to repair any broken fences or patio slabs. Even the slightest thing a little off is enough to put someone off for good.

The front door is important, for obvious reasons. If it looks a little worse for wear, consider painting it a different colour. Bright, attractive colours make a home much more appealing to potential buyers. Also ensure that you fully de-weed the garden. Weeds poking out of cracks around the door and on the pathway give off completely the wrong impression.

Depersonalise

This next step is the part which most people find the most difficult. If you have any kind of particular emotional attachment to your home, then you might not enjoy this stage. Nonetheless, it is essential if you are to sell your house on time. Depersonalising the home is actually quite a simple matter, all in all. However, it might take some time, particularly if you have a family. The first step in depersonalising the home is to repaint the walls. Regardless of what colour they are at the moment, it is always worth repainting. The trick is to go for colours which are as neutral as possible. That way, you massively reduce the possibility of offending anybody’s individual tastes. Even if you don’t feel like you can afford to paint the whole house, at least do the main areas. Even just decorating the living room and bedrooms can make a huge difference. What’s more, redecorating actually adds considerable value to your home. It is definitely worthwhile when you are hoping to sell in the next year or so.

As well as redecorating, it is worth taking down any photographs which are specific to you and your family. While this might be heartbreaking, it is necessary. Replace them with – again, neutral – paintings and artworks which nobody can be offended by. This simple act works wonders for a home on the market.

Make It Efficient

A big part of the value of a home these days is how eco-friendly it is. That’s why you must work hard to make your home as efficient as possible. Do this before you put it on the market. That way, you can easily raise the asking price a considerable amount. So how do you go about making a home eco-friendly?

The first step is to ensure that the home is insulated as well as it can be. At the bare minimum, you need to insulate the roof and walls. If you are worried about the financial side of things, don’t be. The cost of blow in insulation is actually relatively slim. And with how much more you can ask for for the house, it is more than worth it. As well as insulation, you need to make sure that the windows are eco-friendly ones. If they are not, it is definitely worth splashing out on new ones.

Spring Clean & Fix Up

Finally, it is time to get your home looking beautiful throughout. This should be done last, rather than first. The reason for this is that all the previous work may well have caused some considerable amount of mess. You also want to clean your home as soon before you receive visitors as possible. After all, any home can become dirty quite fast. This is particularly true if there are any children involved.

As well as giving your home a much-needed spring clean, it is also wise to repair anything which is broken. Remember that no detail is too small. You may well be surprised at how closely your potential buyers look into your home. If there is a leaky faucet or a slightly cracked paving stone, fix them! It is well worth making the home as perfect as possible. With any luck, you will sell your home in no time at all.