Don’t Put Your Home on the Market Without Doing These 7 Things

–  Remove Clutter –

One of the quickest ways to make a big impact on your home is removing excessive furniture, wall decorations, knick-knacks, and etc. Having too much furniture or just plain stuff in any room, visually overwhelms the buyer. It also prevents them from being able to see the space and imagine themselves in it. And an over-abundance of clutter can lead to misperceptions like assuming the property has not been well cared for or has been poorly maintained. Think like a minimalist or picture a hotel room. Bare walls are better than oddly placed pictures. Clear off kitchen countertops and knick-knacks in every room. In fact, bare walls and countertops usually look better in professional photos. Less is definitely more in this case.

– De-personalize –

While you’re at it, remove all the family photos. A buyer may have a hard time imaging themselves in the house if your family’s faces greet them in the living room where they are trying to envision possibly being where they will live. Besides, for privacy reasons, you may want to do this anyway. 🖼

– Deep Clean –

Once you’ve de-personalized and removed clutter, a deep cleaning will knock off the cobwebs and dust. Don’t forget to power-wash the outside to make it sparkle. Wash down walls, doors, and windows too. Looking out a grubby, dirty window can be a big turnoff. And cleaning up the outside will give it more appeal when the buyers drive up.

– Curb Appeal –

Speaking of curb appeal, it doesn’t take much to add a little splash on the outside. A few planters with some brightly colored mums or a few evergreen shrubs under the front porch makes a great first impression. Even a layer of mulch along the front or back can make a huge difference. You don’t want to discourage buyers from ever looking inside. A small amount of outside work will enhance its appeal and invite them to see more. 💐

– Hire a Real Estate Agent –

A good agent will be able to inform you of what your house value might be in your local real estate market. They closely watch the trends and see every day what prices buyers are paying for similar homes. Also, an agent worth their salt will also guide you on how to get top dollar for your property. So don’t do major renovations or upgrades without first asking an experienced agent. Not all renovations will give you a good return. You can end up spending thousands of dollars on the wrong projects. However, a good agent will steer you in the right direction and point you to where you’ll get the biggest bang for your buck.

– Repair, Fix, & Facelift –

Make sure all your light fixtures have working light bulbs. If you have the time and money, applying a fresh coat of neutral paint on walls is a quick way to give the inside a facelift. Unlike major renovation, it is still a good idea to fix smaller items like faucet leaks or cracks. Also, replace items that are broken. But for bigger ticket items that are broken or don’t work, ask your real estate agent before spending several hundreds or thousands of dollars. 🏡

– Staging Made Easy –

Some of the best staging includes items already mentioned. Removing clutter, de-personalizing, deep cleaning, fresh paint, and curb appeal are your tried-n-true basics of staging . But to go a step further, rearranging furniture will elevate your rooms to the next level. And if you don’t know what that looks like or the best way to do that, find home decorating pictures from Google or Pinterest. These snapshots will give you ideas on how to place furniture in every room. Once you’ve set the “stage”, a finished product with professional pictures tends to generate a higher amount of traffic and activity when shared and marketed on social media or websites.

In the end, it may seem daunting a first, but you’ll gain momentum once you see progress. Besides, most of the steps are just a bit (or a lot?) of elbow grease. Most of it does not take wads of cash to make big improvements. After completing these seven steps, you’ll feel more confident that your home is ready for the market and for getting top dollar. 📈

About the Contributor: Janet Martin Realty is a multi-million-dollar real estate company in Sulphur Springs that works with clients nationwide. In 2021, because of their clients’ trust and repeat business, they sold over $62 million in property throughout North East Texas. However, their greatest success continues to be the strong bonds and relationships they’ve built within the community. It is because of their clients that this team of realtors have ranked as some of the top producers in Hopkins County and are one of the top-tiered independently-owned real estate companies in the local area. The office is located at 1325 South Broadway Street in Sulphur Springs across the street from Starbucks.