If you’re planning to put your house on the market this late spring or early summer you need to get your house, and yourself, ready to capitalize on the sizzling spring and summer selling season, when so many more homes are offered for sale in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Here are 5 items to be prepared sale-ready after Memorial Day:
1. Tackle The Obvious Repairs
If you’re planning to list your home at the start of summer, you now have the next month to tackle all the necessary and obvious repair. It is important to prevent potential buyers from being distracted as they tour your property. Instead of making a mental list of what needs to be fixed, they’ll be able to focus on your home’s positive qualities. You’ll also save time (and money) later by avoiding back-and-forth negotiations over minor repair issues. And doing the repairs yourself, ahead of time, saves you from having to foot the bill for the estimated, and often over-inflated, cost of repairs! (Your actual cost will almost always be less than a buyer’s post-inspection estimate).
2. Remove Your Clutter And Non-Essentials Now
Clutter hurts the value of your property. Create more visual space in your home by getting rid of non-essential items Look at each item in your house, and decide to display it, pack it, sell it or donate it. The concept that ‘less is more’ should prevail. Edit and organize the rest. Living space is a precious commodity, making your home feel inviting and attractive to buyers who gain the perception of more living space. Buyers tend to pay more for bigger homes, even if it is all in his/her heads!
3. Neutralize Your Property
Family heirlooms, photographs and knik-knacks need to be packed away. Buyers want to visualize themselves in the home. Leaving these items makes it distracting to the buyer’s process of viewing the home and aids in forecasting a life for themselves in the home.
4. Pack Divisive Items
When clearing out the house, remove any polarizing items. Potential buyers can have strong emotional reactions to risque posters, politics, controversial hobbies or pastimes. The only flag that should fly is the red, white and blue. Don’t give your buyer a chance to prejudge your home for personal reasons.
5. Create Stronger Curb Appeal
This is the time to plan your three-second first impression. Paint the front door, plant flower beds and refine shrubs or trees. Picking complementing colors will add a spark of pizzazz. Last item to add is fresh doormat to welcome your buyers inside your home that will be sure to sell quickly.