Are you thinking about putting your home on the market? As the market fluctuates, it can be confusing to know where to invest your dollars and when to save them. If it’s a hot seller’s market, you can avoid costly kitchen remodels and high ticket updates. If it’s a buyer’s market, you’ll need to stand out from the crowd by painting those oak cabinets and replacing brass fixtures. Regardless of what the market is doing, here are 7 tips for getting your home ready to sell in Richmond, CA so that you can get the biggest bang for your buck.
Declutter and remove personal objects
The goal of any Open House or home showing is to allow the buyer to picture themselves living in the space. Family photos, a collection of 100 piggy banks, colorful walls, and furniture flanking every corner of the room does the exact opposite of what you want to achieve. Take down most of your family photos, clear off those bookshelves adorned with knick knacks, and remind yourself that blank walls are okay. Give your buyer breathing room to dream and imagine what their belongings would look like in your home.
Paint!
The more buyers you appeal to, the better chance you have at getting a great offer. You may love your purple accent wall or sunshine yellow exterior paint, but most people would rather purchase a home that is a neutral canvas. Soft white, mellow creams, and a hint of beige will bring light and freshness to your walls. And I know this sounds odd, but the smell of paint is also a plus for buyers. It makes your home feel more updated and clean. In fact, in one television show I watched a real estate agent put an open can of paint in a cabinet under the sink. She didn’t use the paint for the walls but it gave the buyers the illusion of a new paint job. Now I don’t recommend doing this, but it just shows the power of scent!
Cleanliness is next to godliness – If you’re getting your home ready to sell in Richmond, CA, then get out that vacuum and duster. No one wants a dirty house. Once you’ve decluttered, it should be easier to dust those shelves and get those dust bunnies out from the cracks and crevices of your home. Again, the smell of a clean home is also extremely appealing to buyers. I’ve also heard wary buyers say that if they see dirt and flaws in a home as they walk through it, what’s going on in the places they can’t see. If the open spaces aren’t taken care of properly, are the most expensive ones to be trusted?
Curb Appeal
The front of your home is the first impression that people see so it has to be welcoming. Trim overgrown bushes, pull those weeds, and freshen up your sod with seed and fertilizer. Add a fresh layer of mulch and watch buyers flock to your beautiful home! If you don’t want to paint the entire exterior of your home, try adding a fresh coat of paint just to the door, add a new welcome mat, and purchase some house numbers at the local hardware store to give your home an easy makeover.
Listen to your real estate agent
Your real estate agent is the perfect advisor when you’re getting your home ready to sell in Richmond, CA. He or she can tell you where you need to edit, paint, or focus some additional elbow grease. Maybe rearranging your sofa will make your family room appear bigger or painting your old cabinets white will attract more buyers. Both of you have the same goal: selling your home fast and for top dollar. Listen to a professional and remember that the home is no longer working for you; it’s about what could work for the most amount of people.
Get Organized – No one is going to look in your closets and cabinets, right? Wrong! I know, having strangers open your medicine cabinet or looking in your pantry sounds invasive but it WILL happen. Everyone needs storage and buyers want to know that there is room for their possessions. That being said, go to Walmart, Target, or Home Goods and raid their organization departments for affordable bins and baskets. Clear out anything expired or that you don’t use anymore, pack away as much as you can, and organize the rest to show that your space functions efficiently. Many stagers and Realtors® even recommend that you remove up to half of your home contents – both inside cabinets and on walls and shelves – so that your space fills open and inviting.
Keep Up On It
When your house is on the market, you have to change your way of thinking. It’s not your private space anymore. You may have Realtors® with clients who want to view it tonight or your weekend may be taken up with Open Houses. You need to be ready at a moment’s notice to have a clean house. Decluttering will go a long way, but having antibacterial wipes (for before AND after visitors), a light vacuum, and storage baskets will make cleaning easier.
When you’re getting ready to sell in Richmond, CA, it all starts with having the right Listing Specialist. At the Rick Fuller Team, we live where you live and we know and understand the local market. We’ll tell you where to invest your time and dollars to update your home and where you can leave things as is to maximize your profit. We also have relationships with local, reputable contractors, landscaping companies, painters, stagers, and more to help you with projects if you’re feeling overwhelmed. We know that this is one of the biggest and most important decisions that you’ll be making and we’re here to help you every step of the way. So how can we help you to get your home ready to sell in Richmond, CA? Give us a call today at (888) 950-RICK!
