Q: How Do You Prepare Your Home for the Market?

Here’s how to make your home show-ready for buyers.

How do you prepare your home for the market?

Whether they’re selling an investment property or their personal home, sellers ask me all the time which repairs need to be done, what inspections should be scheduled, and what the general preparation process should look like. Each person’s situation is different, but there are four items in particular that will give you the best bang for your buck:

1. Paint color. If you live in an older home whose paint color hasn’t been changed since, say, the 90s, it’s probably time to apply something more trendy. Today’s popular colors include light gray and/or greige; either of these choices will give your home a modern, clean look and maximize your return on investment. 

"Your home should shine literally and figuratively when buyers come calling."

2. Flooring. If you have cracked or chipped tile floors or anything built in the 80s or 90s, it’s probably time to upgrade to some type of laminate floor or luxury vinyl plank. You’ll probably get a better return opting for a waterproof laminate—it looks just like hardwood, but it’s more durable, easy to install, and very affordable. 

3. Decluttering. Depersonalizing your home allows buyers to envision it as their own while walking through it. This means if you have a wall of family photos, it’s time to take them down. Also, if you have rooms full of furniture, it’s time to look at what’s necessary and what’s there for decor purposes. Each room should have plenty of space for buyers to walk around in. If there’s too much furniture, it’s hard for anyone else to imagine their belongings there. 

4. Professional cleaning. Tasks like scrubbing the baseboards can get overlooked in our daily lives—especially during the past few months. If you’re working from home and homeschooling your children, it’s nice to have a professional deep clean your home so that it’s a) coronavirus-free, and b) show-ready for buyers. Home showings are still happening by appointment only, and as things open up a bit more, we’ll probably see them increase. Your home should shine literally and figuratively when buyers come calling. 

I recommend contacting a Realtor to discuss which of these items are necessary in your case. Sometimes a home in as-is condition can sell for as much as a remodeled one; it all depends on the comparable sales in the area. If you give my team a call, we’d be happy to schedule a consultation with you. We recently helped a client sell their home for $35,000 more than their neighbor’s by advising them on the correct upgrades to make. 

If you have more questions about how to make your home sell quickly and for top dollar, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.