Getting your house ready to sell doesn’t have to be a difficult process. In actuality the ways to increase home appeal can be boiled down to getting rid of four things:
Lose the Non-Essentials
This means to get rid of the clutter in your home. Now clutter isn’t just the obvious stuff like junk mail or knick-knacks. When you’re preparing your home for sale, clutter is anything you don’t use every day:
- Kitchen gadgets and rarely-used appliances like blenders, toaster ovens or bread machines.
- Bathroom toiletries you use only occasionally.
- Seasonal clothing, formal wear and anything you won’t be wearing while showing your home.
- Any pantry items you won’t be cooking with this week.
- Sports or hobby equipment.
- Anything else that isn’t a daily essential.
Most people don’t do enough to depersonalize when getting ready to sell their house. Many people assume that means family photos, and although that is true, this extends to any items that relate to your culture, hobbies, family life, etc.
Lose the Grime
This means that you need to buckle down and clean your home like crazy. If you don’t have the time to deep clean on your own then consider hiring a cleaning service—because anything less than perfectly clean will turn off buyers.
You want your home to be clean to a degree that you’d never live in normally. Potential buyers are very picky and any sign of dirt, hair or grime of any kind will knock your house off their list.
Lose Storage Space Clutter
Most home buyers want to see ample storage space. To prepare your home for sale, you’ll want to remove all or most of the items from your closets, cabinets and drawers. But be careful about where you store them: A lot of client will use their garage and attic to store these items which then leaves those areas cluttered and unorganized.
In order to make your house ready to sell, clear the junk out of your garage, attic, basement and/or sheds. This will give potential buyers a true feel for how much storage your house offers. This might require purchasing a storage unit.
Lose the “One-Day” Projects
Are you the type of person who holds onto old furniture or projects because “one day” you’ll reupholster it? Or refuses to throw out those wet suits in the attic because “one day” you’re going to take up scuba diving? Now’s the time to admit that “one day” isn’t coming. Getting rid of these items will ensure better home appeal for potential buyers and make the moving process easier for you.
About Danielle Verboski