Any real estate agent will tell you that you need to prepare your home when you’re getting ready to list it. This may include a deep cleaning of the home, cleaning out the garage, ensuring the landscaping is done, etc. Depending on where you live you may have a handful of recommendations to follow. Below are the top suggestions that real estate agents tell their clients to follow when listing their home for sale.
Clean Up Your Walls
One of the first pieces of advice that any real estate agent will tell their clients is to remove personal items from the walls. Real estate agents have seen it all – including collections of various types, children’s artwork, calendars, photos, etc. These are generally things that should not be on display in an open house or when potential buyers are coming through your home for showings. Real estate agents know that these items can limit who will want to buy your home because they may feel as though your home is too “busy” or full of too many different distractions.
Additionally, if you’re trying to sell a high-end luxury home then fine art and expensive sculptures are certainly something to bring out than covering them up with pictures.
Clean Out the Fridge
Another recommendation that real estate agents will provide clients is to clean the refrigerator. This may come as a surprise, but what’s inside of your refrigerator could be worth quite a bit of money, because other people tend to judge you by what you keep in the fridge. As such, it would be best to remove all items and thoroughly wipe down the interior before showing your home (and taking photos) for sale. You’ll also want to make sure that the exterior is wiped down and cleaned off too!
Additionally, any food-related smells should be eliminated beforehand – including pets’ litter boxes or other odors coming from the kitchen area. After all, if potential buyers are moving through your cabinets while looking at how broad or narrow they are, they don’t want to be hit with the scent of fresh-baked cookies!
You’ll also want to ensure that your home smells nice when you’re getting ready for showings. A professional house cleaner can help with this, or if you prefer you can just open up all of your windows and run an air purifier throughout the home. Doing so will allow fresh air in, as well as eliminate any cooking odors (mentioned earlier).
Vacuum & Clean Floors Thoroughly
Another suggestion is to make sure that you vacuum your flooring thoroughly before having potential buyers tour through your home. You don’t want them to see telltale signs of clutter – even if it’s only visible under ultra-violet light! Cleaners can help find these areas, or professionals can take additional time to identify these items before they are removed.
Put Away Laundry
The last thing you want potential buyers to see is your dirty laundry…literally. Be sure to put away laundry and hang up clothes. If you have a lot of laundry between you and your family, it may be best to hire a local laundry service for a few weeks or until the home is under contract. This type of service is usually provided by a laundromat where professionals will pick up your clothes, wash them, dry them, fold them and return them to you in a matter of 24 hours or less. All you need to do is put away the laundry and ensure your home looks de-cluttered.
Routinely De-Clutter Your House
If there is any clutter in the home, you’ll want to remove it ahead of showings. As discussed earlier, people may judge you by what’s in your environment, and you’d be surprised how many people look under furniture cushions when touring your home! Taking this time to remove clutter will also help reveal other areas that could use cleaning attention (and save on professional cleaners’ fees). If finding places where debris should be removed will be too much work for you or your family – consider hiring a professional cleaner who can assist with snagging dust bunnies and spills. A quick sweep through the house combined with gentle vacuuming should do the trick.