If you’re preparing to sell your real estate property, it’s important to make sure that the space is ready to be viewed by potential buyers. The look of the home on the exterior is important because potential buyers will immediately judge the curb-appeal of the property. An ugly home on the outside has little chance of surviving the scrutiny of a picky home buyer.
The judgment of course doesn’t stop at the foyer. The interior of your home carries as much burden with a purchase as the exterior and if you don’t prep the inside of your real estate properly you could be sabotaging yourself. If you’re not certain what to do to prepare your home for sale there are a few different things you can do – with the most obvious being a consult with a real estate agent; they can typically give you tips on how to prep your home for sale.
Likewise, you can put yourself in the position of the buyer and walk around your home with a pen and paper. Look at things that might stand out; your home needs to appeal to a range of buyers so you need to be actively “marketing” your home, and the idea of living in it. To prep for a real estate walk through you need to stop thinking of your home like a home and start thinking of it like a house.
Reset the Real Estate
You’ve likely make your home comfortable and “yours” while living there. This means people go for personalized colors, faux finishes, custom hardware and drapes, etc. The things you’ve done to your home that are luxuries in order to make them more comfortable may not appeal to buyers. Reset your home to something more basic – paint over faux finishes, put fresh coats of white and turn the home into a blank canvas.
De-personalize your Real Estate
When a buyer enters your home to review the real estate and see if it’s a good fit, they are mentally sizing up each room to see if it fits their needs. They are mentally imprinting their family and their possessions into your home. If the home is cluttered with tiger print furniture, strange curtains, knickknacks everywhere and photos covering the walls then they’ll have a hard time picturing the space as home. If it’s not essential, take it down and put it away.
While you want to show buyers that your real estate and your home are easy to personalize, you need to make it warm and inviting, giving them the opportunity to picture themselves in the living space. Distractions such as excessive furniture, personal items and custom paint or wall finishes can turn away buyers extremely fast. If you’re overwhelmed by the items in your home and can’t seem to make a focused checklist then talk to a real estate agent – they’ve dealt with situations like yours many a time over and can give you direction on where to start to prep your home for sale.