Preparing your Kelowna home ready for a bumper sale
The internet is awash with “how-to” articles on how to sell your home faster and for the right price. While you can learn a great deal from such articles, they often do not address the basics to preparing your Kelowna home for sale.
As you will come to realize, what you do to your house before listing it for sale will make or break the process. That is why you should be 100% sure of covering the basics before announcing your sale intention. This post takes you back to the evergreen basics of selling your home.
Optimize your curb appeal
In the real estate niche there is one unwritten rule; your curb appeal should always make the right statement. And probably you know what they say about first impressions (you never get a second chance).
A recent survey tends to agree with the premise that a pumped up curb is the number one hack for a quick home sale. Give your entry door a new coat of paint, wash spotless clean the steps to the front door, place a wreath or two at the front corners of your verandah, and prune your front garden bushes. Who wouldn’t be “smitten” with such a first impression?
Keep it clean in and out
One of the things many people cannot stand is a dirty home. It shows lack of good care. Do not let this be what disappoints a prospective buyer. If you have to, scrub your house from the entry door to the basement. Do not leave out the windows and behind the furniture.
This will likely prove to be a hard job. Consider hiring professional cleaners. They know how to clean every corner and each fabric in your home. Once they are done, your home will be ready for viewing. You will hear a word here or there on how clean a home you have.
Open your purse for basic and inexpensive fixes
You can actually invest in your home even when it is for sale. This would sound counterintuitive since you want to get the last coin. However, we are talking about a few fixes that would greatly improve on your home’s value. Here are some of them:
• Buy lights for your closets
• Clean up your garage and donate all the junk you no longer need
• Do a new coat of paint in your bathroom. You can also buy a new mirror and replace the old lighting
• Insulate your attic to make your home more energy-efficient
• Add edges to your front yard and the parking lot
While you will not spend a significant amount on these basic fixes, they have the potential to increase your home’s value by 5%.
Depersonalize your house
Having lived for long in your home, everything inside and outside will be exuding your personality. But once you put it up for sale, it should be seen like a clean slate where a potential buyer can visualize living in it.
Take away everything that still makes this house feel like you are not letting it go. However, this does not mean striping down everything in your house to leave a mere skeleton. You can leave a few things (that do not have a personal feel) for the new homeowner. Some everyday-use appliances would always find a place in anyone’s kitchen.
Do a color change
Some colors are too specific and personal. For instance, red is too shouting and only a few buyers would want it on their potential home. Take down the old paint and in its place throw a neutral color theme or at least some color that easily goes with the masses. If anything, a new coat of paint is one of the least expensive upgrades you can give your home.
Clear the clutter and let imagination hung in the air
The illusion of space, even if it is not much, will always be a catch for any home on sale. To create it, clear all the clutter in your house. Remove all the unnecessary stuff. Give away what you no longer find useful. Remove the extra furniture in all the rooms. This will leave your would-be buyer with room for imagination.