Getting Your Home Market Ready
Upscale modern house for sale
With spring comes the hustle and bustle of moving season. Folks all across Indianapolis are putting their homes on the market and are preparing to move into their brand new palace. It is an exciting time for homeowners, and it is possible you may find yourself in the exact situation or helping someone who is.
However, the excitement of the move also comes with the process of getting your old home ready for the market. No homeowner wants their property to languish on the market. Too many days on market (D.O.M in Realtor-speak) equates to lost money for the seller. This is why it is so important for the home to be 100% “market-ready” before you even put the “FOR SALE” sign in the yard.
Here are a few helpful ideas to get you started.
Don’t Let the Little Things Go Unattended
Prospective homebuyers can be brutally picky! In the days of HGTV, folks demand near perfection from the home they choose to buy. If there is even the smallest problem, issue or imperfection it could be enough to turn them away from your home.
Don’t let that happen! Make sure you go throughout your home and look for any cosmetics you can fix or improve before you show it off. Maybe there is that loose piece of trim you never got around to fixing? Are the gutters crooked? Is one of the kitchen drawers wobbly?
No matter how small, address the small issues, spruce up worn hardware, edges, corners, etc. – the details matter!
Make Sure the Outside Looks as Good as the Inside
It is always important to make a good first impression – everyone knows that. Well, the same rules apply to your home as well. Thus, the term “curb appeal”. The first things prospective buyers will notice are the street-facing exterior of the home, obviously, (paint, gutters, roof, siding, etc.), and the lawn, trees and whatever else may surround your home. Is everything manicured, clean, and inviting?
Since you’ve already taken the time to fix things up around the house, turn your attention to the outside. The goal is to create an orderly and inviting exterior. Make sure your lawn is kept cut and well maintained. Pick up sticks, trim hedges, lay some mulch and add flowers or other effects that indicate the home is tended to as carefully on the outside as it is on the inside.
Fix Up Your Floors
A proven way to make your home more attractive to buyers is with new flooring. This is almost always one of the top three on every Realtor’s list along with full-house cleaning and painting.
New tile in the master bathroom will convey cleanliness and elegance – very important in one of the “hot zones” for buyers. Hardwood flooring will elevate the dining room. And of course, nothing is warmer and inviting that brand new, soft plush carpeting in your living room or bedroom.
Be better prepared to sell your home and reduce days on market! We talked to some of Indianapolis’ most influential Realtors and got their perspective on what you should expect when selling your home in 2017.
