Get Ready to Show Your Home: Tips for Sellers

Selling a home involves preparation, especially in the days leading up to the first showing. Everything needs to be in place when the buyer comes to view the property. Preparing for buyers to come involves a lot of cleaning, organizing and decluttering. These tips can help home sellers get ready for the first showing.

Remove Clutter, Get Organized

Clutter can make a home look small and sloppy, even if it's been recently cleaned. Removing and organizing clutter is an important first step for staging. This can be a time consuming step, so some home sellers start months in advance. Clutter removal can happen in many ways.

• Garage sale. This is an effective way to rid the house of old usable items.
• Donations. Home sellers who don't have time to plan a garage sale can always donate their unwanted clothes and other items to charity.
• Recycling. Old tires and paper products are perfect for recycling.

Another good way to get old clutter off of tables and counters is to organize it with a modular organizational system. Home sellers who have a lot of clutter they want to keep can either work with a professional organizer or purchase off the shelf modular organization system for their home.

Add Decorative Flair

Once the clutter has been removed, it's time to decorate. Painting the walls in fresh neutral colours and adding a few fluffy throw pillows to the sofa or bed is an effective way to make the home look more comfortable and inviting. Home sellers who aren't sure what to do to improve the appearance of their home's interior can purchase a few lamps to brighten the space. Flowers are another decorative touch that can help make the home beautiful. It's important to use flowers sparingly, in case some buyers suffer from allergies.

Make Repairs

Broken appliances, light fixtures and doors can leave buyers with a bad impression. Home sellers who make small repairs before showing their home to buyers can create the impression that the home has been well maintained. Home sellers who aren't sure what should be fixed can walk through the house with a real estate agent. A good real estate professional can give the buyer a good idea about what should be fixed before the home goes on the market.

Boost Curb Appeal

Curb appeal helps sell homes. Home buyers are impressed by a healthy green lawn and a clean home exterior. Home sellers who want to attract as many buyers as possible can do so by working with their lawn in the months before putting their home up for sale. Fertilizing and watering the grass, planting colourful flowers, clearing away brush and debris, and power washing the front of the home are all relatively easy ways to improve the appearance of the property.

Clean, Then Clean Again

Deep cleaning the home about two weeks before the first showing can help ensure that the home will look sparkly and new when the buyers begin to come. The night before the showing, cleaning again (less rigorously) will take care of any messes that may have developed since the home was deep cleaned.

Work With Your Real Estate Professional

A good real estate professional can help a home seller determine what needs to be done to their Westshore home before the first showing. There are many ways to stage a home and prepare it for a showing. If you're a home seller who is preparing for your first showing, contact your real estate professional to discuss ways that you can improve the appearance of your home.