Top 7 Inexpensive Tips to Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

It is amazing how often sellers are unprepared to show and sell a house. Getting your home ready to sell doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars, but it does require some work. Below is list of items that are free or will cost you very little money and will help your home stand out from the rest.

1. De-Clutter – This is another simple thing that you can do that will make a huge impact. Most sellers have been in their house for many years and have collected all kinds of things. You need to either get rid of them or store them; this will make your house seem larger than another house that is cluttered with the same square footage. You are planning on moving anyway, so why not start a little early and make your house more sellable?
   
   
2. Clean – Believe it or not, this is a different category than de-clutter. This is one of the hardest things to do but also one of the most important. If a buyer comes to look at your house and the bathroom is dirty, the carpets are a mess, and it has a bad aroma, it just leaves a bad impression. Clean up the kid’s toys, put away anything that will fit into a drawer or a cabinet and make it look as if you don’t live there. Clean and pickup every time someone is coming to look at your house.
   
   
3. Paint – This is another cheap and very effective tool that can help your home sell quickly. Painting is one of the best returns on your investment when you are selling your home. There are two issues that should be addressed when getting your home ready to sell. The first is the easiest: make sure you touch up all the paint on the interior and exterior of your home. The second may call for you to be a bit more objective about your home. What kind of colors you have selected? Do you have eight different colors in your house? Unless you are an interior designer, you really need to consider repainting all of your rooms to a neutral beige or brown color. While this may be a feature of your home that you love, the average buyer will not like your color selections. Paint your walls neutral beige or brown color which will make your house appear larger and will also appeal to the majority of buyers.
   
   
4. Landscape – Everyone has heard this before “curb appeal”. It is a cliché, but it makes a huge difference. Buyers begin to form their opinions of your house when they see it from the outside. Make sure your grass looks perfect - pull any weeds, edge the sidewalks and driveway, plant some inexpensive annual flowers that add color to the landscaping, and put some new mulch down in the plant beds. This will not only add curb appeal to your house but also add VALUE when they are driving their friends and family by to “check it out”.
   
   
5. Wallpaper – TAKE IT DOWN!!! Wallpaper has made a bit of resurgence lately; but for the most part it is outdated and with the myriad of selections out there, it is extremely personal. Most buyers will prefer a different selection, so go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy some DIF (wallpaper remover) and get rid of it.
   
   
6. Carpets – Get them professionally cleaned. It is not that expensive and can make a world of difference.
   
   
7. Remove Non-Essentials – The idea here is to make it so that the buyer can see themselves living here – not your family. Remove your family photos and get rid of any large furniture that does not add to the look of the house or the room. Try to make it look like a builder’s model home.

Michael Taylor is the broker/owner of Rebate Real Estate Indianapolis Indiana. Rebate Real Estate offers full service representation and a 50% commission rebate and specializes in Indianapolis Real Estate, Carmel Real Esate, and Fishers Real Estate.