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Your best tips for selling a home
We're thinking about putting our townhouse on the market in the Spring. I've talked a little bit with our realtor and she's willing to come over and give us some ideas of what to start fixing/doing (re-paint, replace things etc..) I might take her up on it, but wanted to get some opinions from people I "know". She told us that it's going to need to be "model home" presentable.
If you've sold a home...
What are things that you did to get it ready?
Did you hire a cleaning service to help maintain the cleanliness?
What was the hardest part of having your house on the market?
Did you rent a storage unit somewhere to keep some clutter out of your house?
Any other tips for selling?
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Re: Your best tips for selling a home
Is the RE agent herself coming over, or as part of your listing package can you get a professional stager in the house to look at what should be done? If she said it has to be "model home" ready then I'd get a stager to help you out.
When we sold our house we took up the carpet and re-finished the hardwood floors (we had plans to do it anyway but hardwood is a selling feature), neutral paint colors, de-personalized the space...and yes the house was ALWAYS clean!!
The hardest part you'll probably face is that townhomes have been hit hard, depending on what location you are in...up where I am at townhomes were selling for $250,000 two years ago...and some are on the market now for $99,000, and the builder can't even build new units right now for more then $139,000 so it may be that you'll have to be priced pretty competitively if there are other townhomes on the market in your area (and by area I mean a 2 mile radius)...and have some characteristic that sets you apart from the others on the market...
When we sold last year, we definitely had the agent come over and give his opinion. We also paid to do an inspection prior to putting the house on the market so we would have time to address any issues they discovered. We rented a storage unit to store our stuff so the house would look staged. We were luckily and sold in 23 days. The hardest part was keeping the house show ready with a 3 yo.
Biggest advice is price it according to the market from the start. Good luck!
Good for you for planning ahead! That will definitely be beneficial to you in the long run. Here is what potential buyers commented on that they liked about our previous house:
- Get the walls move-in ready, people don't want to do work when they move in. Patch, paint, take down personal photos. No crazy colors on the walls--it may appeal to some buyers but will turn a lot of others away.
- As PP said, make sure flooring is updated/ clean. No stains or worn-out carpet.
- No pets in the home, if possible. Or at least make sure there's no pet hair or odor around. It makes people wonder if there may be pet accidents on the carpet or if they'll be able to get rid of the smell once they move in. If you have pets, get them out of the house during showings if possible.
- Stage the house. No personal photos. Take EVERYTHING off of the fridge, including magnets. Clean and organize your cupboards, medicine cabinets, closets, countertops, and fridge--people really do look at the insides of those areas.
- Maintaining the cleanliness can be the hardest part of having your house on the market, but maintenance is key. Just make sure you pick-up after yourself, do dishes, and make your bed every day. Once you get into the routine, it's pretty easy.
- We didn't rent a storage unit because we were able to keep our stuff in a trailer at my parent's house, but it is definitely a good idea if you don't have family that can store some stuff. Clutter is a deal breaker and at minimum can bring the price of your home down.
- Other tips for selling: You must use a realtor that is familiar with your area and type of home. It's nice to use a friend or realtor you have used in the past, but you are going to get the most for your home and have it sold in the quickest amount of time if you work with someone who knows YOUR market.
Good luck!
When we put our condo on the market a couple of years ago, a few bits of advice our REA told us were:
? closets should be no more than 2/3 full ... even if they're organized looking, if closets are completely full it gives the impression that the home doesn't have enough storage space
? never put rugs on top of carpet ... it makes buyers think the carpet underneath is stained/worn and needs to be hidden under rugs
? don't remove so many items that the home seems sterile and not at all homey ... it's important to declutter, but it's okay to have a few things hanging on the walls or a candle here or there. It's better to have some neutral artwork/decor rather than personal/family photos or your kids craft projects sitting around, but taking down absolutely every decoration is unnecessary. You want the buyer to imagine living there, and people don't live in completely sterile and undecorated environments.
We did rent a storage unit for our extra things that we moved out of the condo while we were trying to sell it.
It's really important to have the right price when you sell. If it's priced too high, buyers won't even come to look at it. You have to remember that your house is only worth what a buyer in the current market will pay for it, not what you have financially and emotionally invested in it.
Mr. Sammy Dog
I think the deep cleaning is the most important. As pp mentioned, don't forget about cupboards, closets, fridge, etc. I looked in all these areas to see what kind of storage space was available. Not saying that yours is this way, but I was amazed at how many homes had dirty cupboards and fridges. (I'm sure mine are pretty bad right now.
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I built my townhouse so I had all the manuals, etc. I had them on the counter along with my maintenance list for changing furnance filter, etc. Many of the realtors commented that it showed the house was well take care of. Granted this was back in 2004 but I had 3 offers within a week.
You also want to be careful that it doesn't lose the "homey" feel when you take away personal items. My house was full of family photos so I bought cheap decorations to fill up some of the voids.
Some people will tell you to burn candles before a showing, but I think fragrance is very personal and can turn people off just as quickly. Any house that smelled like a fresh scent made me wonder what they were trying to cover up.
The hardest part was keeping the house spotless. I never wanted to say no to a showing because I didn't make the bed or wipe down the bathroom counter. I was getting up at least a 1/2 hour earlier to clean as I left for the day. After a while it did become a routine but was frustrating when you feel like you can't "live" in your own home.
I watch a lot of shows on HGTV about selling your house and it amazes me that people get all bent out of shape about taking down all personal items. They all say, "But it's MY house and I want it up!" To me, once you put your house on the market, it stops being "your house" and becomes "a generic house for sale".
I think too much clutter is the number one problem we encountered when seeing houses. It's not a small purchase - it was amazing how some people showed their homes!
What are things that you did to get it ready? We did a lot of cleaning/organizing/updating. We also did a LOT of putting the toys outside (sigh) so that people didn't see it as a kid house (even though that is what it is)
Did you hire a cleaning service to help maintain the cleanliness? No - I can see how it would be helpful to hire someone right before you put it on the market, but no cleaning service that I could afford comes daily so it wouldn't be worth it to us.
What was the hardest part of having your house on the market? With kids, it is keeping the house "show ready' - it is REALLY hard to take away most of their toys and just switch them out. It is also really hard to do laundry and put it away all the time. But even more than that, it is the emotional aspect - people don't seem to want to leave feedback and that is SO hard to deal with. Honestly, that has been the hardest part - having someone come through and then wondering if it is still on their list or not in the running, etc. Just leave feedback! (sorry, random soapbox).
Did you rent a storage unit somewhere to keep some clutter out of your house? No - we're lucky that my parents can store a bunch of our stuff, but definitely do that - and if you can but smaller furniture, that is even better.
Any other tips for selling? Honestly, it has been really a bummer for the whole process - the emotional ups and downs are just so hard to deal with. Definitely take your realtor up on any suggestions, and ask others to come through too to give their suggestions - interviewing several realtors is a big deal - even if you know who you are going to go with, having other opinions about what "should" be done is good. We have a dog, and during the day when we are working we've been keeping her in her kennel in the laundry room - not ideal, but we don't have a choice since we work. If the showing is after work or when we're home on the weekend, we bring her with us and get her stuff out of the house.
Good lucky - it is emotionally draining and we haven't been able to sell our house yet (sigh again) - partially because we have too many original owners in our neighborhood that are selling their houses for WAY less than market price just to dump it. (can you tell I'm bitter?) We're lucky that we don't have to sell and love the neighborhood, but man do I want a bigger house!
Thank you everyone. I loved the tips. This is definitely going to be a lot of work, but I am excited for it. We'll have to replace our downstairs carpet, we need to do some work in a downstairs bathroom...but other than that it's pretty much the same as when we moved in (white walls, no change in appliances etc..).
While we really want to sell and get in a different house, there's just so much to think about. We'd owe about $8-9k to get out of our house. Some people I know just sold theirs and needed $20k to get out of it. I feel like on one hand we should get out now before we end up owing $20k to get out of it. But then again, I should feel grateful that I have a roof over my head that I can afford.
It's a lot to think about... I'm glad we're planning ahead.