- Find a Real Estate Professional
- Arkansas Realtors®
- Arkansas Mortgage Lenders
- Arkansas Home Improvement Pros
- Arkansas Other Real Estate Services
- Review an Agent, Lender or Pro
- Marketing on Zillow
- Real Estate Agent Advertising
- Join the Professional Directory
- More
Answers (14)
Best Answer
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26854
Declutter, clean, clean and clean some more.
Outside: spiff up the landscape, inspect the roof (no moss, debris, crooked shingles), check the paint, check the pavement for cracks and trip hazards, clean the porch lights, clean the front door (perhaps paint it).
Then, go inside and look for dings, dents, dirty paw prints (of human and other sources), clean the windows, clean the doors.
Check for and fix wobbly things (stairs, boards on decks, light switches).
And then go back to decluttering. Decluttering isn't just the pile of bills on the kitchen counter, but the quantity of furniture, the photos on the wall (remove all the family photos).
Pay attention to odors. There are pet odors, perfume odors, moldy odors, cooking odors (bacon, onion, cauliflower, curry etc) etc that can all be offensive. Do NOT use scents to cover the odors (Fabreeze is a major no no, IMHO). There are many who recommend scents (Fabreeze, potpourri, candles etc) but those will chase away a number of buyers.
When you've got all that done, then you are ready to talk with an agent. Many agents will advise you that they can advise you on all that stuff above, and many can, but if you've done a whole bunch of work ahead of time then they probably can help you fine tune it.
Outside: spiff up the landscape, inspect the roof (no moss, debris, crooked shingles), check the paint, check the pavement for cracks and trip hazards, clean the porch lights, clean the front door (perhaps paint it).
Then, go inside and look for dings, dents, dirty paw prints (of human and other sources), clean the windows, clean the doors.
Check for and fix wobbly things (stairs, boards on decks, light switches).
And then go back to decluttering. Decluttering isn't just the pile of bills on the kitchen counter, but the quantity of furniture, the photos on the wall (remove all the family photos).
Pay attention to odors. There are pet odors, perfume odors, moldy odors, cooking odors (bacon, onion, cauliflower, curry etc) etc that can all be offensive. Do NOT use scents to cover the odors (Fabreeze is a major no no, IMHO). There are many who recommend scents (Fabreeze, potpourri, candles etc) but those will chase away a number of buyers.
When you've got all that done, then you are ready to talk with an agent. Many agents will advise you that they can advise you on all that stuff above, and many can, but if you've done a whole bunch of work ahead of time then they probably can help you fine tune it.
- Bruce Lang, "brucelang"
- Contributions:202
clean clean and clean, get all lightbulbs replaced which are out, anything not needed for daily living pack and get out of the house or neatly stacked in basement/garage. neutral colors - if you have red or purple paint it beige or another neutral color. wash the windows.
- Mary Beth Hurtado, "MaryBethHurtado"
- Contributions:314
We think preparing your Main Line home for sale is best done with your agent's advice. Of course cleaning and painting are a no brainer, but what kind of updates to do to best enhance your chances of selling for a great price are somewhat influenced by the competitive listings out there. If you list with a full time agent who knows the market you are in you won't waist either time or money.
- Lewis and Beth
- Contributions:60
Email me for a list of recommendations, from hiring a home inspector to staging your home. I am happy to email you the suggestions that I have.
- Sergio Hernandez, "Sergio Hernandez"
- Contributions:619
Clean, paint and fix.
- Joel Fletes, "JoelFletes"
- Contributions:171
If you have the time, call a Realtor in your area and have them do a Walk Through of your home to advise you what needs attention. This way you will not be spining your wheels on something that is not neccessary.
- Daniel Brun, "brund448"
- Contributions:4
Look at it this way. If you are seriously wanting to sell then you are GOING to move. Box everything up that you really are not using now and get the clutter out. The buyers that come through your house want to visualize their things in threir new home. They can not do that with all of your stuff in its place. First impressions are priceless, and they can not be redone.
- Zeta Cross, "ZetaCross"
- Contributions:126
Get Starr Osborne's book Home Staging That Works. Getting your home ready for the market is hard work but it is not rocket science. Get rid of one third to one half of your stuff. Clean like you have never cleaned before. Good luck!
- Bruce Lang, "brucelang"
- Contributions:202
Anything you have said "I will get to it", then get to it. That aside, get with a realtor and have them help you create your lst of to-dos. I just listed a great place in the Art Museum and I worked with the homeowners closely to get the home ready to sell.
- Sergio Hernandez, "Sergio Hernandez"
- Contributions:619
Clean
Paint where needed
Repair anything you know needs to be repaired
Unclutter
Paint where needed
Repair anything you know needs to be repaired
Unclutter
- Julie Arrick, "Home Sales in Philly"
- Contributions:33
Hi,
As a Realtor, I get asked this question a lot... So I make it part of my job to schedule a walk through with the owners to give suggestions as to how they can prep their home for a quick sale. There are many small and inexpensive jobs that can be done in every house to make it more appealing to buyers. If your house is in Philadelphia, give me a call or send me an email... I would be happy to help.
Julie Arrick
jarrick@cbpref.com
[contact info removed by moderator]
Coldwell Banker Preferred
223-25 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
[Contact info removed by moderator]
As a Realtor, I get asked this question a lot... So I make it part of my job to schedule a walk through with the owners to give suggestions as to how they can prep their home for a quick sale. There are many small and inexpensive jobs that can be done in every house to make it more appealing to buyers. If your house is in Philadelphia, give me a call or send me an email... I would be happy to help.
Julie Arrick
jarrick@cbpref.com
[contact info removed by moderator]
Coldwell Banker Preferred
223-25 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19106
[Contact info removed by moderator]
- Craig Fauver, "Realtor_DC"
- Contributions:38
As others said, clean, declutter, fix up anything you can, but also do not forget to take down personal items, this time of year you do not want to sour anyone from Baltimore or NY by leaving your terrible towel laying around or a dog lover by leaving your Vick jersey on display (coming straight from a Hokie). Furthermore, staging is crucial, if you can rearrange your furniture to make the rooms look more inviting, spacious, and open that will go a long way. If you do not HAVE to live in the house, a CLEAN, FIXED, VACANT house is always the easiest sell. I hear about agents that will stage a vacant house, I say no way, buyers imaginations do best when they have a blank canvas to work with. I do not know how many times I have to remind them "remember, this won't be here if you buy it, or disregard the circa 1970 pheasant patterned sofa, how do you think your leather lazy-boy will look there?" Some people just cannot get passed what is in front of them, this goes for other easy out-dated fixes. I walked into a home recently and they had a rotary telephone hanging on the wall, I think if they would have just taken it down and put it in the attic my clients might have actually considered the place.
- ConnieK_Oklahoma
- Contributions:2900
clean it and fix it and neutralize it.
- Call The Sisters, "Call The Sisters"
- Contributions:373
I would say the single biggest thing to do would be to de clutter and de personalize your home.
Take out and pack up everything that you don't need. If you move you will be packing it anyway.
Make sure that you don't have furniture cluttering your rooms. You want the rooms to appear as big as you can.
Good Luck.
Jayne Vaughan
ReMax
Take out and pack up everything that you don't need. If you move you will be packing it anyway.
Make sure that you don't have furniture cluttering your rooms. You want the rooms to appear as big as you can.
Good Luck.
Jayne Vaughan
ReMax
what are some great steps to take preparing a home for selling before hiring a someone?
Stating a discriminatory preference in an advertisement for housing is illegal. If you think this content is discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate and feel it should be removed from Zillow, please let us know by completing the information above.
We will review this content. Thanks for helping make the site more useful to everyone. To learn more, read Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy.