When I’m working with sellers, questions about how to get the house ready for showing always come up. What should we do to make the house sell faster, and sell for more?
Good question! But the answer is seldom straightforward. As we so often say, it all depends …
Budget, tolerance for hassle, timing, and desired proceeds all come into the picture. The combination of factors can look complex, and there can be moving parts.
Over my years in this business, I’ve developed some basic ideas that seem to help sellers get clear and make the best decisions – decisions that can help get the deal done most effectively, but that also work with the rest of their lives.
So, what shall we do?
Clean, tidy, and fixed – always!
Deep clean. Hire a cleaning service. Don’t forget the windows, and don’t forget pet and cigarette smells. Nothing turns buyers off like dirt and odors.
Declutter. All horizontal surfaces should at least be visible, if not empty. And de-content the closets, attic, and basement while you’re at it. People want to see the house, not piles of your stuff. This concept applies to the yard as well. Trim, mulch, get rid of junk, sweep the walk.
Fix anything that’s broken. Drippy faucet? Cracked windowpane? Non-functioning light fixture? Fix it! If you don’t, buyers will assume things they can’t see are also broken.
Judgement Calls
From here, it’s about pitting one factor against another for the best result. Hassle vs. speed. Money vs. hassle. Speed vs. money. The key is deciding how to balance these factors for your best result. Does unloading the property asap top your agenda? Or is maximum dollar more important? Can you afford to repaint or replace a fogged window? Can you tolerate the disruption?
An example: Houses generally show best with neutral paint (we call it relocation gray) in all rooms. People may or may not like your color choices, but if everything is neutral, buyers can mentally repaint it as they see fit. However, if your ready-to-show budget is exhausted, or you can’t stand the smell of paint, or your pack-and-move process is already chaotic, maybe repainting isn’t worth doing.
Paint or no paint, in this market your house will sell. It may sell slower because of fewer showings, or for less money because buyers factor the cost of new paint into their offer. So, balance the factors and make your choice.
Forget about major renovations!
Do not wait until you are ready to sell to undertake projects like a totally new kitchen, or refinishing all the hardwoods. You won’t get all your money back in the sale, and you’ll miss the pleasure of having a nice new kitchen or floors the color you want them. So, do that now and enjoy it for a while.
If you’ve lived with major projects un-done, accept less money and let the new owners make their own choices. They may not like your taste in counter tops or floor finishes anyway.