So you’ve decided to sell your house. That’s one of the most significant experiences anyone can go through in their life. And, just like any big milestone, there’s a lot to consider and even more to do.
Many homeowners looking to sell their houses don’t realize the amount of prepping their unit needs to appeal to potential buyers, while some of them tend to overspend when renovating their houses only to end up receiving less-than-impressive profits for their sale. They realize their mistake when the sale extends indefinitely. To stay on the safe side and avoid falling into these common mistakes, here’s everything you can do to make the sale process a breeze.
1. Plan for the Process and Timeline
Going through your boxes for the gazillionth time, it seems like you’ve lost the duster. Again. Your walls are still full of cracked paint, and you’re going through your weekly budget faster than ever with all the fast food you’re ordering. After all, you’ve already packed your kitchen and all of your utensils.
If this is the kind of logistical nightmare you’d like to avoid for the rest of your life, then you’d be wiser to plan for the whole house prepping process in advance. For starters, you’ll need to estimate when you’ll move into your new space and leave this one behind. Meanwhile, take into consideration the timeline you’ll want to stick to for listing your house and having it ready for potential buyers to see. In doing so, you’ll avoid overwhelming yourself by doing everything at once and rushing the whole prepping process.
2. Renovation: to Do or Not to Do?
There’s one important question every homeowner looking to sell their house asks. Is it worthwhile to do any kind of renovation? Frankly speaking, it depends on the renovation or remodeling you have in mind. For the most part, it’s not worth it to do a full kitchen or bathroom renovation. However, what would make sense is to change the kitchen or bathroom countertops instead of fully remodeling. Always think of it in terms of return on investment; don’t invest in a renovation that won’t even pay its cost.
3. Depersonalize Your Space
Whether you decide that you’ll do both the packing and house prepping at the same time or separately, one thing you must do is to depersonalize your house. Think about it from the perspective of potential buyers; they don’t want to see how this house fits you and your family. They want to start visualizing how it’s going to be their own home. They don’t want to see your family portraits or try to guess how your DIY gym room can be transformed to satisfy their needs.
4. Decide What to Pack or Leave
Regardless of the timeline you’ve set for yourself, you’ll need to start packing a few things. These will depend on your timeline and moving plans, but it’s safe to assume you should pack all your personal items and equipment.
While packing, you’ll come across all the items you had stored years ago and forgotten all about, giving you the chance to go through your stuff and decide what to take with you and what to discard. To avoid second-guessing, make sure to box them and send them off as donations.
5. Clean and Declutter
With most of your stuff packed and ready to go, you’ll start the cleaning process. After all, we all know that this is an essential house prepping steps. Clean like your mom is coming to visit you soon; dust off the furniture and curtains, vacuum and mop the floors, wipe all surfaces and use an air freshener. As you know, special measures should be taken in cleaning your bathrooms and kitchen. During the cleaning process, make sure to get rid of any clutter lying around your house.
6. Run a Maintenance Check on All Equipment
If you’re leaving some equipment or electronics behind, such as your ACs or HVAC system, you’ll have to run a maintenance check on every item. A regular maintenance check will give you a report on the efficiency of your equipment and alert you to any functional issues, as well as recommend newer and more efficient solutions.
During maintenance, you may need to clean some of your equipment. For instance, most homeowners living in Singapore realize that their air conditioning unit is long overdue for a cleaning. With many cleaning services to choose from, the AC maintenance experts from https://www.coolearth.com.sg/chemical-wash/ explain why using a chemical wash is well worth the investment. Despite the relatively higher price, chemical washing penetrates through the dirt and debris to effectively clean every layer of your AC, all the way through to the air compressor. On the plus side, these experts can simply replace malfunctioning parts, offering you an out from replacing the whole unit.
7. Repaint and Repair
Once your maintenance check is over, it’s time to look at the bigger picture. Repaint the cracked walls or, better yet, do a full-on repainting job to create an air of a whole new house. Before the paint job, though, repair what needs to be repaired. Fix the cracks in the walls, inspect for mold, and check your piping system.
8. Don’t Forget Your Landscape
What do you think is the first thing your potential buyers will take notice of when they visit your house? It’s your landscape, obviously. You don’t have to do any heavy remodeling, but you’ll definitely have to trim the trees, pluck weeds, and organize the space. Even if you don’t have a yard, make sure to prep your curb area and set the stage to attract buyers.
Milestones always mark new beginnings, but the feeling of celebration will never be complete unless we close the page properly. Although moving out of your house is the end of the road for you with this particular house, it’s a new beginning for your potential buyers. Put yourself in their shoes and consider how you can set the perfect stage for this new beginning.
