The Design Corner: How to Prepare Your House to Sell 101

If you are planning to put your house on the market (or even if it’s already on the market!) – you’re going to want to check out this post!

How to prepare your house to sell

Our design expert, Cathi Anne, has shared with us her tried and true tips for getting your home ready to sell. These are general tips that can be done on any home. For more specific advice about your particular home, you’ll just have to invite Cathi over and let her work her magic on your space.

But, in the meantime, use these tips to get you started!

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De-Cluttering helps the buyer to focus on the space in each room, not the stuff. You’re going to be moving soon anyway, so go ahead and get rid of all those items you aren’t planning on taking with you.

Pack Up & Store //
– Any collections
– Personal photos
– Out-of-season clothing
– Anything you won’t need for the next 3-6 months

Simplify //
Simplify each space as much as possible… The more you put away the bigger the house will feel to buyers. Leave just enough for the home to still feel warm and welcoming, not cold and sterile.

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Remember, you are in competition with all the other houses on the market… When buyers look at a house, they start a mental list of all the items they would want or need to change in order to live there. Be proactive and make that list as short as possible by doing any necessary repairs or updates ahead of time.

The shorter the list, the more likely they are to pick your home.

Exterior Details //
Make any necessary repairs
– Missing shingles
– Broken windows
– Peeling paint
Keep lawn mowed and raked
Trim shrubs and trees
Weed flower beds and add a fresh layer of mulch

Interior Details //
Paint walls with neutral color scheme
Update light fixtures
Update hardware on kitchen cabinets
Change out bathroom and kitchen sink fixtures
Clean and/or replace carpets

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For more tips on transforming your front door from drab to fab, check out this Design Corner post.

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De-Personalize banner

Each of us have our own decorating style, that’s what makes our house a home. Staging works because it changes a home back to a house – a product to market and sell.

When you’re preparing to sell, take the personality out of your home so that it appeals to the greatest number of buyers that walk in the door.

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Nothing says, “let’s look at a different house” like stained carpet and a layer of grime on every surface. Needless to say, buyers love a bright, well-maintained, clean, and clutter free home.

Exterior Cleaning //
– Power wash (including patios and decks)
– Clean out gutters
– Weed flower beds
– Add fresh mulch to landscaping
– Trim bushes and trees

Interior Cleaning //
– Wash windows and screens
– Wipe out cabinets
– Clean baseboards and woodwork
– Dust light fixtures
– Professionally clean carpets
– Replace burned out light bulbs

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Once you’ve completed your initial deep clean, use this handy (printable!) cleaning schedule to keep your house sparkling!

About Emily Marsh

Emily takes impressive photos, interviews interesting locals, and keeps things organized for Harrisonblog. She also works on special marketing projects, transaction management, and event management for The Harrisonburg Homes Team. Emily loves dogs, her friends and family, dancing, and getting outdoors.

7 thoughts on “The Design Corner: How to Prepare Your House to Sell 101

  1. Brad Keir

    Awesome times you have here! Declutter and being a minimalist has worked so well for us! Brings out inner beauty that wasn’t originally there!

  2. Priscilla

    We have an RE investment company and we mostly take into consideration the current market value, the sold properties around the area that the property is selling to us and of course the renovations needed the current condition of the property. So this is a big help for those looking to sell but really wants to stick with their asking price.

  3. Alexandria Martinez

    My mom has been looking at homes for sale to move into. She wants to make sure that she is taking the right steps to get her house ready to be sold as well. I will let her know that she should look into deep-cleaning to make it look new.

  4. Elsa Anderson

    I do like your advice to keep the home deep cleaned as the buyers will inevitably be turned off if the home’s messy and dirty. That is an advice I will be sure to heed so that our home sale will be over in a flash. Hopefully, we could get ourselves a real estate agent to help us out too in the negotiations and pricing. Thanks!

  5. Ashley Maxwell

    My husband and I are considering real estate agents to help us sell our home. Thanks for your suggestion to look prepare your home to be sold by taking some of the objects out of cluttered rooms to make it look like it has more space. I like how you said that you should store family photos so people can see themselves in living your home.

  6. Ivy Baker

    This is some really good information about how to make your home look nice when you are trying to sell it. I liked that you talked about how it would be a good idea to have all of the things you don’t need for the next few months you should remove it. If I was looking at a home I wouldn’t want to see a bunch of clutter.

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