Selling your home? Top 5 Tips to prepare for a sale

You have finally made the decision to move… whether you are upgrading or downsizing your home, this is an exciting but overwhelming time for everyone! We have you covered with 5 great tips on how to prepare your home to sell!

Stage it:

Have you ever gone through a model home and thought about how perfect everything looked and how you could just imagine living there? THAT is power of staging. You can bring that exact same feeling to your house. When you stage, you prepare your house for the next buyer. You create an environment where the buyer can see the full potential of your home. If you are short on time and imagination, you can hire an expert to stage for you. Professionals can stage with the furniture you already own or bring in their own. This does require putting an investment into selling your home. You will also want to keep in mind the price point your home will be selling at. At $500,000.00, there is an expectation of what that home will look like and you want to meet that expectation. If you are short on funds and up for the challenge, there are LOTS of websites and advice blogs teaching you exactly how to stage your house. Check out these 30 great staging tips from the experts over at HGTV. https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/30-cant-miss-home-staging-tips

Declutter:

Less really is more! A home looks a lot larger when there is more space to move and look around! This is also a great time to downsize! That old armchair from grandma that is falling apart… donate it! If you have furniture or other items you just aren’t ready to part with… rent a storage unit or see if a relative has a little extra space that they could keep your stuff for a little while. Realtor.com has some great tricks of the trade on how to declutter your home before an open house or showing. https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/how-to-declutter-before-an-open-house/

Depersonalize your space:

That beautiful picture of sweet Emily from her first birthday looks gorgeous over the fireplace… but, buyers want to envision that space with their pictures, not yours. Depersonalize the space to give buyers the opportunity to see their family in the home. It’s also important to look at staging from a security stand point. Pictures of your house will be all over the internet for the world to see. Strangers will be touring your home. Keeping family photos private is always a good idea.

CLEAN and then CLEAN some more:

This can be a tough one… especially if you are living in the home you are trying to sell. But a dirty house WILL turn away buyers! They won’t see your spacious kitchen. They will see the dirt and grime on the floor or all over the kitchen cabinets. You also have to be ready for a showing at a moment’s notice! If you have the extra money, it’s a great idea to hire a professional to give your home a DEEP clean (wipe down walls, baseboards, doors, floors, cabinets, ect…). Or, put together a cleaning party! Call your closest friends and assign everyone a room to clean! It will be done before you know it… and you could all celebrate over a bottle of wine!

Get pre-approved for your new mortgage:

Your house is ready to sell, but are you ready to buy? Be sure to get pre-approved BEFORE you go looking at new homes. This way, you will know exactly how much home you can afford to buy! At Blue Chip FCU, we have the perfect fit for your mortgage needs. Contact our expert mortgage officers today! First mortgages