How to Sell Your Home in 5 Steps

Home Selling Tips

Let’s talk about what you really care about - how to sell your home effectively, for the greatest amount of money, in the least amount of time, with the least amount of hassle. Here are my tips for a successful home sale.

1. Have a plan - If I were going to be selling my home, I would start by envisioning my ideal situation: by what date do I want to have moved by? How much money do I want to net? Where am I going? Who is handling that transaction? You will have a Realtor to help you with the technical details (see next step), but you should have an idea of how you want your move to go and even how much you are expecting your home will sell for. Your Realtor will be able to advise you on whether that’s a realistic price or not.

2. Choose your Realtor wisely - you might know grandma’s friend who is a real estate agent, but this is a time to choose someone YOU have met with, YOU are able to communicate with, who YOU are confident in with the precious sale of your home. Trust your gut. If the first person you talk with doesn’t give you a peaceful feeling about handing the sale of your home, there are many people to choose from. I advise you to wait until you the find the person that sits well with you.

3. Stage - this is something else your Realtor can help you with, but a simple Google search can give you some tips on how to stage your home so that it presents better to buyers. For example, if your home features a sit-in eating area in the kitchen and your family uses that area as a homeschool room, remove the school materials before your house goes on the market and stage the area to highlight its potential as a lovely dining area - tablecloths and place settings take it up a notch. Also, if you have exercise equipment in the bedroom, take that out and put it in storage, move it to your new home, or move it to a different location in your house if that’s feasible. Make the bedroom look and feel relaxing and ideal for sleeping. If you can use what you have or afford to buy a simple duvet and matching pillowcases, it will add to the effect.

4. Declutter and clean - As you stage, or before you start staging, you will most likely need to declutter, and you will definitely have to clean. You know yourself - if you anticipate it taking a long time to declutter, start early, as soon as you know you’re moving. Do a double whammy and start packing the things you want to keep but won’t need before you move (ie holiday decorations, extra dishware, clothes that are out of season); the things that you don’t want to keep can be donated or trashed, if they’re beyond use. You will make space in your current home and get a head start on moving for your new home at the same time. Spring for a storage unit if you must, or depending on the timing of your move, you might move your things into your new place.

   

   Getting a storage unit to faciliate your home sale may be worth the temporary cost

   You can even keep packed boxes in a storage area of your current home in a basement or garage, if you must. Some areas to focus on: cabinets - keep a place setting for four or six and remove the rest. Especially cups! For some reason, people tend to have a lot of cups. :) The idea is to make your cabinets seem spacious and with plenty of storage potential for the new owners. Closets - a good rule of thumb is keep them half empty (or half full, depending on how you look at it :)). As with the kitchen items, pack and store what you can. If this area is really not your strength, there are people you can hire on places like Thumbtack to help. (If you hire me as your Realor, I am happy to help!) Before the house officially goes on the market, you need to clean it or have it professionally cleaned. Hopefully, your Realtor will be honest with you if there are any noticeable smells. Years of living in a home with pets, cooking, smoking, children, or just day to day living can allow smells to embed in carpets and other materials, and you may have become immune to them. Ask your Realtor’s opinion, if you’re not sure. A good professional cleaning can eliminate odors. One more thing is to depersonalize. Some family photos may be fine, but remember that the potential buyers need to see themselves living there, so personal items shouldn’t be distracting. Same with polarizing items, like religious or political items on display. The reason model homes have a “beige personality” is that they need to apply for all types of people, so that should be the goal you keep in mind when selling your home. Your Realtor can also advise you on what feature's today's buyers are looking for, so you can cater to those tastes, as well.

   

   

   

5. Curb Appeal - You can start by looking online for ideas, but your Realtor is also a great resource for ideas specific to your home. Some general ideas for all homes are to clean up landscaping and/or grass. Keep walkways an porches clean and decluttered. Add annual flowers. Highlight your homes best features. For example, if there is room on your porch for a sitting area, stage it with a nice pair of chairs and perhaps a pillow or two to draw attention to that feature. Whatever is special about your home, highlight it!

If you're selling your home in Ashburn, Aldie, Broadlands, Lansdowne, Brambleton or Dulles areas of Loudoun County, call or click Contact Me to start the process.

Maureen Landes, Realtor

202-827-5069

maureenlandes@gmail.com