From mowing your lawn to setting out summer snacks, there are plenty of things that interested home sellers can do to ensure that they attract buyers when they do these Top 10 Things To Do Before Listing Your Home This Summer.
Many would-be home sellers want to rush the market in the summertime because they’ve heard that it’s saturated with home buyers.
While it’s true that spring and summer are traditionally great times to sell because buyers are interested in moving in before the school year starts, it is still important for sellers to properly prepare for entering the market.
After all, buyers also are distracted by summer vacations and kids home from school during the summer. Thus, it’s important to quickly grab their attention when they do spend an afternoon navigating the market.
Selling Your Home During the Summer Months
Here are 10 things that you can do to effectively prepare your home for the housing market:
- Be diligent about mowing the lawn. Everyone knows grass grows more quickly during the summer. And while you may be willing to skip a week as a homeowner out of sheer convenience, it’s important to stay on top of mowing the lawn frequently — perhaps even twice a week if necessary. You don’t want to risk your lawn appearing unkempt to an interested home buyer because that buyer may assume the rest of your house is equally unkempt.
- Set the right scene outside. Speaking of curb appeal, we recommend giving your home’s exterior a major facelift by planting some colorful flowers and trimming the bushes. Don’t forget to sweep the walkway and perhaps even repaint the shutters. While these sorts of improvements are important year-round, they’re especially important during the summer since buyers are spending a lot of time outdoors.
- Don’t forget the backyard! Summer is the perfect season to spend quality time with the family outdoors. Imagine the kids playing in the backyard pool while dad grills hamburgers and mom lays by the pool, enjoying a magazine. Now wouldn’t it be easier to imagine that if the lawn furniture was already arranged accordingly? Help home buyers see themselves living there by setting the scene. You may even consider setting up a vignette of plates and a pitcher of water on the backyard table.
- Remove As Many Personal Belongings as Possible. Buyers like to imagine themselves inhabiting the property. It’s easier for them to do this when the space is opened up and there aren’t any references to personal items. Consider renting a storage unit and removing as much from the house as possible. Clean out the closets, take down photos, and pull items out of cabinets.
- Let there be light. Home sellers have an extra tool in their belt that sellers in winter don’t have: a large amount of natural light. So make the most of it by opening curtains throughout your home. The light will make your home feel warmer and more inviting. It will also make it seem larger.
- Make sure your windows are crystal clear. It won’t do any good to open up the curtains if your windows are so dirty that hardly any light is getting in. So remove the storm windows and hire a professional to clean your windows. It makes a huge difference.
- Spend some time deep-cleaning the house. With all of that light streaming in, it’s going to be easier for home buyers to see the dust on your fixtures and the dirt in the corner of the kitchen. So before you start showing your house, give it a deep cleaning. Polish the cabinet knobs, mop the bathrooms, scrub the bathtub, vacuum the carpet (don’t forget the floorboards!), and clean the kitchen stove.
- Think bright and sunny when it comes to color schemes. Preparing a home for showings is all about creating an irresistible ambiance for buyers that allows them to visualize living there. Pursue that effect by adding summer hues indoors, perhaps a bright yellow pillow on the sofa or a baby blue painting in the bathroom. You’d be amazed at what these little accents can do to highlight your home’s assets and downplay its flaws.
- Put a Fresh Coat of Paint on the Interior. Remember when your toddler accidentally ran some purple marker along the floorboards of your bedroom? Or when you put a smudge on the stairway walls as you were trying to carry a television up the stairs? While these may be funny or even endearing memories for you now, they might not necessarily be appealing to home buyers. So consider giving the interior of your home a fresh coat of paint.
- Steam Clean the Carpets. It’s amazing what a steam cleaner can do that a regular vacuum cleaner just can’t. To see what we mean, take a before and after picture of your carpet. It’s incredible! And your freshly cleaned carpet is sure to impress prospective buyers!
Exceptional Home-Selling Assistance for You!
Great opportunities await on the summertime housing market for those sellers who are willing to prepare their houses before listing!
I hope you can take away something valuable from my blog today. To help you make the best decisions when selling your home, call me today, Melissa Conrad, at 772-240-2589. You can trust that my expertise in real estate will help you get the most out of your house sale.