7 Things To Do Before Listing Your House
Every time I ask what people want to read about related to moving, the number one question I get is, “How do you know what to do before listing your house? And how do you prioritize it all?!” I get it. It’s a lot to think about. It can be so overwhelming to figure out what needs to be done and what you can let go of when you’re preparing to sell your house. But, I’ve got a few tips that might help make things a little easier.
Every house is different, and everyone will have a unique set of things that you need to do before listing your house. But, I put together a quick list of 7 things you should plan to do before you list. Keep in mind this post is not focused on staging for selling. That’s a whole different world (and one I promise I’ll dive into soon!). This post is just talking about projects or home maintenance tasks that you should take on before you list your home.
7 Things To Do Before Listing Your House
Fix Any Major Eyesores
The first, and most obvious, thing you’ll want to do is to address anything in your house that’s particularly ugly and might chase off potential buyers. For us, that included old carpet in the guest room, an exterior that was in desperate need of paint, and a complete lack of baseboards on the first floor of our house. Think about the things that you don’t really notice anymore that might turn off a prospective buyer. Then, figure out an affordable way to address it.
What we did was write a big list of all the things we wanted to accomplish. Then, we began to prioritize it based on time and finances. We reached a point where we felt like our house was “ready enough” and we went ahead and listed it with a few projects left undone. We did this knowing we might have buyers ask us to change things. Thankfully, though, no one batted an eye (and I think that has a lot to do with the last tip on this list…).
Think Like an Inspector
Next, you’ll want to try to fix anything that an inspector wouldn’t like. We had a bush on the side of our house that was way overgrown, along with a fence in really awful shape behind it. We cut the bush down and replaced the portion of the fence that was ruined behind it. You can also do things like trim all of your bushes at least 6-12″ away from the house and add fresh caulk in the bathrooms and kitchen, and around windowsills. These are all things an inspector will pick up on!
So, if you can take care of it before they come, that’s one less thing that they’ll need to point out to the buyer. But at the same time, remember that an inspector will find issues. Maybe even some you have no clue about. It’s their job! Be prepared for it, and be ready to address them if necessary.
Repaint, if Necessary
We’ve all seen House Hunters right? If you have, then you’ll know that buyers sometimes have a really hard time getting past really boldly painted rooms. If you have a room in your house that’s really taste-specific, you’re probably going to want to go ahead and fix it before you list it. We swapped out the bold blue in our bedroom for a more neutral hue, and I think it probably helped a bit!
Pretend You’re a Buyer!
Before you begin staging and put your house on the market, do a thorough walkthrough of your house and put on your “buyer glasses”. It helps if you’ve been looking at houses to purchase and have a few things in mind that have stood out to you at other homes. Walk through your house and think about it the way a buyer might think. Are there any weird stains on the flooring? Or crayon on the walls? Is the bathroom really outdated compared to other houses they’ve probably been looking at? Think about anything you might notice if you were considering buying your house, and try to address the major red flags.
Declutter Your Little Heart Out
This goes along with staging, but it’s so important to declutter your home before you list. It’s a process that could take a long time. Your life will be easier if you do it thoroughly, though. Get rid of absolutely everything that you don’t need. You can even consider renting a storage unit to hold some things you can live without until you move. We did this, and it was a major help as we were staging the house!
Take Care of Any Unusual Smells
I know, it sounds silly, but please don’t underestimate how important this is. When you first walk into a home, you’re going to notice how it smells before you notice almost anything else. You don’t want that first impression to be bad! If you have stained carpet, pet smells, or smells from cigarette smoke in your house, be sure to find the source of the smells! Then, be sure to address them before you go on the market. It can be hard to find smells in your own home, so it may help to ask a friend to come over and identify anything off-putting.
Know Your Market
This last tip may be the most important. Let me say it again: know your market. Know. Your. Market. What does that mean? It means that before you even list your house on the market, you should be researching homes in your area that are within $5,000 to $10,000 of the price you plan on asking for your home. Analyze the listings and look at every photo that’s available to give you an idea of what is expected of homes in your range.
For example, our research told us that most other homes our potential buyers were looking at would be pretty outdated with minimal updates. Many of them had carpet throughout, builder-grade features, and laminate counters. We knew that all of our DIY touches would set us apart from most of the competition! I can’t stress enough how important this is and how much insight it will give you. If you know what the competition is doing, you’ll know how you can set yourself apart. You’ll be able to make your home the one buyers want to see.
This whole process has been really eye-opening to me. It has helped me understand just how much goes into the sale of a house! We’ve never been on this end of things. It’s so tough when you feel so personally invested in your home and how it looks. There’s not much more stressful than knowing someone is in your home evaluating it and judging it. And then, they’re going to be sending someone whose literal job is to find everything that’s wrong with your house. No fun. But, it’s part of the process! And, if you think ahead and try to head off any issues, it can help things go a little more smoothly!
Thanks for telling me to fix all the ugly parts of the house that might potentially scare off buyers. I’m thinking of selling my house after finding a good apartment I can move to but I think that the foundation needs some repair. I’ll try to have it fixed first before posting the property in any online listing.
I would suggest, before displaying your house to potential buyers, get it cleaned from a professional cleaning company. Those cleaners are thoroughly trained and screened to provide you with a safe and trustworthy experience every time. Sometimes, cleanliness does the job for you. Well most of the times it does!
Very helpful suggestion! Thanks a ton for sharing these impeccable and innovative ideas with us. here are some ideas that will practical and necessary for the real state people. Thank you for sharing.
There really is a lot that you can do before putting your home listing up and I really like a lot of suggestions that the article makes. It is particularly great that you bring up the idea of decluttering the home. After all, before you let anyone in to see it you want to depersonalize it, so this is a great time to throw out any junk you do not need anymore.
It sure got my attention when you talked about fixing the places in the house that appear to be taste-specific before putting it for sale because that can affect the decision of the potential buyer of the house. I am not sure if we have a place like that in our home, but I will definitely take note of that because not everyone will appreciate pony wallpapers in their bedrooms. I will talk to my parents about this because we’re planning to sell the house soon. Thank you for the tips!
These are really useful tips. We’ll be sharing with our garage door clients to help them get a jump on the season!
I can see how it can be stressful when someone is in your home evaluating and judging it. That’s something I’m a little worried about since my husband and I want to sell our home. However, we’ve both heard that working with the right kind of real estate agent can make a big difference.
I love that you recommend seriously decluttering a home before you list it for sale. After all, nobody likes to see a dirty home and decluttering it could make it a bit less personal for someone looking to buy it. Not to mention that, if you do leave your stuff out and all over the home, you might give a potential buyer the wrong impression about how much storage space your home has.