How to Prepare Your Home to Get Top Dollar for It

Presentation is key to getting the best value for your property. If you were a buyer for your property, what would like best like to see in it or in what condition would you like the house to be? Do a walk through of your property and see what fits or not with your 'pretend buyer' expectations and desires.

Here are a few things to consider:

1.Lighting in the house

Is there enough light coming in from the outside, is anything obstructing the light from coming in, maybe a tree branch outside, maybe some furniture inside? Is there enough light inside? If not, I suggest you work at getting some stand alone lamps or a skylight to improve the ligting situation in your property.

Also, are there any walls that are too dark? Maybe you could repaint it in a lighter tone.
People like light in homes, so the better you get this, the better chances of a good impression, especially if people come to inspect the property in the evenings.

2.Make a to-do pre-sale checklist

Make a list of things that need to be done before you sell. Categorize them based on priority. Don't focus too much on the minors. Deal with the majors first and if there is any time left for the minors before you sell, great, otherwise don't worry about it.

Just to give you an example, I had a situation where the owner left one section of the roof unplastered and also insisted on a higher than market value price. Everything else was looking good. Well, lots of people came through the house, but most of them stumbled over the roof problem and they started to complain that these property is highly priced, considering its problems. The owner was refusing to fix anything.

In the end after many inspections she decided she will fix her roof. Unfortunately by this stage, there were very few interested buyers, because she exhausted the present buyers for this area already and they were not interested to view the property again. Once you lost interest from buyers it is very hard to get it back. So make sure you deal with the majors or you can loose a lot of money and interested buyers.

3.UNCLUTTER YOUR PROPERTY

Another major factor for creating a good impression is making sure that your house is not cluttered with too much furniture, that giving the impression is a small place. Also, make sure your cupboards are neat and tidy and show lots of space available. Most buyers are interested in knowing how much space and storage space is available in the house. It might be worth renting some modern furniture if yours is outdated or worn out or putting a new couch cover over it, especially for the living room. Doorways and hallways especially should not have many things lying around, some furniture accessories can be stored away to make more room.

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