{"id":58,"date":"2020-01-06T06:29:34","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T06:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/?p=58"},"modified":"2020-02-05T02:46:58","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T02:46:58","slug":"how-to-get-your-home-ready-if-youre-thinking-of-selling-this-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/how-to-get-your-home-ready-if-youre-thinking-of-selling-this-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Your Home Ready if You\u2019re Thinking of Selling This Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"How<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s January, and even though everyone is recovering from\nthe holiday season, we\u2019re staring the spring real estate market in Greater\nLafayette right in the eye! It\u2019s hard to believe that it\u2019s already upon us. As\nearly as last fall, I was meeting with people who are considering selling their\nhomes this spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s never too early to start feathering the nest! A little\ncareful planning and some professional help can go a long way toward having\nyour home in top-notch shape when it goes on the market this spring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some simple tips to get you started:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Declutter Your Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I hate to state the obvious, but the way you live in your\nhome now is altogether different from how you\u2019ll live in it while it\u2019s actually\non the market. A clean, clutter-free home looks bigger than one that is stuffed\nto the brim, and it\u2019s easier for buyers to imagine themselves living in your\nhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t need something, donate or throw it away before\nputting your home on the market. It\u2019s the perfect time to do some purging for\nthe new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An abundance of collections or displays can make buyers\nthink you\u2019re less motivated to sell than you might actually be. Remove some\nbooks from bookcases. Pack up some of the knickknacks on the shelf. Clear\neverything off your kitchen counters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, remember that potential buyers are going to be opening\nup all of your cabinets, drawers, and closets to get a feel for the storage\nspace in the home. Now, imagine what a buyer will believe about you if they see\nthat everything is well organized and doesn\u2019t look cluttered. They\u2019ll believe\nthat you take good care of the rest of your house, as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rent a Storage Unit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Even if you get rid of some of your items, you probably will\nwant to rent a storage unit to store some of your belongings before putting\nyour home on market. Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove\nany pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways in the house and\nput them in storage. It doesn\u2019t leave a good impression if people are tripping\nover things in your house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you\u2019ve removed a lot of the books from your\nbookcases (right?), consider putting the shelves in storage. You should also\nstore the books you removed from the shelves. Remove extra leaves from your\ndining room table to allow for more walking space. Leave just enough furniture\nin each room to showcase the room\u2019s purpose as well as plenty of room to walk\naround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make Minor Repairs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d be surprised how much making minor repairs improves\nyour home in the mind of buyers. Remember, you want them to believe that you\ntake good care of your home. When the minor things aren\u2019t a problem, they are\nmore likely to believe that the big things don\u2019t have problems either. Yes, a\nloose doorknob and a burned-out lightbulb can start people wondering if the\nroof leaks, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bonus is that these minor items also won\u2019t come up on the\ninspector\u2019s report. A longer report doesn\u2019t do your home any favors when a\nbuyer is going over the report and considering whether or not to ask for seller\nconcessions to make repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These repairs are inexpensive and easy to make (well, except\nfor maybe painting the walls)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Caulk cracks in tile and around tubs and sinks<\/li>
  • Replace cracked floor or backsplash tiles<\/li>
  • Have chimney cleaned<\/li>
  • Replace furnace filter<\/li>
  • Tighten toilets (nuts on the sides)<\/li>
  • Replace burned-out light bulbs<\/li>
  • Tighten doorknobs<\/li>
  • Tighten handrails<\/li>
  • Tighten closet doors<\/li>
  • Fix leaky faucets<\/li>
  • Patch and paint holes in walls<\/li>
  • Fix kitchen drawers that jamb<\/li>
  • Fix doors that don\u2019t closer properly<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    And a quick plug for painting walls in your home that are\nmore unusual<\/em> colors. You may be used to your pink, purple, or orange\nwalls but your buyers won\u2019t be. Neutral walls can go a long way toward helping\nyour home show well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Make the House Sparkle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    A clean house gives that well-cared for impression you want.\nYou\u2019ll need to clean your house right before it goes on the market and then\nkeep it up daily (sometimes hourly, unfortunately) for showings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A clean house really does show that much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Wash windows and glass doors inside and out.<\/li>
    • Clean out cobwebs.<\/li>
    • Wipe down baseboards and walls.<\/li>
    • Polish chrome faucets and fixtures.<\/li>
    • Clean mirrors.<\/li>
    • Clean out all kitchen appliances.<\/li>
    • Vacuum daily.<\/li>
    • Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades, and light\nfixtures.<\/li>
    • Bleach dingy grout.<\/li>
    • Replace worn rugs.<\/li>
    • Hang up fresh towels.<\/li>
    • Mop hardwood or tile floors.<\/li>
    • Sweep front porch.<\/li>
    • Scrub kitchen sink.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Increase Your Home\u2019s Curb Appeal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      If a buyer won\u2019t get out of an agent\u2019s car because of the\nway the exterior of your home looks, you\u2019ll never get them inside it! Here are\nsome things you can do to increase your home\u2019s curb appeal and make the inside\nthat much more appealing, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Keep sidewalks cleared of vegetation overgrowth.<\/li>
      • Mow the lawn.<\/li>
      • Rake up leaves.<\/li>
      • Paint faded window trim.<\/li>
      • Plant yellow flowers (yellow evokes a buying\nemotion), like marigolds, or group flowerpots together.<\/li>
      • Trim bushes and trees (especially trees hanging\nover your roof).<\/li>
      • Make sure your house number is visible.<\/li>
      • Pressure wash the exterior of the home,\nincluding drives and walkways.<\/li>
      • Mend holes in fences.<\/li>
      • Weed flowerbeds.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Click here to download my top 10 tips to prep your\nhome for sale this spring! Remember, a little preparation goes a long way\ntoward making sure your home sells quickly and for top dollar. If you\u2019re\nthinking of selling this spring, I hope you\u2019ll give me a call!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        It\u2019s never too early to start feathering the nest! A little careful planning and some professional help can go a long way toward having your home in top-notch shape when it goes on the market this spring. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seller","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/how-to-get-your-home-ready-to-sell.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/61"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stacygrove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}