The time has finally come when you are ready to move out of your first apartment or house and purchase something that is better suited for the next phase of your life. Perhaps you are looking to move to a new house closer to where you work, or maybe you want to find a home that will be big enough for your growing family. Regardless of what type of home you are looking for, it is very important to designate some time to prepare your current home for when you list it on the market to ensure it can sell as soon as possible.

DO YOUR RESEARCH
It is always smart to get a few expert opinions as to the current value of your home. Check out comparable homes in your neighbourhood to get a better understanding of what an appropriate list price would be and what homes you will be competing with. A real estate agent is your best source of information. If you need help finding one please let us know.

CLEAN AND DECLUTTER

First impressions are everything and this proves to be even more true when prospective homebuyers are analyzing what could be their future home. Start by updating the curb appeal of your home by mowing the lawn and updating paint or scuff marks. Grab some storage boxes and dedicate a weekend to deep clean every room in your home and declutter your everyday messes. Prospects will be opening every closet and cupboard so remove everything to do a good clean and be selective about what you put back. Rather than shoving all your small appliances back into a cupboard, keep just a few in there to provide the illusion of more storage and organization.

*While you decluttering, consider donating gently used items to a local charity in the community.

STAGE YOUR HOME

It is much easier for a prospective buyer to envision a home as their own when they don’t have to compete with family photo’s and all your personal items like toiletries and travel souvenirs. Staging a home can help it sell faster and for more money in some instances. Start by ensuring there is plenty of good light in your home – try aiming for 100 watts for every 50 square feet of space. If you have a room that serves no other purpose than to store all your random belongings, try repurposing it into a useful space that would be appealing to homebuyers such as an office or a home-gym area. On a similar note, consider removing some furniture in your home so that it does not feel cluttered.

TAKE GOOD PHOTOS

When listing your home, the photos you post online are the true ‘first impression’ for prospective home buyers. Now that you’ve cleaned, decluttered and staged your home consider hiring a photographer to take some high-quality photos for you to post online. If you choose to do so yourself, follow these best practices:

• Take photo’s during the day to get as much natural light as possible and turn every light in your house on at the same time.
• Use wide angle or panoramic shots that show as much as possible, but don’t let the photo get contorted.
• Shoot from the corner of every room to make it appear larger.
• Edit your photos just enough that they are visually appealing, but not enough that they look unrealistic. Play with the brightness and contrast settings and bump up the saturation just a touch.

LEARN THE DETAILS

Finally, prepare yourself with all the information buyers may request about your home. It is likely that they will have questions about lot size, taxes, utility costs and other pertinent information so gather any appropriate paperwork to back these facts up. If you made any recent repairs to the home, include that paperwork as well so prospective buyers can know exactly when that new roof was installed and who did the work if they run into any issues.

If you have any questions about preparing your home to sell, reach out to our preferred realtor – Tom Waller and he would be happy to assist you in getting your home sold! And when that sold sign finally goes up in front of your place, Cedarglen Homes is here to help you build the new home of your dreams.