Selling a home is a tricky business where you have to take care of a lot of things. If you would like to jog down your memory lane, I would like you to think about when and how you bought your home. What was the most enticing part about that property? Which were the things or features that held your attention? 

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Making a good First Impression

Now, when you are in the position of selling your home, you need to think about all those factors that made you buy that home and work on them. For example, usually it’s the first impression of the house that leaves the lasting impact on a prospective buyer. Think about the things that impressed you in the first visit. Was it the:

• Curb appeal?

• Location?

• Yard?

• Kitchen?

• Bedrooms?

• Community?
   

Once you have made a list of the things that grabbed your attention in the first place, start focusing on them.

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A well-maintained and elegant home makes a good first impression on the buyers. Make sure that your property looks attractive and stands out in the neighborhood. Standing out doesn’t mean that you paint your entire home purple; it means that the home should give a feel that it has been taken care of.  You will also need to check how your home smells. Ask your friends or other family members as you may not know that your home smells.

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Repainting the house

Repainting a house before selling is a good idea but you need to ensure that the paint is easy on the eyes. Use light colors, which makes your home look bright and warm. Try to think like a buyer. Imagine you are planning to buy this home all over again. What are the things that will interest you as a buyer? Work on them. A minimal expenditure on paint might increase your home’s worth significantly.

 

Curb Appeal

Curb appeal basically means how your property looks from outside. It’s the first visual of your property and it has the ability to turn a looker into a buyer or vice versa. If your garden is unkempt and the paint from the exterior is peeling off, a buyer might not even want to look inside.

No matter how much money you have spent on your home from inside, it is important to make it look attractive from outside too. Don’t get emotional here. Ask your friends for an honest opinion whether your home “wow” them or not.

 

Decorating the Front Door

If your front door is pretty old fashioned and battered, it is better to replace it. The entry of the house needs to look attractive, so it can catch the buyers’ eyes. A well-painted door with a fancy door knob, simple decoration and a new welcome mat can grab the attention of the buyer instantly. 

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Maintaining the yard

Make sure that your front yard looks neat and smart. It will be amongst one of the first impressions that a buyer will get from your house. If you aren’t a garden person, try taking help from someone, who could guide you. The backyard needs to be maintained too. There are few things that you can do to make your yard look better:

• Buy some potted plants and put them in the driveway or backyard.

• Trim the bushes and trees

• Try to maintain the greenery by mowing and fertilizing the lawn

• If you can’t maintain, the greenery, you can buy crushed woods and spread them across your garden and driveway

• Repair the fences and paint them

• Clean the birdbaths

• During winters, keep your driveway shoveled, de-iced and well-lit

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Inside of Home

• Think like a buyer and use neutral colors if you repaint home.

• Declutter - Pack your personal items and store boxes in garage.

• Remove unnecessary items from counters and table tops- bathroom, kitchen counters, coffee tables, dressers

• You want buyers to image their family in your home, so pack family photos and knick knacks.  Including refriderator magnets.

• Arrange furniture to open up the rooms.

 

 

These are some of the important prerequisites before you put your home in the market and think like a buyer.