You have made the decision to sell your home! Congratulations and let’s get ready! The first thing to do is to prepare the home for sale; inside and outside.  Below are the top home selling tips to get you started!

Home Selling Tips for Outside the Home

Starting with the outside, make sure the home has curb appeal. Here are 14 things to do to make that curb shine:

1. Have yard and shrubs manicured perfectly
2. Make sure all walkways, driveways and entry areas are clean and not cluttered.
3. See that cement areas are clean and free of grease or oil spots
4. Make sure cars, especially junkers that don’t run are not parked in driveway, or in adjacent parking areas
5. Provide color to the front yard and home by planting flowers in the flowerbeds or in flower pots around the exterior of the home
6. Try to make interior of the home visible from the exterior
7. Clean out gutters
8. Windows should be crystal clean
9. Make sure front of home is free from chipped pain and are clean
10. Grass must be well trimmed and edged at all times
11. All lights need to work properly
12. Make the entryway feel warm and inviting
13. Try to make the home feel inviting and warm without being cluttered
14. Clean up children toys games or bicycles are not cluttering the driveway

As potential buyers pull up to the home, the outside is the first thing they see.  The outside should be inviting and draw buyers in so that they love the outside and are excited to see the inside!

Home Selling Tips for Inside the Home

Once on the inside, make a lasting impression from the moment they open the front door and walk in, to the moment they walk out the front door.  You want to leave them with a big smile on their faces.  Here are some tips for preparing the inside of the home to make that lasting impression:

1. Make the home feel complete and comfortable for the buyer as they tour the home.  Set the dining room table with dishes, utensils, serving trays, napkins, candles and flowers.
2. Consider putting up some creative signing with specific highlights to the home. This may be recent upgrades, or features that they may not necessarily see.
3. Open draperies and blinds.  Turn on all the lights and show how light and airy the home is.
4. Small repairs get a big bang.  Tighten loose door knobs, repair sticking doors and windows, check and repair caulking in bathrooms around sinks and showers, repair leaky faucets, make sure closet doors are running on their track, clean tile grout, etc. and put on those finishing touches.
5. Make closets look bigger.  Remove any clutter and organize neatly to show how much space is available for storage.
6. Arrange bedrooms neatly; remove excess furniture and use attractive bed coverings.
7. Remove all personal photos.  You want the potential buyers to picture themselves in the home. 
8. Consider updates to the kitchen, including updating fixtures and appliances if they are dated and in need of repair.  Updates to the kitchen will yield the highest return on investment than other home updates.  Buyers love updated kitchens!

Conclusion

You’re almost there!  Next step, call your Realtor and have them come over for a home consultation.  Ask them for a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) to understand the home market in your area.  This information will determine what your listing price should be.  Your Realtor will know the market and understand your area.  Along with understanding your ultimate real estate goals, your home listing price can be determined.

Just remember, the first impression is the best impression! To get your home sold use these home selling tips, make sure you are providing the best impression!