Important When You Sell in Casper Wyoming or ANYWHERE!. We talk about seven tips for preparing a home to sell. Whether you’re moving to a new town or downsizing, our tips will help ensure your home is ready to go on the market and, more importantly, ready to sell. From decluttering to deep cleaning, managing smells, and looking at your home from an outside perspective, we covers it all. We also stresses the importance of staging your home for photos and taking your pets with you during showings. Alisha’s tips will help you attract the best buyers and get the best price for your home.
Maybe you’ve accepted a new job in a new town. Maybe you’re in need of more space, or maybe you’ve become empty-nesters and need to downsize the amount of space you have. Whatever the situation, here you are ready to sell your home. Now what?
Hi, I’m Alisha Collins with the Alisha Collins Real Estate Team, and real estate is what I know. I am passionate about helping my clients find their dream homes, and I am passionate about helping them be as successful as they can be when selling their home. “What are some of the things that you can do when preparing your home to sell?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Here are seven tips I have for making sure your home is not only ready to go on the market, but that it is ready to sell.
Tip number one, declutter. As we live in our homes over the years, we tend to collect things, for necessity, sentimental reasons, or just the everyday buildup of stuff that we tend to acquire. When potential buyers walk into your home, you want them to be able to see just that, your home, not all of your stuff. You want that buyer to walk in and be able to imagine themselves living there, with their own things, which is hard to do when all you see is someone else’s stuff. That’s where decluttering comes in. Start packing before your home sells. I suggest splitting things into three categories. Keep it, donate it, or trash it. Selling your home can be the perfect opportunity to get rid of things that you don’t use. Donate them to charity or maybe make a little cash from the nicer items that you need to let go of. While you’re going through your things, pack away the things that you know you want to keep, but might not need in the near future, and store those boxes away. Even stacking neatly in the garage makes it easier for the potential buyer to picture their own things in the home. If we’re being honest, we probably all have stuff that just needs to go in the trash. Old papers, broken objects that we think we’ll get around to fixing, you know what I mean.
Tip number two: clean, clean, clean. Now, this one is important, but not necessarily something you have to do on your own. If you wanna save the hassle of a deep clean, you can hire a professional to do it for you. Many cleaning companies offer deep cleans for the exact purpose of selling your home. I know that hiring the workout isn’t always feasible for everyone, so doing it yourself works just as well. When I’m talking about cleaning, I mean just that: clean up the space. Do the dusting you’ve been putting off. Wipe down the windows, and clean up the floors and baseboards. Let the people entering your home see its real beauty so that they’ll want to live there.
Tip two leads us straight to our next tip: tip number three, worry about the smells. If you’ve watched any number of my videos, you know that I talk about this all the time. That’s because it is so important. You’ll wanna make sure that there aren’t super-strong smells of any kind when the potential buyers walk through the door. Cat urine, dog food, trash, smoke, or even the aftermath of cooking with certain ingredients. You don’t want odor to be the first thing that somebody notices when they enter your home. There are products available that can help significantly with smells that come from pets and smoke, but a lot of odors can be removed just with a thorough deep cleaning. Remember, simple steps like keeping up on the trash and not smoking inside, not even in the garage. It’s important you don’t go the other way either. Using too much fragrance in your home can be overpowering as well. Reach out to me and I will let you know the perfect scent that is great for the plug-ins.
Tip number four: try to look at your home through an outside perspective. This is where an experienced real estate agent can come into play. As we make our houses into our homes, we move in not just ourselves and our things, but our emotions as well. We tend to attach feelings to certain rooms, and to the decor choices we’ve made over the years. After some time, we might not even notice things about our home that others might. Try and put your feelings aside and be willing to ask for advice on the staging of your home as you prepare to sell. I know this can be difficult, especially if you’re still living in the home while it’s on the market, but difficult doesn’t equal impossible. Your agent, like me, can help navigate things that you might want to put into storage during the selling process. They can point out ways to make a space seem more open, or lighting that would better-compliment a space. We even have some staging props available to our clients if they need it. They say that first impressions are everything. Your home’s appearance leaves a lasting impression on the person who just might be the future buyer.
Tip number five: get ready for your photo shoot, or I guess your home’s photo shoot. Make sure, before the photographer shows up to capture your home, that you have done the cleaning and the staging. Make sure you hide your trash cans and personal items, like prescription medications and mail. Turn on all the lights in your home and open all the blinds. You want every room to look the lightest and brightest possible. That way, the buyers from far away can feel like they’re standing right in your living room when they’re looking at the listing photos, and will have the best opportunity to experience it in a way that makes them want to view it in-person.
Tip number six, take your dogs and your pets with you when you have a showing. This tip is important, and I’m giving this tip as an avid animal-lover and owner. If you have seen most of my content, you know that’s true. After all, I live with eight dogs. It can be so distracting to hear a barking dog while doing a walkthrough of a home. It can also chase people away if they have a fear of dogs or even an allergy to dogs or cats. I know this isn’t always easy to do, but if it’s possible, take your fur babies with you whenever your home is being shown.
Tip number seven, do a walkthrough with your agent. This one might happen sooner in the process depending on the extent of what is needed. Having your agent help you make a list of small repairs you can do to help make your home reach its peak potential from repairing small blemishes in the walls, touching up the paint, or replacing broken trim or other cosmetic things. These are often small things that can make a huge difference. Trust your agent. Trust that they too want to sell your home. There are financial preparations and other important steps that you need to take as well, but these seven things are the beginning of the process in making sure that you are prepared and your home is ready to sell for the very best price, and attract the very best buyers.
Like I said, I love real estate, and there is nothing quite like connecting a buyer with their dream home, or helping sell a home as someone prepares for the next steps in their life. Comment below if you have any tips that you think I forgot, and be sure to like and subscribe so you never miss any videos from me, your real estate bestie. If you have any questions about real estate, please let me know. If you’re moving to Wyoming, my team and I would love to help you. We have time for you and we’d love chatting with you. If the home you are looking for is not in my service area, I will find you the very perfect agent. Remember, we want you to love where you live. See you soon.