9 steps to prepare your home for sale

When we buy a luxury bag, we are buying the feeling, the environment, and the presentation of the bag. When we list our home for sale, sometimes we forget we are selling a product. But we are selling one of the most of expensive products we would ever sell in our life. So we want to show the best or beyond the best of this product. I want to share 9 steps of preparing your home for sale to present the best of the home and help the buyers feeling of being at home. Those steps will lead you a successful sale.

1. Declutter. when I shop with my buyers, I would like watch how they react to a home. I’ve found when my buyers open the closet, if the closet is full of the owners personal items, the buyers tend to close the closet right away. The owner may want to show how much the closet can content. But the buyers feel stepping into others territory. They feel uncomfortable and want to step back. The best way to show a closet is to have it either empty or a few nice pieces hanging on the hangers. We want to have them imagine a life with quality and forget about the clutters in our lives.

2. Make light repairs. Most of homes are not brand new. Unavoidably things broke. But as home owners, we get used to function with broken pieces. We even forget about it. We store a lighter next to stove to light up the cook top. We haven’t seal the bathtub for a while and seen a fine crack. But it doesn’t impact our life so who cares. But buyers focus on the defects. One time my buyers visited a luxury water front condo unit. There was a small gap in the wood flooring, which could be caused by some water leaks from the kitchen or it could be aging. The simple way to solve the problem is to have flooring contract filling in the gap or shifting a few wood pieces, which may cost a few hudson. But the worst case is the whole flooring needs to be changed that could cost a few thousands or more. My buyers came to the worst case scenario right away. It is very common, because most home buyers are first time buyers. They are not used to any home repairs. It is an uncertainty, humans tend over compensate for uncertainties. The buyers may factor the worst case number into their offer amount. Make the light repair before the buyers lower ball their offers.

3. Pay attention to the color palette of the space. We all have our own preferences on colors. It is hard to predict what color the potential buyers like. It is a good item to make the place natural to be easily acceptable for most buyers. We could choose an off-white paint color, and use similar color for the bedsheets, and also pay attention to big furnitures in the house. Once we set up the tone of the room, we can play with the home decorations to make the place more interesting. I use a few simple color schemes technics to create harmony. Contact me if you want me to look at the colors in your home. The goal is to make the home calming and pleasing.

4. Make space for dining and entertainment. I don’t remember when was the last I had meals on the dining table. But when we buy a home, we are picturing a life, a better life than we are currently having: I will have proper meals, invite friends over and relax in the sofa watching TV. If we can create a place fitting into the buyers’ dream, then we are likely to hear from buyers that they can picture myself living here. However, I often hear the buyers ask where I should put the sofa or there isn’t enough space to put the dining table.

5. Highlight focal points (selling point) If you have a view of NYC, the ocean, a lake, a park or anything that you think the buyer will appreciation, try to highlight that view. We need draw the buyers attention to best part of home. That best part can be creative, the high ceiling, a fire place, an outdoor space, or a brand new nice kitchen. If you don’t have them, we can create one easily. Contact me if you want to brainstorm with me.

6. De-personalized. people can be judgmental. For peace of mind, just take off the family photos for now. With less current owner’s info, buyers may feel more like home,.

7. Deep cleaning. One time I was taking a uber home. The car was dirty. It had dusts on the floor and car seats had dirty spots. I started feeling itchy and can’t help but associating the dirt with the driver. I started doubting the driver and felt uncomfortable. I could not wait to get off from the car. Maybe he was in hurry before took off so he didn’t get a chance to clean the car. But it didn’t matter to me. It was just a bad experience. Same as selling your home, a dirty place will push the buyers out of the door very quickly.

8. Enhance the smell. There was a theory of attraction from the smell. Smell has emotional influence on us. When I smell cinnamon, it reminds me of Christmas. Nice smell associates good feeling but bad smell pushes buyers away. I use a tricks to improve the smell of my home and would like to share. Contact me if you need it.

9. Walk around the home like a buyer. Lastly, come in from the front door of your home and walk around like a new comer, and make sure you have cover all the items. You are satisfied with your product. It is ready to go.