Five Tips to Get Your Home in List-Ready Condition—Fast!

Relocating for a job, taking care of a family member, changing marital status or simply finding the home you know will be yours forever… these are all reasons that someone may need to list their home for sale in a short amount of time. If you are finding yourself in a situation where you need to list your home in a hurry, we’ve got some help for you.

Here are five quick and easy ways you can get your house ready to sell:

1. Start outside. What is the first thing prospective buyers will see about your home? The outside, of course! And if your home’s exterior is not properly pruned, buyers may never make their way inside. So, if you’re trying to sell your home in a hurry, start by focusing on your curb appeal. In addition to making lawn care a constant priority when you’re preparing to sell your home, you can instantly make your home more welcoming by adding some seasonal décor, too!
2. Don’t be afraid to stow some extra items. If the very sound of packing your home away is feeling like an insurmountable task, don’t try to do it all at once. Take some items that you know you rarely use and move them out first. Relocating items to a storage facility or to a generous family member’s home while you’re preparing your home for sale is a great way to get a head start on your sales process.
3. Get rid of the memories. When you’re preparing a home for sale, decluttering is a must. To help get in right frame of mind for selling your home, begin your decluttering process with personal items like family photographs or framed pieces of art your children have created. It is much easier for potential buyers to envision themselves in your home when they are not able to see you living there. Similarly, it will be much easier for you to say goodbye to your home when you don’t see so many reminders of all your favorite memories.
4. Make repairs, not renovations. No prospective buyer wants to walk into a home and see instant work they’ll have to do. Even things like loudly colored walls can turn off some buyers. So, if you want to prep your home in a hurry, take time to make minor repairs like patching nail holes or covering mustard-colored accent walls. But don’t go overboard. You may have always wanted to convert your front sitting room into a home office, but prospective buyers may have other plans. Let them use their imagination when they enter your home. Just make sure you give them a simple, blank palette where they can begin to create!
5. Keep it clean. Once you’ve done some decluttering, moved a few things around and even done a little handy work in your home, you may notice a little extra dust and debris around. If you’re planning to list your home, get rid of it and plan to keep your home spotless for the duration of your home sale. Get in the habit of making the beds daily, taking out the trash a few times a week and dusting furniture on a very regular basis. Even if you feel that you haven’t had enough time to get your home ready to list, it will show far better if it is at least clean!

These five tips are a great start for any homeowner who is preparing to sell their home. Learn even more about how you can get your home ready to sell by visiting our home selling guide.