3 Things To Do Right Now To Get Your Home Ready to Sell

Getting your home ready to sell can take a surprising amount of work. Sellers may get blindsided by how much work it takes to go through their belongings to make storage and moving arrangements. But don’t fret – in this blog, we’re sharing three ways to successfully get your home ready to sell. We’ve also thrown in some bonus tips and a free resource to help you get even more when selling your home.

It’s About More Than Just Staying Organized

Sure, getting your home ready to sell is a great way to stay on top of your move. Being organized reduces stress and keeps you in control during an important transitionary period.

Yet, there are other reasons why it’s important to get your home ready to sell in a timely way:

• Closing contracts require the property to look “broom clean” by a certain date. Often the closing contract will stipulate that the property is cleaned or “broom swept” in order to complete the transaction. It may also be requested that individual items, such as appliances, be removed from the premises. Not having your home in tip-top shape could place you in violation of your closing agreement.
• You don’t want to be stranded in limbo with a mountain of stuff. When you skimp on the preparation needed to sell your home, you can risk placing yourself (and your belongings) in a precarious situation. If you have yet to buy another home, you may have to pay storage fees until you find a new home. That can be a while, depending on the market.
• It could impact your ability to make contractually requested improvements. Did you agree to fix the back deck or replace the furnace for the buyer? Not having your home ready to sell could upset your timelines for meeting these agreements. Being in the midst of a move only creates more potential for snags.

To avoid big headaches, consider following the three pro-tips below.

1. Take what you need and clean the rest

It’s hard not to acquire many personal belongings, especially if you’ve lived in your home for a long time. Life adds up, so getting a head start on organizing and making decisions on what you’re doing with your stuff is the first step to getting your home ready to sell.

Here are some helpful tips to get you ready to sift through your stuff and leave your home in move-in shape:

• Decide what’s coming with you. Sentimental items can make this tricky. We may not realize our attachment to something until we’re deciding whether or not to keep it. Once you determine what clothes, furniture, and other objects are coming with you, you can decide what to do with the rest of it. Consider donating donate items, placing them in storage, or junking them altogether.
• Determine your cleaning ability and get help if you need it. Ask yourself if you’re in a position to tackle the cleaning, boxing, and moving responsibilities needed to sell your home. Hiring a maid or asking friends and family to help you sort through your belongings is a nice solution.
• Do sweat the small stuff. Go the extra mile and remove paint cans in the basement and even coat hangers in the closet – all no-nos when selling your home to a buyer. Even if your home isn’t brand new, you can still clean it to make it “turnkey.”
• Develop a timeline with your agent and stick to it. Your agent has a vested interest in your success. They want the sale of your home to be as smooth as possible. Ask your agent for any resources they might have to help you move out quickly. They can also serve as your accountability partner, helping you stay on track.

Now that you know what you have to do, you need the resources to start getting it done. Thankfully, there is a range of services at your disposal.

Here is a sample of your options for getting your home cleaned, organized, and ready to sell:

• Take advantage of the partnership between the National Association of Realtors & 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Realtors® and their families now get $50 off junk removal services, along with other cool perks. This is a step that should be done early to accelerate the time it takes to clean.
• Hire movers with a realistic deadline in mind. Use the date you hire movers as a motivator to prepare your home for sale. Your move will be easier once you decide what you’re taking and what you’re not. The same advice goes for moving equipment like vans and trucks.
• Make storage arrangements early. Why? Because the sooner your items are in storage, the sooner your home is clean. Much like junk removal, this can be a key step in getting your home clean faster.
• Decide where you’re staying. Sites like Airbnb and extended stay hotel chains are great options for anyone needing time to transition to their next place. Asking family or friends in advance of selling your home is a great option, too.

Like we mentioned earlier, ask the people in your life for help. It will cut down on costs, and it may be easier to schedule when you know who’s helping.

BONUS TIP: Don’t forget about the garage! Tools, lawn equipment, and storage cabinets are easy to overlook. Develop a plan to remove these often heavier items early.

2. Your agent is a frontline resource…use them!

The real estate agent you’ve trusted to sell your home has likely done this before. They know what to do and what to avoid when getting your home ready to sell. A qualified agent will likely give you advice on how to get your home ready before it’s even listed. We strongly suggest that you follow their advice!

Your agent likely has horror stories of clients who left things until the last minute, only to have their procrastination compromise a great deal. Remember, in a robust housing market, there are still key steps that you have to take to prepare your home for sale.

Here are a few things your agent may advise you do to get your home ready:

• Address any structural issues, if financially possible. Provided that you’re in a position to make important changes to your home, you may want to get a head start on any projects that will help you sell for top dollar. Ask your agent what home improvement projects add the most value.
• Beautify & stage your home. Flowers, lawn care, new paint & fixtures, new lighting, and other improvements could entice buyers to bid more.
• Declutter & depersonalize. Family pictures, college degrees, names written in decals, and other personal items sometimes prevent buyers from seeing themselves in your home. To give interested buyers a “clean slate,” it’s best to make your home as neutral as possible. Ask your agent for expert staging advice.

We can’t stress enough how invaluable a qualified agent is in selling your home. Ask your agent how many homes they sell versus how many buyers they represent. Someone with specific experience helping sellers could mean getting more for your home.

 BONUS TIP: Need an experienced real estate agent? Ask your loan officer to connect you with one of our trusted partners.

3. Prepare to have closing costs ready

Yes, sellers have closing costs, too. In fact, they carry the brunt of closing costs in any real estate transaction.  Financially preparing to have your closing costs ready is an important step that shouldn’t be skipped over. There’s good reason—the amount of closing costs that sellers incur is serious business.

Sellers typically pay up to 10% of the closing costs for a given sale, and this doesn’t include taxes and fees. Of course, don’t forget about the commission to your and the buyer’s agent.

Much of this can be deducted from the sale of your home, yet there are some costly items that you may need to pay out of pocket. Things like attorney fees and other services could be an example of this.

Again, we can’t stress the importance of staying close to your real estate agent during this process.

BONUS TIP: Ask your agent to estimate how much money you will need out of pocket to close on a home, or talk to your loan officer for a firm estimate. 

Bottom line

Getting your home ready to sell is a huge undertaking with numerous moving parts. To get top dollar for your most important asset, you’re wise to prepare ahead of time to ensure a smooth transaction. Reach out to your loan officer today to get started or to get a referral to one of our trusted partners.

We offer free resources to give homeowners the tools they need to sell like a pro.