With the Spring home selling season quickly approaching, I thought now would be the perfect time to provide some advice and tips on getting your property ready for the market. As someone who is personally getting their property ready for sale, this topic is very relevant to me and my family! Here is a breakdown of suggested Action Items:
- Reach out to a REALTOR® to have an initial meeting discussing when and where you are planning on moving to so you can work together to hone in on an active market date. Then work back from that date. The more time you allow yourself to prepare for your sale, the better.
- Make a list of any repairs, updates and maintenance items that will need to be done (& get them on your calendar). For instance, a major repair, painting or flooring job should be quoted and scheduled asap. This will allow for time to get contractors in your home to provide multiple quotes for comparison AND get materials ordered for the work to be done.
- Go through ALL your closets, attics, garages, drawers,
and cabinets. Do one of the following
with each of the contents:
- Throw out!
- Set aside for sale or donation.
- Keep. - After you’ve done step number 3, start packing and organizing. Go room by room, and tackle one at a time. With your Real Estate Agent’s advice, remove all clutter and décor that will not be used in the staging process of your home and box it up.
- Rent a storage unit to store items that you want to keep, making your existing home look more spacious!
- If you’re downsizing (like me!), you’ll need to
start selling larger items like furniture pieces right away! Some good sites to sell stuff on are:
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- Offer Up (formerly Letgo)
- Nextdoor - Have a garage or Estate sale! Then make arrangements to donate all of the
leftover items. Some great places that
are easy to drop off/give donations to are:
- Salvation Army
- Metrocrest Services
- Grace Bridge Resale
- Goodwill - Start using up all your consumables so you don’t have to move them! Resist the urge to purchase huge quantities (i.e. toilet paper, cleaning supplies, frozen meat products) from Costco and Sam’s Club.
- Schedule a final cleaning of your carpets, tile grout, windows, appliances and outdoor living spaces just prior to marketing photos and Active market date.
- Spruce up the landscaping! Remove or trim any overgrown or dead plantings. Put down fresh mulch in all of the beds, and add some seasonal color with fresh flowers.
By giving yourself enough time to do all of these action items, you’ll be sure to have a much easier selling and moving process…eliminating unnecessary stress and frustration. I can’t tell you how many Clients that I’ve worked with that think they can do everything in a couple of weeks! When the reality is that it simply takes time to do things thoroughly and cost efficiently.
Are you looking to sell your home soon? Contact someone who knows firsthand how to prepare! Call Castle Hills Real Estate today! 214-449-1022 or visit our website at www.CastleHillsRealEstate.com to provide your contact information. We are here to help!
