If your New Year’s resolutions include selling your home, be sure to follow these 3 easy steps to a quick sale.

Pick a Date

You’ll need to pick a date, well in advance, of when you want to have your home on the market.  Preparing your Orangeville home for sale takes time and effort; it’s not a chore that many sellers can accomplish in a couple of days.  By giving yourself a reasonable amount of time, you’ll be able to check everything off your to-do list.  Don’t fret, we’ll help you make the to-do list.  We can put you in touch with anyone you may need to assist you; painters, cleaners, electricians and windows cleaners are just to name a few of our preferred partners.  The more effort you put in, the greater the reward will be.  Our goal is to help you net the most in your pocket at the end of the sale.

You’ll also need to take into account when you want to be moved by.  Closings usually occur 30, 60 or 90 days after the sold sign goes up so be sure to pull out the calendar and work backwards from there.  Currently it’s taking an average of 38 days to sell homes in Orangeville.

Declutter

I always tell sellers to view their home through the eyes of a buyer.  Buyers are going to open cupboards and drawers so when you’ve decided to start the process, it’s best to commit to it fully.  Go room by room and remove excess stuff such as toys from kids’ room, clutter from countertops, overfilled closets and the like.  Pack away any seasonal items that you intend on keeping (the biggest culprit for this is Christmas lights months after Christmas has passed).  Consider this packing in advance.  You don’t need it now, but you’ll need it in your new home.

Donate items that you no longer have a use for, you know the things I’m referring to; I’ll just throw that in here, I’ll need it one day.  Rule of thumb, if you haven’t used it in the past 6 months, (I’ll even give you a year here) donate it!  If it’s broken, recycle or throw it away.  The less cluttered the space is, the better.  We want your home to look spacious and functional, not cluttered and unusable.

Repairs

Many of us are guilty of living with things the way they are.  Your intentions may have always been to fix that stain on the ceiling or to replace the leaky faucet; you have just never got around to it.  Well, now you need to get around to it.  Buyers will deduct money for every repair they see.  Even if all the big ticket items have been updated (windows, doors, furnace); they’ll take note and expect to be compensated.

We are inundated with images of interiors on social media.  Is it unrealistic to expect all homes to look like that? yes but let’s face it; we are becoming an instant gratification society.  Buyers are willing to pay for a home they can just move into, one that doesn’t require them lifting a hammer or a paintbrush.  The less effort you put into getting your house to look its best, the less you will have in your pocket at the end.  We don’t expect you to go broke in the process and we’ll guide you as to where your dollars are best spent.  You’d be surprised how many dollars are left on the negotiating table just because a seller didn’t get around to something.

Remember to follow these 3 easy steps when it comes to selling your home.  It won’t only help you to have a quick sale but also help net the most in your pocket at the end.