Chicago real estate, living and neighborhood perspective
Cleaning hardwood floors for selling home

Selling Your Home in the Spring

Spring is generally a hot season for home selling and buying. But just as there is more demand, there is also an increase in inventory and competition from others looking to sell their home as well.

From the year over year housing data, you can see that single family homes, attaches homes and multi-family buildings have increased in sales since this time last year, as well as increases in median prices, with lowered inventory.

That is relatively good news, especially for those considering entering the spring market now. If you are thinking of selling your home there are some things you can do to help the process and help ensure a sale quickly. Making your home look its best is very important when you are trying to sell it. Though, a clean home will sell faster than a messy one, having it photo ready and staged for virtual tours are essential.

Cleaning:

When cleaning and preparing a home, a professional cleaning crew can help cut down on stress, free up time to address other areas. Otherwise, plan a weekend on scrubbing your home till it shines. Vacuum everywhere you can behind furniture, and under beds, more so if you have pets. Scrub the stains out of the carpet and wash the windows inside and out. Don’t forget to clean the ceiling fans, doorknobs and light switches. Make your home smell fresh and clean as well as be fresh and clean.

Organizing:

Clutter can ruin a prospective home buyer’s experience. Go room to room and take out any clutter that you find making the rooms look as empty as you can. This is essential for photography as well as even items considered as essential will appear as clutter. Coffee machines, kitchen counter appliances, books, art/photos, can all muddle a home’s virtual tour. You are trying to showcase and sell a home, not your personal property.

Rent a storage unit for items that can’t be thrown away. Don’t just put clutter in cupboards or closets because potential buyers may looks into these areas, especially if they are interested in the storage.

Maintenance:

Homeowners should address minor maintenance issues that take away from the aesthetics of the home. Small items, can worry potential buyers, and even make them negotiate harder. Make sure your house looks great by patching any holes in the walls, touching up any paint and replacing any burned out light bulbs.

Even simple things like close the shower curtain and put the toilet lid down you can make a bathroom look much nicer.

It is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do. If you can paint the walls of your rooms it can make the rooms fresh and clean. Don’t paint the walls gaudy colors. Light neutral colors help maximize appeal, while brightening rooms up. Again, you want to showcase your home, not your personal style, or interior design skills.

Don’t forget the outside of your home. It just may need a coat of paint too. Walk across the street and take a good look at the outside of your home. Try to imagine it looking its best and then try to do what you have imagined. If the outside of the home isn’t appealing to potential buyers, they will already have a biased opinion when they walk in, no matter how incredible it is. By planting a few flowers near the entry of your home it will create a welcoming effect for people coming to your home. The outside of your home leaves the first, and last, impression on the buyer so make it look it’s best.


Sherwin L. Sucaldito, REALTOR®, GREEN, ABR, CRPM
@properties
The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing
Green REsource Council, GREEN
Accredited Buyer’s Representative , ABR
Certified Residential Property Manager, CRPM
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