Selling Your Home Home for Top Dollar is the first in our series on FSBO. Every seller wants their home to sell quickly for a large profit, but it takes more than luck to make this happen. It involves careful planning and knowing how to professionally prepare your home to convince buyers to pull out their checkbooks. We care about the homeowners in our community. Because we care, we want to pass on some useful information to homeowners like you to help you on how to prepare your home for sale. There are a lot of moving parts to make your sale a successful one from start to finish so our hope is we can contribute to your success and make your FSBO experience a great one! Here are 5 items to help your home shine above the competition:1) Disassociate From Your House – Letting go of your home can be difficult. You’ve lived there, possibly for years, and the house holds many memories. To detach from it emotionally, you must realize that without you in it, the house is just a shell to be filled by other occupants. Look to the future, where you can make new memories in your next home. Sever your emotional attachment to the house by realizing that home is about the occupants who live there, not just the space or building. Your next house will feel like home before you know it because you will be personalizing your space and creating new memories. 2) Depersonalize Your Home – Pack up your personal photographs, family heirlooms, and other objects and clutter that might distract potential buyers and hurt a possible sale. You want to present buyers with an impersonal, clean environment so they can imagine the home perhaps decorated with their own photographs, furniture, and art objects. Depersonalizing your home makes it easier for potential buyers to visualize how the home might look filled with their own items. Regarding furniture, only leave understated pieces that are not a distraction and don’t create an unintended impression. For example, it would be difficult for a buyer to visualize their own antique furnishings in place of the existing zebra couch, bright yellow chair, and a bear rug. The goal is to make it easy for the potential buyers to see the house as their future home. 3) Declutter Your House – People tend to collect an amazing quantity of items over the years. Reasons for keeping items include an emotional attachment, an intention to reuse or fix the items in the future, or a wish to pass them on to others. However, for many items, if you haven’t used them in over a year, you probably don’t need them. Discard items in a useful way by donating them to a charity or nonprofit organization such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill. These items not only help those in need but some are tax-deductible.1 For items that are not accepted, call your town to inquire whether the items can be picked up. Many towns schedule this service once or twice a month. Also, remove books from bookcases and other knick knacks, and clean everything off your kitchen counters. Essential items that you use daily can be tucked away in small boxes that you can place in a closet when they’re not in use. Consider this process an efficient start to your packing. Remember, less is always more when selling and thinking about the “stuff” in your home. 4, you’ll also want to organize Bedroom Closets and Storage Cabinets – Buyers will be curious about storage space and will want to check closets and cabinets. It’s important to ensure these are organized, as it sends a negative message if your storage spaces are cluttered with items falling out. When a buyer sees everything organized down to the last detail, it shows that you take care of your possessions and likely took good care of the house. In kitchen cabinets, alphabetize spice jars, neatly stack dishes, and turn the coffee cup handles so they’re facing the same way. In closets, shirts should be buttoned and hung together, and shoes should be lined up neatly. Be sure the home is professionally cleaned and windows shiny and bright. 5) Consider Renting a Storage Unit – Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage, along with distracting furniture, artwork, and empty bookcases. Removing extra leaves from your dining room table will make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture to showcase the room’s purpose with plenty of room for buyers to move around. This only the beginning of the FSBO process. Stay tuned to the next part of this series and get 5 more tips in part 2! We have built great relationships with industry professionals that can assist with decluttering, cleaning, repairing, and staging so your home makes the best first impression to buyers. If you find you need assistance with this process, give us a call and we would love to partner with you and give you the best possible outcome for your home sale. Again, this is Kimmy Rolph with Berkshire Hathaway Fox and Roach and Kimmy Rolph sells The Main Line and Local Areas.
