We hope that the following advice, based on our expertise in bringing hundreds of homes back to their best possible selling condition, will prove useful to you as you seek to obtain the highest possible price for your home.
Introduction
Once you’ve made the decision to sell your home, you might be tempted to put it up for sale “as is” and see if anyone will bite. Buyers used to be able to “see the possibilities” beyond the current condition of a property. Those times have passed, unfortunately. Today’s purchasers desire a home that needs no cosmetic updates or repairs before they can move in.
“But maybe someone will make me an offer,” you tell yourself. If I don’t try, “What have I got to lose?”
There is a chance that after 20 showings, you will receive no bids. The real estate community caught wind of it and ran with it. A negative initial impression is difficult to overcome.
The best real estate agents will tell you to do any necessary repairs and get the house ready for the market. We’ve narrowed down the many moving parts necessary to reach this objective to just five. The five pillars of our business are known as “The 5 C’s.”
1. Disarray
2. Tidying Up
Three. Makeup
Reputational Value
5. Transmissions
Clutter
Buyers on the market are merciless. Everything sticks out like a sore thumb in their eyes. You may not give much thought to a little flaw, but to others, it may be a deal breaker.
Clutter is the first thing that needs fixing. If you have no more room in your home for your belongings, whether it be in your closets, your rooms, or your storage spaces, it’s time to put some things in storage. The end result will be a more open and comfortable atmosphere.
Companies like “Pods” aren’t the only ones that will deliver containers for storage. You put them in containers, they collect them and put them in storage until you need them again, and then they transport them to you. The usual time it takes to repair and sell a home is six months, thus the cost to store a container measuring 8 feet by 8 feet by sixteen feet is roughly $1,300.
Getting rid of unnecessary items is another great benefit of decluttering. You can get a tax deduction by donating certain things to Goodwill Industries. An 8′ x 8′ x 7′ dumpster can be rented for around $400. If you’re not sure what size dumpster you’ll need, it’s safer to get a bigger one than to assume.
A “stager,” who is employed by many real estate agencies, is available to help you arrange your furniture and other belongings in the home so that they are at their most eye-catching. Some stagers have extensive collections of furniture at their disposal.
Cleaning
Like the picky mother-in-law in a stand-up routine, potential buyers can’t help but notice every speck of dust, stain, and smudge. The more flaws there are in your house, the more likely you are to start disliking it. After a professional cleaning service has finished their work, you should still undertake a walkthrough with a spray bottle and some paper towels.
The Better Homes and Gardens website (www.bhg.com/homekeeping/house-cleaning/) is a fantastic resource for tips on cleaning of all kinds.
The flooring in your home is one of the first features guests will notice. Stains on the carpet, scratches on the wood floors, and chips in the tile or linoleum could all be deal breakers. Although cleaning is usually sufficient, it may be necessary to install new flooring, refinish wooden floors, or repaint walls and furniture.
Professional carpet cleaners can steam clean your carpet for roughly 50 cents per square foot. If you’re renting a carpet cleaner, you should run it through a few times to ensure that the water in the take-up bucket is completely clean. The best way to clean hardwood floors is to vacuum them first, then use a moist mop with a wood floor cleaner. The finish must be sanded and restored if stains have set in.
It’s important to clean appliances both inside and out. Clean the stove, the hood’s grate, and any nearby counters or appliances using degreasing liquid.
Cosmetics
The term “cosmetics” refers to the practice of revitalizing the appearance and feel of externally visible objects. Floor coverings, walls, woodwork, furniture, and appliances must all be cleaned, repainted, or replaced. If a surface is beyond cleaning, it is resurfaced. You replace everything that can’t be refinished. You update or replace everything that has become worn and out of date.
At 2013 prices, it would cost around $3 per square foot to replace a carpet that is more than five years old. We do not tolerate carpets older than 2 years. It will set you back around $4.50 to refinish your hardwood floors, and around $6.00 to replace them. At $3 per square foot, new tile or linoleum is comparable in price to carpet.
New replacement components can completely revitalize the appearance of an old appliance. A sparkling stovetop is as simple as replacing the burners, grates, and drip pans. If your home’s appliances are showing their age, it may be time for an upgrade. Costing roughly $2,000, a brand-new kitchen appliance package has the potential to increase your asking price by as much as $5,000 and speed up the sale of your home.
A musty, dark cellar is another potential deal breaker. Cleaning the walls and giving them two coats of water-resistant white paint is a good idea if any signs of grime, water seepage, or mold have appeared. Humidity and smells are also diminished by this. Cleaning the floor properly and then painting it with two coats of epoxy can provide a similar effect. Spending just $200 will help you sell your home more quickly and for more money.
Facade Appeal
It has been said that the initial impression is the lasting one. A buyer’s impression of the interior can be negatively impacted by an unattractive appearance. When a prospect is wowed by the way something seems on the outside, they are more likely to overlook flaws on the inside.
Roofs account for about half of a home’s visual attractiveness, according to research. A dirty or discolored roof can give the impression that it needs to be replaced even if it is in fine condition. For about $300, you may get the problem with your roof fixed by having it professionally cleaned. Low-pressure nozzles and chemicals permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency will keep your plants safe. Roofing companies typically offer additional services, such as a power washing of your siding and windows.
A lawn that is overrun with weeds can also be unappealing. You can eliminate all the weeds in your lawn with a $30 spray tank and $12 worth of weed killer. Then, powdered fertilizer, which feeds in a time-release form, is the greatest approach to greening up your lawn, rather than liquids, which just produce a temporary flush of green.
If you don’t want your shrubbery to look neglected and overgrown, you should cut it back periodically. It may be preferable to remove overgrown or ugly bushes and replace them with newer, more presentable flora.
Power washing or other methods of cleaning may not be enough to save your siding and trim from needing to be repainted. This can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the size of the home, but is typically more than made up for in a higher asking price.
Communications
Only real estate agents can access the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) websites, which are the principal hub of information about available homes. If you want to sell your home without using a realtor, you’re missing out on a major listing resource. Every home that is listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website is also listed on the websites of some prominent real estate agencies. Websites with generic-sounding names like “House Search” are often fronts for real estate agents.
This means that you will likely have a difficult time selling your home without forking over the customary 6% commission to your real estate agent. Some real estate agents, however, will put in more effort than others in marketing your home. Find one that provides extras like expert photographers who have high-quality equipment to make your pictures look amazing. Look for real estate agents who employ “stagers” to transform your home’s appearance using a warehouse full of furniture.
We don’t think it’s a good idea to spend money on anything besides good pictures and detailed descriptions. Buyers dislike videos because it takes too long for them to see the content they’re interested in before moving on to the next clip.
Make sure that whatever you’re promising in your messaging is actually possible. Otherwise, performances will be a letdown.
The Sixth R: Cooperative Effort
We haven’t informed you about the sixth “C” yet, but it’s important: compromise. That is, even if you account for the 5 “Cs,” you may still need to lower your asking price. Many sellers have been burned by rejecting a fair offer out of pride or stubbornness, only to be forced to settle for less later on.
We wish you the best of luck in selling your home and hope you enjoyed learning about the 5 Cs.
If a family is having trouble getting a mortgage but still wants to buy a property in a good neighborhood, Homestead Road will buy the house “as is,” fix it up so it looks like new and help the family get a mortgage. The name was chosen to convey the idea that a family would eventually “homestead” the land after it had been purchased with money and completely restored. The company was founded as a privately funded solution to the housing crisis. Homestead Road’s headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its website is.
Read also: We All Treat You Fairly Once We Buy Houses
