From new flooring to fresh paint, I’m covering the five things sellers need to consider before listing their home.

Here are five things to consider doing before you list your home on the market this year: 

1. Clean your house. Buyers never want to walk into a dirty house; yours needs to look and smell fresh. Get dirt and dust off of the baseboards. Even if you’re working with an outdated house, cleanliness is such a simple quality that goes a long way. 

2. Maintain the yard. I’ve seen plenty of neglected yards with haphazardly cut grass, untrimmed bushes, and half-raked or unraked leaves revived by the professional touch of a landscaper. It’s unbelievable how much this impacts curb appeal. Whether it’s replacing bushes or planting new grass, take steps to ensure your lawn looks great. 

3. Paint to freshen things up. Though a tad more expensive than yardwork or a deep clean, the bang-for-your-buck aspect is huge. New paint breathes new life into a home’s interior, and it creates an inviting atmosphere for buyers. If you have nicks or dings on your walls, or if your wall color is what some might call “wild,” consider allocating some time and money toward painting. 

4. Address your flooring. If your carpet is old, worn, dingy or a type of dirty that just can’t be cleaned, 99 times out of 100 it’ll be worth it to change it out. For a little bit more money, you could opt for some wood laminate flooring, which is popular with buyers. It’s fourth on our list of priorities, but if you have the budget for it, definitely do it. 

5. Making updates of any kind. This is sort of a catch-all and can mean updating things in your kitchen (e.g., cabinetry and countertops), or your bathrooms. It can be hard to know when you should draw the line on updating your home. That’s why we offer professional counseling for our sellers to help answer the tricky question of “What’s worth doing, what’s a bad investment?” Sometimes, updating half of a room can make the older half stand out more; depending on the situation, you may be stuck choosing between going all in or not going in at all. If you do go all in, though, it will increase your sale price. 

Approaching each of the five tips with the right mindset can lead to a quicker home sale that nets you more money. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions regarding this topic. We’re here to help.