Decided to Sell Your House Without a Realtor?
So you’ve decided to sell your house on your own. Here’s a few tips to help you prepare and stage your home like a pro!
Curb Appeal 101
The first impression a buyer gets when pulling up to a new house is extremely important! This, we call Curb Appeal.
Make sure your home’s exterior is as neat and clean as possible. The grass should always be well kept so that buyers can walk around the house and closely look at the exterior. Also, make sure all bushes, shrubs and trees are cut back so that they do not hide the house. Buyers get nervous when something on the house is completely hidden by overgrown bushes and especially when trees are close to or touching power lines! All of these can be used by buyers to decrease the value of your home in their eyes. Any bushes or trees that are close to the perimeter of the house should not be taller than the roof line, and have at least 1 to 2 feet clearance on all sides.
A cheap easy way to spruce up any yard is to add fresh mulch. Usually for around 25 dollars you can buy 10 bags of mulch at your local home improvement store to give your yard that freshly manicured look that all buyers look for. Make sure to remove as many weeds as possible before putting down the mulch.
Exterior of Home
A clean exterior wall and roof line is always effective at attracting buyers, but is sometimes too costly of an update. Not everyone can afford new bricks, siding, stucco or paint.
However, removing bugs, dirt and rust stains can be very inexpensive.
To remove dirt, simply go and rent a pressure washer from your local home store or borrow one from a friend. You can pressure wash your exterior walls, gutters, decks, driveway, and other walking areas yourself and save time and money.
Next remove any rust stains caused by well water. There is an easy solution for this! Your local hardware store has a product that you spray onto the rust stains and they simply disappear! This is such an easy fix, however we still see tons of homes with awful looking rust stains. Apply this fix!
Finally, removing any dead bugs or insects is extremely important as many buyers will lose any good feelings they had about the house just from seeing a bug or two. Buy a gallon of bug killer and spray along the perimeter walls and edges of your patio, sidewalks, and driveway. This will take care of live ants and keep them from coming back.
Applying these exterior fixes in this order is important. Make sure you pressure wash first, followed by removing the rust stains, and then treat for bugs. Make sure the bug spray you use is good for exterior and interior so that you can protect the inside of your home as well.
Interior of Home
Several things you can do to ready the inside of your house for staging…
Remove all clutter and personal items. The buyers are there to look at the house, not the clutter or weird stuffed animal collection you might have! Also, getting rid of any dirty or broken down furniture/fixtures will definitely improve your chances of selling quickly.
Once all clutter is removed, clean everything from top to bottom! Vacuum and mop the floors, use magic eraser to clean scuffs and dirt off the walls, dust all fixtures and ceiling fans, clean all glass and windows with window cleaner, clean all bathrooms, buy new shower curtains and bleach any mold or mildew you find in the bathtubs.
Begin the Staging!
Remember, our first sense of a house is going to be visual, and the second is smell. If your house is clean then it should already smell great! Now tend to the visual by staging your home.
Since you’re on a budget, being thrifty is key. If you’re living in the house you’re trying to sell, start by depersonalizing it. Make sure to remove any personal or family photos left out or hanging on the walls. Leave any art or framed artwork.
If you don’t have any art in your house, we suggest you go to your local flea market or Wal-Mart and buy just a few cheap classy paintings to go in the entry, living room and dining areas. Another thing you can do is purchase some plants from your local home store to add a nice touch of green to your home.
The bathrooms and kitchen can be brightened by adding a few hand or bath towels, and a pump hand soap dispenser. You can also purchase cheap rugs for these areas as well to add additional color.
The last thing you should do is make sure the home smells inviting. Go to the store and buy plug-in potpourri dispensers for the entry, living, kitchen and bathrooms. If your home has a bad smell, it will not appeal to most buyers. Apply this fix and you won’t regret it!
During Showings
Before the buyers arrive, make sure to turn on all lights and open all blinds. You want the house as bright as possible. Make sure the air temperature in the house is set at a comfortable yet affordable level. Also, do one final check to make sure there are no dead bugs in any walkways from when you sprayed the house. If you have a radio turn on a good jazz or oldies station and keep the volume low. The idea is to create an inviting atmosphere where people can feel comfortable and enjoy looking at their next home.
Now you’re ready to stage your house and watch it sell super fast! If you’re interested in selling your house, but are also interested in skipping all of the above, then give us a call at 844-388-APEX(2739).
We’re here to help.
– APEX Home Buyers
