How To Get Your House Ready To Sell

The Complete List of Things To-Do When Selling Your Home

You’ve made the big decision to move. So, what happens next? A lot. The Internet is full of “to do” lists (see links below). Moving companies, real estate agents, and friends will offer helpful suggestions. Some will suggest writing a long series of timeline-related lists (like a countdown to launching a rocket), while others will favor the few most important major items. Point is, you need your own list because you will never truly realize how much stuff you have until you start putting all of it in boxes—lots and lots of boxes.

According to Marian White,¹ your list needs to have 11 items:

1. Research your local housing market: Check Realtor.com to see how your home value compares to similar houses. This is part of managing your expectations.  
2. Find a listing agent: Can be done online or by asking a friend for a referral.
3. Buy more light bulbs: Bet this is a surprise. The sale is in the details. When potential buyers walk into your house, all the lights need to be on. If a light or lights don’t work, the potential buyers will wonder what else doesn’t work.
4. Give your house a deep clean: Pay for it to be done by professionals, floor to ceiling, as you still have lots of other things to do.
5. Declutter the home: Sell whatever you can online, on the curb, and give stuff to Goodwill and Habitat for Humanity. Considering renting a temporary storage space (see item 10 below).
6. Call a handyman: Find someone to do all the stuff you procrastinated on doing.
7. Paint the walls: A neutral color, not necessarily all white, but keep it neutral! Fresh paint and less clutter combine to make the house look bigger.
8. Stage the home: Start outside with the curb appeal and get your yard in good order. Then go inside and “trim” the interior. Potential buyers will first see the yard and then carry their opinions, good or bad, through your front door.
9. Hire a professional photographer: An increasing number of people are searching online for homes because it’s easier to sit at a desk (or on a couch) than to drive to a preferred location. Key point: the pictures have to be an exact match to the actual house that the potential buyers will walk in that first time. You get one shot at a first impression.
10. Rent a storage unit: Amid the noise and haste of “de-stuffing,” rent a storage unit and shove extra stuff in it.
11. Depersonalize your home: Reduce family stuff to a few strategic photos and other personal items. The potential buyers want to see the home as theirs, and no longer yours.

Turning now to a similar list by HGTV² that has 10 items:

1. Pricing it right: Find the current value of your home, list it a bit lower and let the bidding war begin.
2. Half-empty closets: Reduce the hangable stuff by half (put the other have in cars and storage units). Buyers want to start new in a well-organized place.
3. Light it up: Similar to the earlier light bulb tip, but a bit more extreme: Remove the drapes, wash all windows, replace all lampshades, install brighter light bulbs, and cut the shrubs to let in more sunshine.
4. Play the agent field: You want a tech-savvy broker who knows all the comps and turnover near your home.
5. Conceal the pets: De-dog and de-cat your house. Get the animals out and then get the cleaning crew in.
6. Don’t over-upgrade: Quick fixes pay off. Starting with cleaning the grout, you can figure out the other “spot checks.”
7. Take your home out of your house: You’re moving, so make the house ready for potential buyers so they can envision this house as their new home—all ready to move into. Hiring a pro is a good idea.
8. The kitchen comes first: Spend a reasonable amount to upgrade the walls, appliances, and cabinets.
9. Always be ready to show: When you leave the house, leave it like you were not recently there (dishes put away, laundry put away, clutter put away…).
10. The first impression is the only impression: Obviously.

Before offering the THREE SIMPLE ITEMS on what this article suggests should be your new and improved list, please visit Abbey Lawson’s blog³ with her list of 32 items. That’s a long list and No. 13 is debatable, but this is her list and all items are worth considering.

The Final List

So now that you are likely overly informed and overwhelmed, here is a list obtained from someone who has moved 18 times in 30 years: the simple 3 Ps:

1. Purge then pack. Obviously purging reduces the packing. Donate stuff everywhere, recycle stuff wherever possible, and sell stuff online or have a yard sale.
2. Prepare the house for your departure and the new owners’ arrival. Accept the fact that you’re a “goner” and so leave the house in the best possible order for the next owner. They want to enter quickly and you want to depart quickly. You have to exit so they can enter. Consider hiring an expert in staging homes for quick sales.
3. Professionals. Work with a reputable agent as he or she will have a battle-tested and valid list. Sure, you can do a sale by owner, but you will then add many items to your already too long personal list, consisting of details that you didn’t know because you’re not a professional agent. Trust someone you know who has sold other houses, been through the process, and has always earned the commission. They know more than you do, and their main purpose is to help you, so let them help you.

Sources

1. https://www.moving.com/tips/how-to-get-your-house-ready-to-sell/
2. https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/design-101/10-best-kept-secrets-for-selling-your-home
3. https://justagirlandherblog.com/get-your-house-ready-to-sell/
4. https://www.amazon.com/Law-Attraction-Success-Planner-Organizer/dp/B018JQR6LW/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1485808519&sr=1-3&keywords=law+of+attraction+planner
5. https://moving.bedbathandbeyond.com/ultimate-moving-checklist/