Brian and Anita have a desire to retire in the western United States (learn more about them and their story here). With minimal retirement savings, it was necessary to sell their house in Tennessee to have enough money to purchase or develop a new place out west. Below are some tips to help you sell your home when the time comes.
1. Clear Out A Bunch of Your Stuff!
Clear out excess belongings in every room of your house. In fact, this is a process that you could start now, even if you do not plan to sell your place soon. Many (probably most) North Americans have way more stuff than they need. Don’t wait until you are in a rush to sell to start the long and tedious process of getting rid of stuff!
What should you do with the stuff you are eliminating? If you are patient, you can probably sell a lot of it online. Try Facebook Marketplace. Craigslist (in the US) and Kijiji (in Canada) are also great places to list items you have for sale. Just be safe – deal with people in person and with cash. Meet people in a public area, or at least make sure someone else knows that you will be meeting with a potential buyer. Brian and Anita sold some of their furniture before their move. They even sold their dining room table and put a smaller table and a couple of chairs in its place, which helped to make the dining room look more spacious.
You can also donate stuff to charity. Second-hand stores like Goodwill often accept donated items. Some may even be able to provide you with a tax receipt in exchange for your donation.
If you have a driveway or yard that is visible from the road and allows people to pull over safely, you can put stuff out with a big “FREE” sign.
There will probably be certain things that you can’t seem to get gone. Of course, selling or donating or recycling are preferred options. But if you have exhausted these options and still haven’t gotten rid of some of your unneeded stuff, don’t be afraid to take it to the local landfill.
There may be items that you don’t want to get rid of, but that are taking up too much space in your house. Before putting the house on the market, it may be wise to rent a storage unit for these items.
2. Clean and Empty the Garage
If your garage is like many garages, it is probably sort of a catch-all place for a lot of stuff. Clean and empty it enough to make it look organized and spacious like the inside of your house.
3. Make Repairs
Remember that thing in your house that broke years ago? Yeah, maybe you have learned how to live your life in spite of its damaged state. But guess what! That broken thing is not a great selling feature of your house. Fix it. Replace it. Do whatever you have to do to make it right again. Everything (both interior and exterior) that is a part of your house should be fully functional and decent looking. A lot of these items are probably minor repairs, and many of them are probably repairs that you can do yourself. Most of these probably will not cost much – other than the little bit of time and attention that it takes to fix them.
4. Spiffy Up the Floor
Clean the floors in your house. If they are extremely worn or damaged, it might make sense to replace some of them. But many of them will probably clean up nicely. If you don’t absolutely need to replace the flooring, leave it. The new owners would probably prefer to choose their new flooring anyway.
5. Deal With Damaged/Dirty/Dark Window Coverings
If your windows have blinds, make sure to clean them. Yes, this is probably one of those jobs that you hate doing! But do it! If any of your blinds are broken or tattered, replace them. It may also be wise to remove heavy/dark window coverings to make rooms seem lighter and more cheery.
6. Clean the Windows and Exterior Siding
Wash all the windows and screens on the inside and outside. Depending on the type of windows you have and how high they are above the ground, you may need to hire someone to help with this task. If the siding of the house is dirty, have that cleaned too – hopefully before the windows get cleaned!
7. Replace the Ratty Appliances
Replace any appliances that make the house look extra bad or that don’t work correctly. But again, if the only thing wrong with your appliances is that they are a few years old, it is probably better to let the new owners replace them with the style and brand that they want.
8. Make Sure the Yard and Driveway Look Great
Clean up the yard and driveway. If the driveway needs some additional gravel or a new coat of asphalt coating to give the best impression, do it. Keep the grass nicely mowed. Use the appropriate weed killers and fertilizers (hopefully environmentally friendly ones) on the lawn and over-seed it if necessary.
9. Clean Gutters and Treat Any Roof Moss
Get all those leaves and tree needles and whatever else out of your gutters. Is there any moss growing on your roof? Deal with that too! Depending on the height of your house, the pitch of your roof, the equipment you have, and your comfort level with heights, this may be another task that you should hire out.
10. Make the Front Entry Pop!
You’ve heard that first impressions are super important. So make a good one! Make sure the entry porch and front door area stand out with some flowers and an attractive welcome mat. Get rid of any clutter and keep the area clean.
11. Attract the Senses of Potential Buyers
Smell: Does your house stink? It is crucial to keep in mind that odors you are accustomed to may seem strange to a potential buyer who has just stepped into your home. Use a friendly air freshener – certain food scents may be most attractive – cinnamon, lemon, etc.
Sight: Have a vase of fresh flowers out on display. Anita eventually put together some fake flowers that looked real. Doing this is a great way to avoid having to replace fresh flowers each week at $10-$20 or more each time.
Sound: Turn on the radio (or stream music from a service like Spotify or Pandora). Just make sure it isn’t too loud! Brian and Anita often used a classical music station to set a peaceful atmosphere in the home.
12. Grow a Garden
If you are trying to sell your home in the Spring or Summer, planting a small garden in the yard can make your place seem more attractive to many people. Include some flowers mixed in with the vegetables or strawberries in your garden.
13. Stage the House
Stage your house with attractive bed coverings and bed skirts, along with plump and comfy looking pillows (on beds, chairs, couches, etc.).
14. Remove (Or Hide) Your Personal Stuff From the Bathrooms
As much as possible, live out of a suitcase. When preparing for scheduled showings, put your stuff in the suitcase and hide it in a closet or put it in your vehicle so that it is out of sight. Brian and Anita usually had about an hour’s notice to vacate the house before a showing. They would often rush around and pull down used towels and put up new towels. They would check mirrors, the bathtub, shower, and toilets. They would also inspect the kitchen sink and switch out dish towels, along with turning on the radio and air freshener before leaving the premises for the showing. Keep in mind that it can be helpful to have coordinated bathroom floor mats and soap dispensers to set out in the bathroom as well.
15. Choose a Real Estate Agent Who Has a Reputation for Quantity and Speed of Sales
Brian and Anita chose Lisa Padgett with Keller Williams in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, region. If you are looking to sell real estate in that area, please feel free to contact Lisa.
Any more tips? Please leave a comment below with your tips for selling a house!
