Beginner’s Guide: Things to Remember When Selling Your House

Beginner’s Guide: Things to Remember When Selling Your House

Selling your house is a big job, so it’s easy to forget things while looking at the big picture. However, there are several essential processes you should not forget because they can entice or deter buyers from making an offer. Buyers view a lot of houses, and while there is no such thing as “the perfect house,” you should still do your best to make yours stand out.

 1- Assemble Your House’s Documents

As a homeowner, you will have had to make many repairs and updates to your house. These things are usually accompanied by some form of documentation, such as a warranty or a permit. If you haven’t already, gather all of your house-related documents in a file. By doing so, your real estate agent will be able to provide all of your house’s information to potential buyers more easily, all while promoting the extra work you’ve done on the house.

Additionally, you’ll need to have a house inspection done by a professional, and they will point out what necessary fixes you need to make, such as replacing the water heater or repairing the roof. If you have your house’s documents already filed in one place, you can handle these fixes ahead of time.   

2- Remove Clutter

This is a three-step process. 

• Step One: Clean the house from top to bottom, because buyers will view everything during your Open House. Cleaning entails the usual: dusting, vacuuming, putting dirty laundry in the hamper, washing windows, and general tidying up. When the chaos has been restored to order, it’s time to move on to …
• Step Two: Declutter. Since you’re selling your house, you’re also looking to buy a new one. Think about what you hate seeing in other people’s Open Houses. Whether or not you like pets, you may not want to see a dog’s bed and toys while you tour a potential new home. Decluttering means removing personal effects to give buyers a better view of what they’re looking to buy: your house. Here are several ways to declutter:

          * Remove everything from your fridge’s doors, such as family photos and children’s drawings.

          * Put family photos around the house into temporary storage. Depending on the room’s décor, you may also want to store some of your paintings and have children take down any posters they have up. 

        * Remove knick-knacks from tabletops, fireplace mantles, and bookshelves. Apply this same method to your children’s rooms.

• Step Three: Clean up your storage. Sellers often forget to declutter closets, drawers, and cabinets. In fact, while cleaning up the mess (see Step Two) sellers often store the mess they’ve just cleaned up by shoving it haphazardly in the nearest closet or storage area. However, this defeats the very purpose of decluttering, as buyers often look at every nook and cranny that comes with the house, including the storage areas.

And if you’re worried that the job is too much for you to take on, don’t forget that you can always hire a professional organizer to get you on the right track.

3- Do a House Inspection of Your Own

As people live in their house, accidents happen. From food stains to scuff marks, now’s the time to look at your home with homebuyer eyes and notice these details. Tackle one room at a time, and make a list of all of the little imperfections that need to be cleaned or fixed. 

Spot Clean and Use Air Fresheners

Start this task by focusing on carpeting, such as staircase runners and wall-to-wall carpeting. Hire professionals to deep clean them, so your carpets look new. At the same time, this will eliminate odours, especially if you have a pet. Make sure to use an odour-eliminating spray several days before your house’s viewing. You can place air fresheners around your home, however, some buyers interpret this as a bad sign and that you’re trying to hide a permanent bad smell, such as mildew.

See to Your House’s Repairs

With your handy room-to-room checklist already made, you can tackle repairs and replacements. 

One of the simplest tasks is replacing light bulbs inside and outside. Replacing them will increase your property’s safety, especially if your Open House is late in the day or in the evening. The key here is to replace light bulbs with a matching tone to the rest of your house’s lighting. It’s best to use soft and warm lights to make your house inviting. 

While you’re dealing with your house’s lighting, repair or update light fixtures. For example, Tiffany lamps are unique, but they can cast shadows and aren’t appealing to everyone. Consider updating it for a minimalistic fixture and storing the Tiffany one for your next home. 

Floors and carpeting cover your entire house and buyers are bound to notice them. Get any bathroom tile cracks fixed and missing kitchen tiles replaced. If your hardwood floors show their age, have them refinished. If your wall-to-wall carpeting can’t be saved with cleaning, replace it. Sometimes, there are perfectly good hardwood floors underneath, so removing the carpeting and refinishing those floors will be better than a carpet replacement.  

Paint

Yes, painting can be an arduous task, and some sellers neglect to do it, but believe it or not, a fresh coat of paint can help your home sell faster. If you have any bright-coloured walls, it’s time to repaint them in a neutral tone, even if you have only an accent wall. 

Before starting the painting process, clean and repair your crown mouldings and baseboards. This way, if you need to paint them as well, you or your professional painters can do everything all at once. If you’re doing the painting yourself, remember to use semi-gloss paint for baseboards to give them a slight sheen. 

4-Use Calgary House Finder

Calgaryhousefinder.ca provides listings of houses throughout Calgary’s many communities, so you’re sure to find your new home! Our real estate team helps first-time buyers develop a well-rounded understanding of the Calgary real estate market and assist sellers with staging and more. We can even give you an estimate of your house’s value.

Start your search, or contact us today!