5 Things to do before you sell your home!

A LITTLE TIME AND WORK COULD PUT MONEY IN YOUR POCKET!

So, you have decided to sell your home and have no idea what to do now. There are a few steps that you can do to benefit you in the long run and hopefully put more money in your pocket. Even in a very strong home sellers market, there are things that you should do to help it sell and maybe for a higher price. If you wanted to sell your car, you would normally give it a wash and clean out the interior to make it more appealing to possible buyers, right? Why wouldn’t you do the same for your home?

Step 1…

It will be a little cash up front, but it might uncover some hidden issues that could bite you. Hire yourself a home inspector! Yes, I know, normally the buyers hire an inspector after the property has become under contract. But an inspection after you go under contract could expose major issues and derail the transaction. Another benefit to an early inspection is that you can show the buyer the inspection report and hopefully they will forgo the inspection contingency.

Step 2…

Now that you have the home inspection report in your hand, let’s fix what needs fixing! I know what you are thinking. Do I really need to fix everything? The answer to that is NO! However, if the inspection reveals rotten subfloor or leaking pipes, those are big issues that needs to get addressed right away. Also, get yourself a copy of FHA and VA loan property guidelines. If you fix the issues that would make FHA and VA loans hard to use, you open your property to a larger buying pool.

Step 3…

After the inspection issues are taken care of, it’s time for the next step. Let’s declutter and open up that house! Like most people, you have a nice cozy home filled with furniture, family photos, nicknacks and that favorite 1960’s lamp that grandma gave you. With that said, when a buyer goes through your home, they are visualizing how they would live in the home. If the home is cluttered and full of furniture, it makes the floorspace look smaller and is hard for the buyers to see themselves in the home. A great rule of thumb is to move a lot of your furniture and other items to the garage or storage unit. Our main goal here is for the buyer to flow freely throughout the home.

Step 4…

Step 4 is a lot like step 3 with a couple exceptions. On your way to help the house flow, move around the furniture and stage the home. While you are staging, look at the areas that you don’t normally look and deep clean it. Like most people,you walk around your home the same way every time. You put your shoes in the same place, hang your keys on the same hook and sit in your favorite chair to watch the evening news. When a buyer walks the property, they are looking all around. They look up at the cobwebs in the lights, they look at the dust bunnies in the corners and behind the bathroom door. The point here is to deep clean the house! We want a nice, open and clean house to show.

Step 5…

This is a big one! With buying or selling property, if something goes wrong, you could be in a real mess. That is why you need to hire an experienced real estate agent! In today’s Missoula real estate market, if you list your home on your own and receive 12,15 or even 20 offers, what are you going to do? Are you going to focus mainly on price, or will you use terms to influence which offer to accept? With an experienced agent, they can help you navigate those kind of issues. They can also make sure that you stay out of legal trouble. Reputable agents also know how to market and get your home in front of the masses.