A Realtor’s top 5 tips for prepping your home for sale in Edmonton
Every seller want’s their home to sell fast and for asking price. But, that doesn’t just happen by fluke.
Did you know that when a house is prepped for sale before private showings and open houses, homebuyers are more likely to purchase it for, or above, the asking price? With that being said, it's a mistake to invest thousands of dollars, without understanding where you will get the most return on your investment.
Remember — homebuyers want to see themselves in your property. If they are going to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, they need to be able to envision your home as their forever home. So, it’s your job to make it as appealing as possible to potential buyers by prepping it beforehand.
Here are 5 tips for prepping your home for sale:
1. Repaint
If there’s anything that the famous Edmonton Talus Balls have taught us, it’s that not everyone has the same taste. Although lime green may be your favorite color, somebody else might hate it.
When prepping your home for sale, be sure to repaint with neutral colors (whites, tans, etc.) to make your home appealing to as many buyers as possible. Rooms painted in neutral colors allow buyers to look at your home as a blank slate, which will help them envision it as their own.
While you’re at it, you should also fix any scrapes, scratches, or holes that might be residing on your walls.
2.Eliminate bad odours
You may think your home smells fine because you’re so used to living in it, but some of the odours that exist in your home may turn off potential buyers.
When you’re prepping your home for sale, make sure to cleanse all scents in your home. Usually, this can be done with a top to bottom cleaning, but most sellers don’t have time for that. Instead, many mask odors during open houses with inviting smells such as fresh cookies or flowers.
Every homebuyer is going to remember touring the house that smelled like warm chocolate chip cookies, so why not give it a try!
3. Depersonalize
When buyers step into your home, they need to be able to envision it as their own — they want to see it as a blank slate that they can fill with their own belongings. If your house is filled with all of your “stuff”, buyers won’t be able to visualize their own “stuff” in it.
When prepping your home for buyers, make sure to depersonalize it as much as possible. Take down family photos, put your shoes and coats away, organize your closets, and make sure every room is de-cluttered, clean, and tidy.
4. Increase curb appeal
In Edmonton, curb appeal is something that overlooked by many home sellers— especially during the winter months. But, it shouldn’t be.
The outside of your home is the first point of contact that buyers will have with it, so it’s essential that you make it look as appealing as possible.
When prepping your home for sale in the summer months, make sure to mow the lawn, weed the garden, and maybe even plant some new flowers if you have time. During the winter months, shovel the walk and make sure your front steps are de-iced.
5. Use as much natural light as possible
Sellers aren’t going to want to purchase a home that feels like a dungeon, so when you are holding private showings or open houses, make sure to fill your home with as much natural light as possible.
When prepping your home for sale, open the curtains and blinds in every room to let natural light in through the windows. If you are showing your home when it’s dark outside, or have a room without much natural light, turn on as many lamps and lights as you can to brighten up the space.
If you want the best return on investment for your home, you have to make sure that it’s as appealing as possible to potential buyers. A little bit of preparation can go a long way. When you’re ready to start prepping your Edmonton homes for sale, make sure to keep these 5 tips in mind.
Do you need help selling your home in the Edmonton area? Jeneen Marchant with RE/MAX Real Estate can help! Send her an email at jeneens@remax.net to get started.