1. Detached your emotions and see your house objectively
2. Clean and reorganize
3. Improve the curve appeal of your home
4. Fix minor repairs and those critical ones (unless you house is priced on it)
5. Weight your costs vs. the potential value increase
6. Depersonalize your home
7. Brighten and lighten
8. Staging empty rooms
9. Make your house smell fresh and clean
10. Keep it simple

Detach your emotions and see your house objectively.

You are trying to SELL your house to someone else. It is important to create the space, hence the more neutral, brighter and spacious the better for buyers to envision themselves living in your home. Pack away many of your personal items, including photos, souvenirs and other mementos.

Curve Appeal

First Impression it is important!  The outside of your home might describe the inside of your home for many buyers. Trim the trees, weed the garden and consider planting a few new flowers and put large flower pots, if it is possible or make sense. Talk to your Realtor about it

Fix minor repairs

A home that looks neglected is perceived well and buyers expect a reduce price. Most Buyers prefer to see a home in move-in condition and ready to enjoy. Fix all the little things like leaky faucets, doors that squeak or that don’t close properly and small cracks in the ceiling. Some repairs are absolutely vital, like a leaky roof or basement. Nothing kills a sale faster than signs of water damage. Invest your time and money fixing those details otherwise your house will last longer in the market or you will not get your asking price.

 Weigh your costs vs. the potential value increase. Do not over – renovate.

Keep in mind the type of neighborhood when renovating. The actual returns on renovations depend not only on the renovations itself but also on how your home compares to your neighbors’. If your home is already above market value for your neighborhood, your renovation may not yield a higher return. Buyers looking at moderately priced homes won’t be able to pay a premium for luxury finishes.  Talk to your Realtor to give you an assessment of homes in your area before embarking on costly renovations.

Clean and reorganize

Most buyers get distracted and cannot see beyond mess, clutter or harsh colors. Your house will feel a lot bigger and more inviting when you get rid of all the non-essential stuff lying around your house. Cleaning is the single most cost effective way to make your home more attractive to buyers. Floors, windows, walls, doors, baseboards, everything! Give extra care and attention to the two most important rooms in a buyer’s mind: bathrooms and kitchens. Once it’s clean, keep it clean! You never know what day your ideal buyer will visit.

Depersonalize your home

Remember, you want buyers to walk through your house and feel like it’s their home, not yours! People just don’t have good visual imagination. They won’t see past your cluttered wall of family portraits, unique  home deco or your collection. Let’s keep them focus! These things are guaranteed to prevent buyers from emotionally placing themselves in your home and miss the most important features of the home.

Brighten and lighten

The power of paint! It is quite common the light-filled rooms are most appealing to buyers. Make your home look elegant, bright and full of life. Strong colors on the walls or wild wallpaper make it hard for buyers to imagine their furniture in your house. Keep all the lights on when showing the property, even during the day. If you house has dark colors and you want to increase the chances to sell, then a neutral colored paint brighten the space and make your home look fresh and new.

Staging Empty rooms

In some cases, empty rooms make it hard for buyers to get a good sense of the space especially large rooms. Irregular size or shaped rooms make it hard for buyers to visualize how to arrange the room, see the purpose of the room or its potential, hence staging your empty property with the right furniture is key to ensuring that buyers will be able to visualize the living in the space, furniture, lifestyle or get some good ideas about the room.

Create an elegant, fresh, fun or friendly atmosphere on the mind of the buyer

Set the dinner table for a formal dinner, light the fireplace on a cold day, and add some fresh flowers to your décor. Creating the proper atmosphere helps buyers envision themselves living in your home.

Smells or Odors,

Make sure your house smell clean and fresh. Do not use strong perfumes most buyers are sensitive to certain smells whether perfume or cleaning chemicals is and they will not want to stay longer to see your house. Also, some buyers might think you are hiding something. If you cook, open the windows and make sure fresh air come into the house.  If you smoke, try to get ride of the smell, this might reduce the value of your home or will reduce the chances to sell your house faster.

Keep it Simple

Keep your décor simple and modern with neutral wall colors. Unusual accessories and strong/bright wall colors might some buyers that your house is not for them.  

  Raquel Ireta

Your Realtor in Ottawa.