How to Prepare Your Home for Sale

Selling your home is an exciting, rewarding, and let’s face it—stressful experience. There’s no easy way to sell a home, but it is possible to make the process as smooth as possible. Whether you’re considering hiring a real estate agent or you’ve already signed the listing agreement, here’s what you can expect moving forward. By taking the next steps, you’ll encourage the right sale at the best price.

Home Assessments & Consultations

First, the logistics: obtaining documents, gathering records, and ensuring compliance.

Assessments You’ll need to schedule necessary assessments or inspections for your home. There are a handful of documents required before you sell the home. Your real estate agent will give you a list of items to complete before you can officially open your home to buyers. This list can include, but is not limited to:

• Pest inspection
• Home appraisal
• Insurance claims report
• Title report
• Home inspections
• Smart home logins (if relevant)

Repairs, Maintenance, and Cleaning

Time for the manual work: home repairs and physical preparation.

Repairs & Maintenance After you’ve completed important home assessments and consultations, there may be some home items that need repair. Common maintenance or replacement tasks can include:

• Upgrade appliances
• Fix leaky faucets
• Fix cosmetic damages
• Fix minor and major malfunctions
• Ensure all home systems work
• Replace CO2/smoke detectors
• Make sure the AC works well and is well-maintained

Getting these repairs and maintenance tasks covered helps you attract top buyers. It also gives you and the future homeowner peace of mind that there won’t be any major issues upon their move-in.

Consultations Depending on the type of listing agreement you have, this could also be when you set a competitive price for your home. Consult with a real estate agent to set an optimal selling price. You may go over market trends, competitive pricing, special amenities, home history, and more.

Focus on Curb Appeal

Homes don’t sell at their full potential without some curb appeal. Work on improving the outside appearance of your home, which can involve:

• Landscaping: Keep your grass looking neat and tidy. Edging the grass makes a huge difference. If you have any palm trees, take off the dead leaves—it's an easy fix that can really spruce things up.
• Exterior painting: Because the sun shines here all the time, look out for faded paint. If the exterior paint is looking a little worn, a quick coat can refresh the look.
• Pressure washing: Give your driveway a good pressure wash. It can really brighten up the entrance to your home.
• Dock maintenance: If you have a dock, don’t forget about it. Make sure it’s presentable, add some oil to the deck if needed.

In addition to curb appeal, it’s a good idea to enhance the listing appeal. Work with your realtor to learn about professional photography options and marketing materials that suit your home.

Interior Cleaning and Presentation

Start decluttering and cleaning! You have to “depersonalize” the home as much as possible, so potential buyers can envision themselves living there. Decluttering also makes it easier for you and your family to move out. Give the home a thorough cleaning inside and out. Pay attention to details on aesthetic parts of the home such as carpets, windows, walls, appliances, and yards. Specific focus should be on:

• Bathrooms: Make sure the bathrooms are spotless. This is an easy turn-off to buyers.
• General cleanliness: The cleaner you can get the house, the more return you will see. It can cost you $10k or more in the selling price.

Showings & Open Houses

You’ve completed all the important steps, and you’ve improved your home’s curb appeal, which leads to the most important moment: opening up your home for showings.

Here are some essential steps to prepare you for the final process of selling!

Staging: Create an inviting space inside the home, opting for neutral decor that appeals to a wide range of homebuyers. You can hire a professional to help you stage or do it yourself.

Showing: Coordinate with your realtor to schedule open houses and showings. They will work to attract buyers and show off your home’s best attributes.

Best of luck! Open house is an exciting and sometimes emotional phase of the selling process. You may want to consider preparing yourself emotionally ahead of time to make it easier on you and your family. Remember, while homes aren’t permanent, the memories you made there are.

The journey to a successful close begins with your real estate agent, but also with you! Your cooperation and attitude throughout the selling process are important, so it’s helpful to know the main expectations beforehand. With these insights, you’ll be able to complete the required steps in how to prepare your home for sale. If you have any questions, reach out! We’re here to help you every step of the way.

Ready to Sell Your Home?

If you’re ready to prepare your Florida home for sale and want expert guidance, contact Elizabeth Steele, PA at MVP Realty. Let’s make your home-selling journey smooth and successful!

For more tips on selling your home, check out our previous blog post, Home Seller Negotiation Secrets.

Elizabeth Steele PA
Professional Real Estate Consultant
MVP Realty
Email: esteelerealestate@gmail.com
Phone: 239-370-5988