Even if the air has a wintery chill and snow patches remain on the ground, the spring real estate market really is right around the corner. Spring is THE home real estate season and it is a great time to buy and sell your home. Eager buyers will be looking for the home of their dreams, and your home could be the exact property to fulfill their needs. In order to attract a serious buyer in this competitive season, your home needs to be in shape now to show well for the spring real estate season.

Top Tips to Get Ready to Sell Your House in the Spring

1. Declutter

Before you do anything, you want your home to feel light and spacious for anyone entering it or viewing it online from pictures or video. Clutter and excess personal items will interrupt a future buyer from imagining themselves living in your home. Store personal photos and mementos and donate or sell anything you have not used in at least a year.

Decluttering means removing furniture to create empty spaces and remove items that look messy and disorganized. Remove books from bookcases, knick-knacks and items from tables, and store away everything off your kitchen counters.
Any daily use items can be put in small containers and stored in closets when not in use. If this process feels daunting, consider this the first step in packing your home to move into your next dream home.

2. Do a Comprehensive Spring Cleaning

Your home needs to create an ambience of light and brightness for any visitor. Deep clean your home or hire someone to do it. Clean the windows, remove cobwebs, scrub sliding door tracks, countertops, floors, mirrors, ceiling fans, light fixtures, baseboards – everything.

More light- Pay particular attention to areas that bring in the natural light and heighten the light and bright aspects of your home, including deep cleaning of windows, mirrors, countertops. Let the shine through.  Additionally, change dim or dirty light bulbs to highlight your features in darker areas of your home.

Floors and carpeting – Floors are a center point of your home, and how they look will create a positive or negative impression. The floors should be spotless and shiny whether you own linoleum, tile, hardwood, or vinyl flooring. Carpets should be steam cleaned and spot treated on soiled areas.

Eliminate odours – Funky odours can turn off prospective buyers immediately. Cleaning carpets will help, and so will a deep cleaning of your home, but still pay attention to the aromas. Avoid overusing high fragrance sprays and consider adding in scents like fresh flowers and bring some colour and life to a dining room table or kitchen.

3. Make Repairs and Minor Improvements

Making costly home renovations is not always necessary to sell your home and not all renovations will improve the value of your home either. Often, buyers make their own changes to suit their desires. However, we strongly recommend you freshen up your home by applying a coat of paint to walls, trim, and touch-up high traffic areas to remove gashes and marks.

Focus on making improvements to focal areas like kitchens and bathrooms. Buyers pay attention to renovations and upgrades to these two rooms and smaller updates can vastly improve their overall impression. These useful updates can include replacing old and rusted light fixtures, switch plates, doorknobs, and other hardware. Additionally, replacing caulk and grout in the bathroom can also create a neat and clean appearance.

4. Curb Appeal

The front door and the area around it will be the first impression the buyer will see. Make your front entrance inviting with clean and tasteful hardware and a fresh coat of paint on the door. Clean up leaves, weeds, and put out seasonal planters as accents to brighten up the entrance.

5. Find the Right Partner to Sell Your Home

Before you sell your home, your most important task is finding the right agent or real estate team to represent your interests. The right agent will have experience and knowledge of the area and the market. This person will perform a detailed analysis to back up their recommendations. Expect your agent to prepare a great marketing plan, help you set the right price, qualify buyers, and expertly negotiate and finalize the deal.

It is never too early to get your home ready for the spring market! 

Find out how the Chell Team can help you sell your home. Contact us today for a no-obligation call to see if we are the right fit for you.