To begin with you have to remember that you will be marketing to others, and not getting ready for a open house to visit with friends. You have to realize that your objective is to view your home as a product to be marketed. With most of us that have lived in our homes for a while this is a difficult procedure. So you have to prepare yourself by distancing your emotions from the process.
Firstly, most of us believe that our homes are worth more than the actual market will bear. Be realistic when pricing or you may be in for a long drawn out experience. The best options is to have a professional prepare a Comparative Market Analysis for your home. Then take out your calculator and really dig in to decide how much profit you have to make for your move to work. Develop a range to start with and then come up with your "bottom dollar" figure. This is the price that you cannot go below. Keep in mind that this is not the listing price of your home, but it helps you understand before the process starts where you need to stop and walk away during negotiations.
Next if your home is more than a few years old consider having a professional home inspection. This will assure you that no surprises will come up later on and cause problems with a potential buyer. The cost is small when compared to the stress that can come up later.
Now stand back and take a long hard look at your house. Be as objective as possible. If this is a problem ask for help from friends or relatives. Assure them that you will not be offended, and to please be frank with their opinions. Overlooking problems could cost you more money in the future. Paint that dark colored room a neutral color. Work on that cluttered closet. Your objective is to make the home feel as open and light as possible. If you have to much "stuff" rent a storage facility to get rid of the clutter.
Take the necessary steps to make your house stand out from any of the competition in your neighborhood. Fresh paint, clean carpet and great curb appeal can go a long way to getting the price you want.
Here comes the difficult task that may bother you the most. It is ok to have a few family photos, but be sure that to remove that family shrine that lines your hallway. You need to depersonalize the property as much as possible. The buyers have to be able to make it theres and if you have your family history represented in every room this will make it difficult for them to visualize.
We hope this is helpful. Please feel free to ask any questions or make any comments.
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