5 Steps to Getting Your Home Ready for the Market

Recently, I was asked by the Central Illinois Rental Property Professionals to write an article for their blog on getting your Champaign home ready for the market. It was a fun article for me to put together and I thought I'd share it here on my own blog, as well. Please know that an experienced real estate agent can step in and help you with all of these things... you don't have to go it alone :-)

Thanks for reading!

5 Steps to Getting Your Home Ready for the Market

1. Size Up Your Competition

A large part of preparing your home for the market involves scoping out the neighborhood competition to see what’s been selling vs. what’s been lingering with a “for sale” sign, and using that information to position your own home to sell. Research recent home sales in your neighborhood, consider attending open houses and get a feel for what similar homes in your area have been selling for in recent months. In order to properly prep your home and price your home, this is the best information to use as guidance.

2. Clean Up and De-Clutter

The way you LIVE in your home and the way you SELL your Champaign home are (for most people) two completely different things! It’s okay to use the dining room as your cluttered home office while you’re living there. But once you put your home on the market, the dining room needs to look like...a dining room. And it needs to be paperwork-free! Normally, it’s okay to have a collection of knick-knacks in every room. But once you go on the market, you’ll need to put the vast majority of that stuff away. Aim for clean and clutter-free throughout the house.

3. Take Care of the "Little Fixes"

In all likelihood the potential buyer for your home will have a home inspection, but there are little things you can fix before you go on the market that can 1. keep the buyer from being scared off from the start, and 2. help the home inspection go much smoother. Examples of “little fixes” would be: repairing dripping faucets, replacing lightbulbs that are out, fixing any broken window panes, cleaning out the gutters, having your HVAC system serviced if overdue, etc. Leaving potential buyers with the impression that your Champaign home is well cared for can go a long way in getting your home sold.

4. Consider Inexpensive Upgrades

Depending on your competition, it can be a good idea to do a few inexpensive upgrades to your home before putting it on the market. Some things you can do to improve your home’s “look” without spending much include: changing out the hardware on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, installing modern light fixtures, painting walls a neutral color, and replacing old curtains with something modern and fresh. A small investment here and there can pay off in a big way.

5. Get An Unbiased Opinion

One thing that can easily get in the way of selling your home is the inability to put aside your emotional attachment to the home and focus on the facts. The home is your personal space and seeing your home through the eyes of a potential buyer can be difficult. It may be a good idea to ask a friend or a professional, someone whose opinion you trust, to help you evaluate the home. It’s likely this person will bring things to your attention that you’ve gotten so used to seeing on a daily basis that you stopped noticing. The sale of a home is a huge endeavor...ask for help when you need it!