If you’re getting ready to sell, taking time to clean, stage and prepare your home for sale will set you up for success so you can sell quickly and for top dollar. Knowing where to invest your time and money will ensure you receive the greatest return on your investment.

It’s a good idea to start prepping your home as soon as you decide to sell. Giving yourself time to declutter, clean, repair, and stage will pay off in the end. You want to create an inviting space with potential buyers picturing themselves moving in and making the house their own.

How do I prepare my house for sale?

1. It’s all about presentation

If you’ve been living and creating memories in your home for years, letting go can be a challenging and emotional time. It helps to look at your existing home as a product you wish to sell. (With all those great memories coming with you). You want to present your house to appeal to as many buyers as possible and have them envision moving in.

2. Prep for packing

It’s the perfect time to pack up any items you won’t need until moving into your new house. Head over to Home Depot for moving boxes and a tape gun – and start imagining the excitement you’ll feel as you head into your new space! Standardized boxes specifically designed for moving are sturdy and stack nicely.

Use this handy chart to determine how many packing boxes you’ll need:

Housing Type	Number of Boxes
Studio Apartment	10-20
1-Bedroom Apartment	20-40
2-Bedroom Apartment	40-60
2-Bedroom House	60-80
3-Bedroom House	80-100
4-Bedroom House	100-120

3. Purge and declutter

If countertops, drawers, and cabinets are overflowing, it can give the impression that there isn’t enough storage space in the house. It’s time to make the tough choices on what to donate, toss, or keep. Take stock of everything in your home. Ask yourself, if this was gone, would I miss or replace it? If the answer is no, maybe it’s time to let it go.

Once you’ve created your keep, toss, and donate piles, pack up the items you won’t need until you’re in the new house. Create a section in your garage to neatly pack your boxes and keep them out of sight.

4. Depersonalize

You want to appeal to as many buyers as possible, so it’s best to keep furniture, paint colours, and décor neutral and simple. Take down family photos, heirlooms, or other personal items that reflect your unique style. Not because you don’t have impeccable taste, but to help potential buyers picture how they would incorporate their style into the space.

Also, remove anything you would exclude from the sale. If they don’t see it, they can’t ask for it.

5. Deep Clean

After you’ve sorted, purged, and decluttered, it’s time for a good deep clean. Focus on areas that may not get regular attention, like shower grout and window sills. It’s also an excellent time to check the carpets for areas that need steam cleaning. Consider hiring a company to do this job for you. Did you know that The David Bradica Team includes this as part of the selling process? We do!

6. Call Your Realtor

It’s the perfect time for us to drop by with input and suggestions specific to your home. We’re experts in what buyers are looking for and can help you focus your efforts to make the most significant impact. There is nothing worse than spending your time and money on things that don’t end up making you a return on your sale. We’ll be able to help you maximize your efforts and ensure your time and effort pay off in the end!

Learn how our tailored home-selling process helps you achieve a successful sale.

7. Repaint

Nothing brightens a space like a fresh coat of paint! As a general rule of thumb, light, neutral colours appeal to most buyers and help the house look bright, clean and open. If a total repaint isn’t necessary, touching up picture holes or marks on the walls and baseboards will give your house a boost.

8. Freshen gardens

Once you’re ready to prepare your home for sale, don’t forget about the exterior. Small efforts like freshening gardens with new plants, pulling weeds, adding mulch, and keeping the lawn mowed, will go a long way to creating incredible curb appeal. (And don’t forget to take stock of any special perennials you want to take with you).

9. Up your curb appeal

Potential buyers start deciding within seconds, so the outside of your house needs to make a great first impression. Reseal the driveway, fix loose bricks, and power wash the exterior. Look at your home at night and optimize outdoor lighting because potential buyers may stop by in the evenings.

10. Make small repairs

Making minor upgrades to light fixtures, showerheads, and faucets can have an immense impact on a space with minimal cost. If buyers spot areas in need of repair, it can send a red flag that there are more significant problems behind the scenes. To avoid this, we suggest taking care of those minor repairs now. We all have that list of to-dos that never seem to get done…now is the time to unstick the sliding door, replace the ripped window screen, or tighten the leaky faucet.

While you prepare your home for sale, try to get into the mindset of an interested buyer. Walk through the house, looking at every angle through their eyes. Take care of anything that jumps out at you in need of repair.

While it may seem like a lot of effort upfront, taking the time to prepare your home for sale will pay off in the long run. Put your best foot forward, and you’ll have interested buyers lining up!

If you’re preparing to sell and need a professional real estate team on your side, we’re here to help.