Preparing Your Austin Home to Sell

Do you know why one home with the same square footage and similar location sells for more than another home?

It's careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home. Here are some tips on how to prep your house and turn it into an irresistible home. Let's face it–you probably know most of this already.

Two Week Makeover: scrutinize and check curb appeal

Consider a quick makeover to improve your home's appeal, making it sell faster, and perhaps for a greater price.

  • Paint or replace your front door and clean up the front entry. Tidy up landscaping.
  • Paint neutral colors on the inside
  • Rent a storage unit–almost every home shows better with less furniture.
  • Examine carefully how furniture is arranged and move pieces around until it makes sense.

Give the buyer the impression that your home has been well maintained.

Don't let little defects detract from your home's value.  When a buyer sees things that need fixing, they see dollar signs, and begin to wonder what else might need work that they can't see. Be sure to repair loose knobs, sticking doors, and fix any leaky faucets.

Clear the Clutter

Remove all unnecessary articles from your closets and garage. Your knick-knacks won't have the same sentimental value to potential buyers and will distract from your home. Look around your home to determine where you can reduce a cluttered appearance.  Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.

Clean Until Everything is Sparkling

Clean windows and appliances. Steam clean or replace carpets. Glue back peeling wallpaper, bleach any dirty grout, repair caulking, and remove mildew. Splurge on new fluffy towels.

Now that your home has been visually staged, here are some suggestions geared toward helping your home to show easily and effectively:

  1. Try to be somewhere else during showings so buyers are comfortable asking questions and are relaxed when they view your home.
  2. You might have classical music playing in the background to create a soothing ambiance.
  3. Adios Fido–remove pets and thier feeding dishes and litter boxes.
  4. Have maintenance and utility records available for the past 12 months.
  5. Make it light and bright–open the curtains and blinds and turn on all lights during every showing.