Pop quiz! Which one of these do home sellers find most stressful?
- Not knowing if they can sell within their desired time frame
- Getting a home ready to sell
- Not knowing if buyers are seriously interested
Most people guess “B” — after all, getting ready to sell your house can create all types of anxiety and stress.
But according to a recent Zillow consumer survey, the correct answer is A.
And this makes complete sense.
Many homeowners have doubts about being able to sell within their desired time frame because they’re unsure of:
- What steps to execute
- How long the process might take
- What improvements are truly necessary.
These doubts at the beginning of the selling process often make sellers anxious, which can easily lead to poor decisions.
And poor decisions are why homes sit on the market — and sell for less than market value.
Want to avoid this?
Then you need to know which actions to take and when.
Here are the steps (and key tips) to getting your house ready to sell.
1. Plan your home selling strategy
Having a solid plan is critical to successfully selling your home.
Why?
Because understanding your local market, setting clear goals, and establishing a realistic timeline will provide the foundation for every step of the home selling process.
Which means you’ll be better prepared to navigate pricing, attract buyers, and close with confidence.
Here are a few actionable steps to help you create your home selling strategy.
Adopt a seller’s mindset
Start seeing your house as a product.
You don’t have to let go of all memories attached to your home — instead, think about how buyers may experience this space differently than you do.
Because that’s what potential buyers are going to do.
And those potential buyers make emotional decisions.
You can benefit from that emotional decision-making if you adjust your frame of mind.
This is why it’s important to take an objective stance.
In other words, don’t make biased decisions as you’re getting your house ready to sell.
Now is the time to start thinking of selling your home as a business transaction.
Because that’s what it is.
Determine your selling goal
Are you focused on selling quickly?
Or is maximizing your profit the top priority?
Your answer can significantly shape your selling strategy.
For example, if speed is key, you might choose to sell your home as-is to save time and avoid repair costs.
On the other hand, if getting top dollar matters most, investing in repairs, improvements, and staging could yield a higher return.
Identifying goals up front sets the stage for a smoother process when getting a house ready to sell.
Which is why determining your primary selling goal should be at the top of your list of things to do before selling.
Research your local real estate market
Your local housing market plays a major role in your selling timeline, strategy, and potential price.
You can gain a better understanding of your market by researching what other home sellers are doing in your area.
Check real estate websites for active listings and recently sold homes.
Compare your home’s condition, features, and amenities to similar properties to identify upgrades that might add value.
Pay attention to how long active listings have been on the market and review the “days on market” for recently sold homes.
This will give you a clearer picture of how long it might take to sell your house.
And how much time you might need to spend getting your house ready to sell.
By doing your research, you’ll also gain insight into pricing trends and set more realistic expectations for the home selling process.
2. Optimize your home’s space
Homebuyers will pay close attention to your rooms and storage space during showings and open houses.
So expect every detail of your property to be under scrutiny as buyers imagine themselves living there.
That’s why it’s crucial to make your home’s interior feel spacious, clean, and inviting — it helps buyers see its full potential.
If you’re moving before selling, then staging your home will be crucial (more on this shortly).
If you’ll still be in the home while it’s listed, then removing things that take up too much space is vital.
Organize and remove clutter
Decluttering and getting organized might seem overwhelming (and time-consuming) –– but it doesn’t have to be.
The key is to create a plan of attack when preparing your home for buyers.
First, list all the areas in your home that need to be cleaned and organized.
And set a timeline for completing each task.
Once you have a plan, it’s time to start sorting.
Create three piles: keep, donate, and discard.
Be ruthless when deciding what to keep — if you haven’t used an item in over a year, it’s probably time to let it go.
Focus on high-traffic areas such as the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms, as buyers will pay close attention to these spaces.
Make sure these rooms are free of clutter and disorganization.
And be sure to remove personal items like family photos to make it easier for buyers to imagine themselves living in your house.
You can invest in practical storage solutions like shelves, baskets, or containers to keep your belongings neat and organized.
And it’s okay to store items in your garage.
Prospective buyers will want to peek in there, but storing items in your garage won’t leave a negative impression.
3. Hire a good real estate agent
Homeowners face an important choice when preparing to sell their home: work with a realtor or list it as For Sale By Owner (FSBO).
FSBO might seem appealing if you’re focused on cutting costs.
But in most cases, partnering with an experienced real estate agent is the smarter choice.
Why?
Because a skilled agent doesn’t just help with pricing and marketing — they can also help you make decisions throughout the process of getting ready that will maximize your profits and minimize stress.
Despite these benefits, many sellers delay hiring a listing agent until right before putting their home on the market.
This hesitation usually stems from two common misconceptions:
- They don’t think an agent will help them with pre-sale preparation.
- They want to handle everything themselves before involving an agent.
But one of the advantages of working with a realtor is gaining expert advice early in the process.
This is why you should consider hiring the right listing agent ahead of time.
You’ll be in a much better position to save time, money, and stress.
In my opinion, these are the four most important qualities you should look for in a good realtor to sell your house:
- Relevant selling experience: Your real estate agent’s resume should include homes sold in your area that are similar to yours, both in property type and price range.
- Low dual agency: Agents with a history of low dual agency (mainly representing only the seller rather than both parties in a sale) demonstrate prioritizing client interests over dual commissions. This is critical because it reflects an agent’s integrity and trustworthiness.
- A great reputation: Working with a realtor who has a history of being reputable is important. The best real estate agents will have stellar reviews from previous seller clients.
- Will let you cancel the listing agreement: Ensure any listing agreement you’re asked to sign has a cancellation clause. This will help keep your listing agent motivated to sell your home.
4. Schedule a pre-sale home inspection
A pre-sale home inspection can help address potential concerns before a buyer even makes an offer.
That’s why it’s one of the smartest investments you can make when getting your home ready to sell.
The fewer issues potential buyers uncover, the less likely they are to:
- Back out of the sale
- Request repairs after their offer is accepted.
But getting a home inspection before selling doesn’t mean you need to fix anything before listing your property.
That’s completely optional.
You can get an inspection and still sell as-is.
The important thing is that you’re providing potential buyers with the information they need to feel confident about the price and terms of their offer.
And that benefit far outweighs the cost (~$300-$700, depending on the property’s location and size).
There are two ways to order a home inspection:
- Search online and contact a local inspector yourself.
- Get a recommendation from your real estate agent.
Once you have the inspection report, use it to guide you on which repairs are worth making and which ones you can ignore.
5. Improve your home’s appearance
Repairs and updates are critical if you’re hoping to maximize your profits when selling your home.
Making fixes and upgrades can remove signs of neglect and make your home more appealing.
This is how you can get buyers to compete and drive up the sale price.
But the key is to make the right fixes and upgrades.
Too many sellers waste time and money on home improvements that don’t bring a return on investment.
They focus on big-ticket items like a new kitchen rather than simple, affordable solutions like cheap landscaping, cleaning, and painting.
Here are the factors to keep in mind when making updates as you prepare to put your house up for sale.
Make important repairs
Repairs are all about removing major deterrents that could turn buyers away.
But how do you know the most important things to fix when selling a house?
First, refer to the summary of items mentioned in your home inspection.
Unless your house is newly built, you’re going to see items called out in the report.
These can include things such as:
- Plumbing leaks
- Non-functioning windows
- Missing GFI electrical outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms
- Appliances that don’t work
- Missing smoke detectors in the bedrooms and hallways leading to bedrooms
- Termite damage.
The key is to only spend time on repairs that will positively impact buyers.
Go over the report with your real estate agent to get recommendations about which repairs make sense.
Then decide whether you want to do the work yourself or hire a handyman/contractor.
Your agent should have contacts if you want to avoid the DIY approach.
Consider money-making improvements
Certain upgrades will make your house more attractive to future homeowners.
Things such as renovated bathrooms, new flooring, a remodeled kitchen — all these selling points can assist you in swiftly moving your house off the market.
But they can also burn a hole in your pocket.
Only certain improvements will increase your home’s value more than what they cost you.
Usually, these are the upgrades that put a nice finishing touch on a certain part of your house.
Here’s what I mean…
Let’s say your kitchen is in pretty good shape but has older tile or Corian countertops.
Upgrading your countertops to something like quartz can make a massive difference.
Or maybe your kitchen is in good shape with upgraded countertops, but you have white (or black) appliances.
Upgrading to stainless steel appliances can pay off big time.
Perhaps your home doesn’t need any major renovations but hasn’t been painted in a long time (or has a unique paint color that doesn’t appeal to everyone).
Applying a fresh coat of paint in neutral colors can make it visually attractive to a larger pool of buyers.
Low-cost improvements can make you more money too — things such as:
- Improving your home’s curb appeal with color
- Replacing bathroom and kitchen fixtures
- Painting your front door
- Upgrading light fixtures and replacing light bulbs.
The point?
Making upgrades to your house will help you sell faster and for more money.
But making the right upgrades will get you the biggest bang for your buck.
6. Stage your home for the right buyer
Staging your home is one of the smartest investments you can make when getting ready to sell.
Why?
Because a furnished home is much more appealing to a potential buyer than an empty one.
It makes it a whole lot easier for them to picture themselves living in your house.
And it reduces the number of potential concerns buyers may have during showings and open houses.
Staging also allows you to tailor the look and feel of the property to the preferences of your ideal buyer.
Make sure you deep clean your home before it’s staged.
Remove any excess furniture (consider an offsite storage unit) to help create an open and inviting atmosphere.
Next, consider what features your ideal audience is looking for in a home.
For example, if your target buyer is a young family, you’ll want to stage one or two of your bedrooms as kids’ rooms.
Adding child-friendly features, such as a play area or childproofing measures, can also make your home more appealing to these buyers.
Targeting single professionals?
Incorporating a sleek, modern design throughout your home may work best — as will staging one of your rooms as a home office.
The important thing is to take an objective stance when staging a house for sale.
This means being open to advice from your agent and/or a professional stager when discussing things like colors, decor, and furniture placement.
And yes, you should consider hiring a professional stager (some agents will even cover the cost for higher-priced homes).
Making a home more appealing to specific buyers is what they do for a living.
The icing on the cake once your house is staged?
Hiring a professional photographer to capture high-quality photos.
Listing photos that pop will make potential buyers want to view your home in person.
7. Determine the right listing price
The price you list your home at will directly impact your final selling price.
Your goal should be to find the sweet spot between overpricing and underpricing your home.
Hitting the mark on your “asking” price can help you create competition among buyers and avoid selling for less than your house is worth.
But it’s also important to time your pricing decision right — as close to when you list your home as possible.
Why?
Market trends change by the week, and you may not know exactly what improvements you’ll complete until the end.
Finalizing your asking price toward the end of the process will help you make the most accurate decision.
So, how do you determine the best listing price?
You can get an appraisal before selling your house, but this provides more generic data.
You’ll get the most accurate (and realistic) price opinion if you’re working with an experienced, qualified agent.
They can do this by putting together a comparative market analysis (CMA).
This analysis compares your home with the most comparable properties recently sold in your local market.
The best analysis will include accurate price adjustments that account for the differences between your home and the comparable properties, like:
- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- Interior square footage
- Lot size
- Condition
- Proximity to noise.
The important thing is to make sure you’re using the right comps and making the right price adjustments.
This is why pricing a home with the right data cracks our list of the top tips for selling your home.
Final steps to get ready for a successful sale
Getting a house ready to sell can be overwhelming.
But you can get through the process smoothly with a clear strategy, careful decision-making, and an experienced agent guiding you through the steps.
Choosing the right agent can radically simplify the task of preparation.
They’ll help you choose the right repairs, optimize your space, deal with paperwork, and make your home more appealing to your target buyers.
SoldNest makes it easy to find the ideal agent. Our real estate agent screening process vets agents so you don’t have to worry about choosing the right one.
This way, you can confidently get your house ready and put yourself in the best position to sell faster and for the maximum price.
