The golden rule of getting ready to sell your house: Prep As If The Scariest Mother-In-Law In The World (Or Maybe Martha Stewart) Is On Her Way Over.
Think about who you would be most intimidated to have over for dinner. Prepare the house as if he or she is coming over, and then prepare it more. Obviously this means cleaning everything within an inch of its life, but beyond that:
1. Pack away anything that doesn’t add to the space. This means clutter, of course, but when you’re trying to make your house appeal to the widest number of people, you also want to remove all things related to animals and babies (yes, yours are cute, but nobody needs to be reminded of litterboxes or the wonders of Baby Einstein when they are looking at a potential new home).
2. Remove 2/3 of the tchotchkes in each room. This means framed pictures, bits and bobs, and definitely the collection of Apple Dolls you inherited from your Aunt Clovis (click the link; they’re terrifying).
3. Leave only the furniture that adds appeal. Some people say that it’s best to show a house completely empty, but that’s just not realistic if you haven’t purchased or rented another place yet. And while select furnishings can help give potential buyers an understanding of how to use the space, you certainly don’t want your furniture decreasing the space’s appeal…so now is the time to toss or store outdated, rickety, or otherwise unpretty pieces. Keep only those items that make the space feel chic and light.
4. Clear out the closets…but not totally. Even if it’s theoretically possible for you to take everything out of your closets during the home-selling process, you don’t really need to – just removing half of the objects in each closet helps potential buyers see (and make sense of) the storage space available.
5. White and bright and light from top to bottom. If your kid’s room is turquoise or you put a red “statement wall” in the dining room, that’s great. For you. Paint your place white.
6. Spruce up those baseboards. Magic Eraser, heyyy!
7. No grossness. If your bathtub and/or oven are unconscionably gross, put in a new one. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It just can’t be gross.
8. Work with what you have. No need to invest when you can MacGuyver, right? In the photo above, a pretty white blanket tucked neatly around a dark, dated futon makes a huge difference in terms of how the room photographed. And to that point, remember that when taking photographs of a space you can always move pieces around to capture the best angles, and reuse things like plants and pillows in various rooms.
9. Plants. Plants (fake or real; choose your own adventure) do wonders to bring life and energy to a space. Another good idea: Add a few pretty, inexpensive annuals out front to add color and up the curb appeal.
10. Consider hiring a professional stager. If you’re moving out prior to the sale and the house will be empty, you may want to hire a company to bring in some simple pieces to make the house look cozy and pretty and live-in-able.
Coldwell Banker is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License Number 01866771. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but has not been verified. Changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal may be made without notice. No statement is made as to accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footage are approximate.