Adequately preparing your home before putting it on the market will help you successfully sell it. There are some important steps to take that can drastically improve your home’s appeal, ensuring it will sell for the best price and in a timely manner. Here’s our home seller’s checklist to help you get ready.

Preparing Your Home for Market

We highly recommend listing your home at least three months before your ideal “closing date”. The listing date is an important factor and it’s crucial to make data-driven decisions. That’s where a real estate agent with expertise comes in to inform and guide you through the process. An experienced, local real estate agent knows the market and can help you properly prepare your home. Agents can point out necessary changes, but it is important that you take care of any projects you have been avoiding so that everything is done before your listing date.

Decluttering

Since you will be moving, jump-start the packing process by decluttering your home. Don’t forget to donate unwanted items to Goodwill or the local Rotary Auction.

• Clutter and random items should be packed away, including most or all of your family or personal photos. This gives the prospective buyer a chance to envision themselves in your home.
• If you can move out and allow your agent to stage your home, this will take all of the responsibility off your plate. Here are the benefits of staging your home.

Appearance and Hardware

Before putting your home on the market, take a look at your home’s overall appearance and hardware.

Ask yourself a few questions:

• When was the last coat of fresh paint? (Inside and outside)
• Is the landscaping up to your standards? Are there any patches of dead grass or any dying trees?
• What condition is the flooring in?
• Is the hardware in your home working properly? (Sink hardware, doors, windows, light fixtures, and appliances)

Agents Are Your Best Resource

Any good home seller’s checklist makes one thing clear: it takes work to properly get your home ready to sell. But if you have a great agent, they will help you every step of the way and make this the best experience possible. Here’s what they can do so that it’s not up to you to navigate all of this on your own.

• Help prevent and reduce stress
• Project manage the process of selling your home
• Provide you with a list of priorities
• Offer their up-to-date market expertise
• Utilize their global marketing network and their local connections to excellent stagers, photographers, landscapers, home-repair contractors, etc.

Our Windermere Bainbridge Island real estate agents go above and beyond for their clients. As highly knowledgeable locals, they possess decades of experience and are invested in our community.

Before Showings

Once your home is ready to be listed, here are some key tips for when your home is being shown.

• Due to the current pandemic, it is important to know the latest CDC guidelines and specific safety standards that the real estate industry is following.
• Make sure your home is set at a comfortable temperature. Usually mid to high 60s is appropriate.
• Light up your home: turn on all the lights inside, and in the evenings turn on your exterior lights.
• Are you a pet person? Make sure to keep them in a separate area, and if you have cats, remove or hide the litter boxes.
• Hide money and valuable items.
• Open up all drapes and curtains to fill your home with as much natural light as you can.
• Interior doors should all be open except for closets.

During Showings

Sometimes showings can become constant. If you are unable to leave during the showing period, here are some helpful tips.

• A buyer will likely feel more comfortable and spend more time in your home if you are not there.
• Try to keep your distance, and keep children and pets quiet and out of the way.
• Don’t interrupt or follow potential buyers through your home.
• Allow the agent to show and sell your home. Rely on their expertise.

Additional Resources

For more information, download our Market Prep Guide and our Pre-Listing Checklist. We also have an extensive Guide to Selling a Home which provides information about the home inspection, settlement and closing, moving, and terms often used. And, if you need further assistance, you’re welcome to contact us.