{"id":16268,"date":"2024-08-20T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T11:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=16268"},"modified":"2025-12-01T02:59:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T10:59:48","slug":"getting-your-home-ready-to-sell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/getting-your-home-ready-to-sell\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in 9 Easy Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Selling your home may feel overwhelming, but it doesn\u2019t have to be complicated. You can make a great impression with buyers and whip your house into shape, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-to-get-house-ready-to-sell\/\">getting your home ready to sell<\/a> without breaking the bank. By putting in a little effort before you list your home, you can save yourself hours of time and avoid pitfalls down the road.<\/p>\n<p>Wondering how to get your house ready to sell? First, before you list your home, it\u2019s smart to connect with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-real-estate-agents\">top-performing agent in your area<\/a>. Seasoned agents can help you check all the boxes and sell your home quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Also, if you have any flexibility in your selling schedule, it\u2019s a good idea to time your home sale to line up with seasonal demand in your local market. Before you sell, check out HomeLight\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/best-time-to-sell-house\">best time to sell calculator<\/a>. It will show you the best time to sell your property for the highest value. Once you\u2019ve taken care of those two important items, follow our checklist below for 9 must-do steps to getting your home ready to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">Get Your Home in Top Shape to Sell with a Top Agent<\/h3>\n                        <p>One of the most important aspects of getting your home ready to sell is getting your team in place, and having a top agent on your side can help sell your home fast and for more money.<\/p>\n<p>It takes just two minutes to match clients with the best real estate agents in your area, who will contact you and guide you through the process. To connect with an agent, simply tell us a little bit about your property and how soon you\u2019re looking to sell.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-agent\/quiz\/seller?#\/qaas=0\/\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Find Agent<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2>How to get your house ready to sell<\/h2>\n<p>With a few preparations, you can set up your home to dazzle onlookers and fly off the market. Here are the 9 simple steps to getting your home ready to sell: <div id=\"section--1\" data-toc-header=\"1. Complete a pre-sale inspection\" data-toc-type=\"head\"><\/div><\/p>\n<h3>1. Complete a pre-sale inspection<\/h3>\n<p>When unexpected issues pop up during your inspection, it can drag out your home sale. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/research-and-statistics\/research-reports\/realtors-confidence-index\">A recent Confidence Index<\/a> by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that contract terminations held steady at 5%, delayed settlements affected 13% of contracts, and appraisal issues delayed 7% of contracts. Home inspection problems can definitely slow things down and even derail sales since they complicate negotiations. To stay ahead of any issues and speed up your home sale, consider getting a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/pre-listing-home-inspection\/\">pre-sale inspection<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When you get a pre-sale inspection, a pro checks out your home before it hits the market. This lets you tackle any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-to-fix-before-selling-a-house\/\">issues<\/a> early and avoid last-minute surprises that could slow down your sale. As you make updates, be sure you cover these common issues that come up during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/how-home-inspection-works\/\">home inspections<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Dirty air filters in HVAC systems<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Signs of pest infestations<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Plumbing clogs<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Cracked <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/do-new-windows-increase-property-value\/\">windows<\/a> or broken screens<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Broken appliances<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Water stains on ceilings<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Leaky faucets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Even if you don\u2019t have months to prepare, it is possible to make some quick, inexpensive, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-upgrades-increase-home-value\/\">upgrades<\/a> to get your house ready for listing. By focusing on the areas with the highest impact and visibility, you can give your property an edge over the competition without going over your budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getting your home ready to sell doesn\u2019t have to require a boatload of cash or special skills. A little elbow grease is all this checklist really calls for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":324,"featured_media":47075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[320,233],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-add-value","category-preparing-to-sell"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in 9 Easy Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Getting your home ready to sell doesn\u2019t have to require a boatload of cash or special skills. A little elbow grease is all this checklist really calls for.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/getting-your-home-ready-to-sell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in 9 Easy Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getting your home ready to sell doesn\u2019t have to require a boatload of cash or special skills. A little elbow grease is all this checklist really calls for.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/getting-your-home-ready-to-sell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-20T11:00:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-01T10:59:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Untitled-design-2024-08-20T235230.047-min-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"564\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"McCoy Worthington\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"McCoy Worthington\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Getting Your Home Ready to Sell in 9 Easy Steps","description":"Getting your home ready to sell doesn\u2019t have to require a boatload of cash or special skills. 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