{"id":5161,"date":"2024-12-18T04:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T12:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=5161"},"modified":"2025-03-04T08:01:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:01:34","slug":"prepare-your-home-for-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/prepare-your-home-for-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare Your Home for Sale and Attract Buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you prepare your home for sale, it\u2019s important to be able to detach from the house emotionally so you can understand what buyers are looking for<\/a> and what their potential concerns may be.<\/p>\n

We consulted with experts and researched market conditions, buyer trends, and step-by-step guides<\/a> to create this comprehensive checklist on how to prepare your home for sale.<\/p>\n

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Find a Top Agent For Higher Sale Proceeds<\/h3>\n

Get expert guidance on how to prepare your home for sale. Our data shows that the top 5% of real estate agents sell homes faster and for up to 10% more than average agents. We analyze over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to determine which agent is best for you based on your needs.<\/p>\n \n

\n Find Agent<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Purge, pack, and store<\/h2>\n

When you decide to prepare your home for sale, the first order of business is to start packing and purging immediately. To avoid feeling like your entire life and home are upside down, outline a strategy to keep yourself organized. Here\u2019s a checklist of the most important things to tackle during the process:<\/p>\n

Go through every room and collect items you want to donate, throw out, or sell: <\/strong>Do this before you start packing to save both money and time.<\/p>\n

Take an inventory of all your belongings:<\/strong> Taking stock of your belongings will not only help you keep track of them during the move, but it\u2019ll also be useful to have on hand for homeowners insurance<\/a> purposes.<\/p>\n

Label everything:<\/strong> Top real estate agent Carrie Buckett<\/a> is a relocation specialist<\/a> who serves Illinois and Wisconsin. She has seen too many clients leave boxes unlabeled and stick them in the basement, thinking, \u201cOh, we\u2019ll go through these later.\u201d And they end up collecting dust never to be opened again. \u201cLabel everything,\u201d Buckett advises.<\/p>\n

Pack a suitcase full of items you want to keep during the moving process:<\/strong> This includes everyday necessities plus valuable and sentimental items like family heirlooms and important documents.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Save time and keep your items safe and damage-free throughout the entire process:<\/strong> Use proper packing materials and methods to ensure your belongings don\u2019t break. These tips should make moving easier for you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Proper packing techniques will help you prepare your home for sale in more ways than you think. If it looks like you take good care of your possessions, buyers are likely to assume you have taken the same approach with the house.<\/p>\n

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Declutter, depersonalize, and deep clean<\/h2>\n

Creating a neutral and inviting space allows potential buyers to envision themselves in your home. Start by minimizing personal items, streamlining decor, and thoroughly cleaning every room<\/a> to present your property in the best light.<\/p>\n

Declutter<\/h3>\n

When you prepare your home for sale, there needs to be enough room for buyers and agents to move around while viewing it. Clutter can be visually unappealing and impede potential buyers from seeing themselves living in the house, so you\u2019ll want to declutter<\/a> as much as possible.<\/p>\n

For items you need to hold onto, find a few decorative boxes that can be kept out of sight yet still easily accessible. Consider renting a storage unit if you\u2019re selling a house full of stuff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Aside from helping buyers envision themselves in the space, removing clutter helps your home sell for more money. According to HomeLight\u2019s Top Agent Insights Report for End of Year 2024, decluttering could generate an additional $11,706 in home sale proceeds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Depersonalize<\/h3>\n

Depersonalizing<\/a> goes a step further than decluttering, allowing buyers to envision themselves and their own belongings in the home. It removes distractions that could keep prospects from focusing on the house itself.<\/p>\n

Make sure to remove your family photos and religious items and cover up patterned, bulky furniture that\u2019s specific to your taste as you prepare your home for sale.<\/p>\n

Deep clean<\/h3>\n

\u201cA deep clean never fails to solicit buyer comments like the house feels solid, well-maintained, or meticulously cared for \u2014 even if the house is really outdated,\u201d says Jessica Riphenburg<\/a>, a top agent in Madison, Wisconsin<\/a>, who sells homes 65% faster than her peers.<\/p>\n

You can hire a professional if you\u2019d like. The cost ranges from $120 to $250<\/a> for a 1,000-square-foot home. The bigger the home, the pricier it gets. This is one of those projects that you may want to take on yourself if you\u2019re willing to put in some elbow grease.<\/p>\n

When cleaning, it\u2019s best to tackle one task at a time<\/a> (like washing windows) and perform that task through the entire house before moving on to the next thing. This means pulling out furniture to get rid of dust bunnies, removing carpet stains, scrubbing your appliances inside and out, and wiping down baseboards and door handles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As you prepare your home for sale, put yourself in the buyer\u2019s shoes. This guide will give you tips to make your home more appealing to prospects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":338,"featured_media":45600,"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-5161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-add-value","category-preparing-to-sell"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Prepare Your Home for Sale and Attract Buyers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As you prepare your home for sale, put yourself in the buyer\u2019s shoes. 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