Spring has officially arrived, and if you’re thinking of selling your home, this might be the perfect time to list it.
Spring has always been considered peak selling season for homes. It’s a dynamic period in which homes tend to sell faster and for more money. Combining more buyers looking for a new home with improved curb appeal now that the snow is disappearing, you’re given the ideal time to start showing off your home. While a REALTOR® is always your best source of advice on how to make your home shine before you list it, here are some tips to help you get a head start.
Improve the exterior curb appeal
The exterior of your home is the first thing that a potential buyer sees, so you want this to look its best.
Now that the snow is melting in earnest — you can actually feel the sun’s warmth! — you’re probably noticing a lot of debris that’s being uncovered. It’s a good time to go out in your yard and start picking up trash and fallen branches and leaves. It’s still too early to do any work on the lawn, but making sure it’s free of litter is important. If any turf was damaged by snow clearing equipment, and it’s thawed and pliable enough, try to flatten it back to its original condition.
The same criteria applies to your garden beds and trees. Pick up any debris that may have blown in under the branches of your shrubs, and prune away any damage. Prune any broken or dead branches from your trees if you’re able to reach them safely.
If you have very large trees in your yard, there are probably broken branches sticking out of your eavestroughs, so you need to climb up there and clear them out. While you’re on top of the ladder, it’s a good time to do a quick inspection of your roof to make sure your shingles and vents didn’t sustain any damage over the winter. And this should go without saying, but remove all the Christmas lights and decorations you may have left out. The holiday season is over and summer is on the way, after all! Finally, put away visual clutter like kids’ toys, snow shovels, ice scrapers and bags of sand or salt. Sweep your driveway clean.
Once that’s done, walk around the entire perimeter of your house and inspect everything, because a prospective buyer will do the same. Inspect your exterior as if you were considering buying your house for yourself. Look for any obvious damage that you can fix, peeling paint that you can touch up, a broken window pane, cracked parging, or things like a clogged dryer vent or door that isn’t closing properly. If you run across any damage that you can’t confidently repair on your own, call in a professional to do it properly. A REALTOR® has contacts for this type of thing.
Once your yard is cleaned up, concentrate on the entrances. Sweep your steps clean of all dirt and sand, and touch up any peeling paint on the doors and frames. You might even want to repaint the door in an appealing and fresh colour, like blue or spring green. Make sure the doorknobs work properly, turning easily, and the hinges don’t squeak. Ensure that the lights are functioning, the mailbox isn’t rusting, and the doorbell works.
Adding a few homey touches to the front entrance, like a seasonal wreath on the door and a nice doormat in front of it, is a nice touch that buyers will notice. You could even set out an artificial plant to one side in a nice pot. You want visitors to your home to feel welcome, and to feel confident that your home has been well taken care of over the years.
Freshen up the interior of your home
Freshening up the interior your home after a long winter is equally as important as freshing up the exterior.
Merely opening all your windows and allowing the brisk spring breeze in to clear out the lingering stuffiness brought on by months of keeping doors and windows sealed goes a long way. Not only does it clear the air, but it gives your spirits a much-needed springtime lift and gets you moving.
Speaking about windows, this brings us to something that is often overlooked when a home is being sold: cleaning them. Windows become very dusty and dingy during the winter months, and cleaning off all that grime allows as much light as possible to stream into your home. And the brighter a home is on the inside, the more appealing it is to buyers.
Since we’re on the topic of brightness, make sure that all your light fixtures and light bulbs are in good working order. If any bulbs are burned out, replace them. Clean the dust off all the glass on the light fixtures, and even on the bulbs themselves. If possible consider upgrading your fixtures if they’re very dated. Remember to turn all the lights on when a buyer is scheduled to view your home.
Working down from your lights, dust and deep clean all surfaces, both hard and soft. That includes washing down the tops of your kitchen cabinets — lots of grease builds up on top of them — and the top of your fridge, as well as under it, and under your stove. You’ll find that ridding your home of built-up hidden grime freshens the air very effectively. Even if your kitchen and bathrooms are outdated, if they’re spotless, a buyer is more likely to think that they can live with them until they feel like renovating.
In fact, if it’s been a long time since you had your ducts cleaned, get this done, too, especially if you own a pet. You don’t want the furnace to turn on and undo all your hard work by blowing dust and hair back into the air and onto all your clean surfaces.
Vacuuming all your soft surfaces like couches, chairs and beds gets rid of dust and pet hair. Fabric deodorizer sprays are a great idea for large pieces of upholstered furniture. Everything else that’s washable can be popped into the washing machine.
Spend time decluttering your home. After cleaning, this is the next most important point when selling. Nothing turns a buyer off faster than a home stuffed with what they perceive as “junk”. Many potential home buyers aren’t able to see past visual clutter to the bones of the house underneath it, so eliminate as much as possible. And don’t just toss it all into your closets, because buyers will be opening them to look at storage capacity. If your closets are crammed full, a buyer sees that as a lack of space. And don’t forget to declutter the basement and garage at the same time.
You want a buyer to view your home at its best, so after you’ve removed the clutter, you may want to consider removing some furniture as well, especially if you have a lot of it or if its very large. If you need to, rearrange it to create easier access to each room.
Staging your home for buyers, rather than showing it the way you currently live in it, is extremely important. They need to be able to picture themselves living comfortably in your home. For example, if your formal dining room was being used an office/bedroom, change it back to its original function and put a table and chairs back in. Or if your garage was only being used for storage, clean it out and park your car in it.
Once your home is spotless and smelling fresh as a daisy, consider decor. If your windows, floors, couches and beds are all covered in dark, heavy fabrics that kept you snug all winter, replace them with lighter, airier and brighter textiles. If you have a patio, deck or sunroom, set out the furniture and cushions you normally would use in the summer, even if it’s still too chilly to sit outside. Buyers want to be able to visualize how they’re going to enjoy each space.
While the scent of baked cinnamon cookies was perfect for showing your home in the fall, the scent of fresh flowers is perfect for showing your home in the spring. Set out a vase or two of bright tulips or gerbera daisies on the dining table or kitchen island. If you have a table at the front entrance, put some there, too, and get rid of that pile of winter boots and coats. Place little pots of fresh greenery in the bathrooms and bedrooms, and open all the curtains.
By keeping these tips in mind, and with the help of a REALTOR®, selling your home this spring should feel like a breath of fresh air!