Tips to get your home ready to go on the market

Decluttering and improving curb appeal are tried-and-true ways to get your home ready to go on the market. For home sellers wanting to improve their chances of receiving a solid offer, REALTORS Ronnetta Griffin and Heather Durbin at That Realty Group recommend three saves and three splurges.

THREE SAVES

1. Purging, organizing & cleaning

Since you’re moving anyway, preparing your home to sell is a great time to start packing up things that you don’t use and moving them out of the house. “A buyer can really see the home without getting distracted by your items,” Griffin says.

After deciding what to keep, what to sell and what to throw away, place items you’re not using in a storage unit rather than your garage. Buyers like seeing how much space they’ll have in the garage so don’t clutter it with items from inside the home, the REALTORS say.

Cleaning and organizing come next. “People don’t realize that a good cleaning and organizing is half the battle, especially when someone opens up a closet and sees that it’s nicely organized,” Durbin said. “It looks like you have more space in a home.”

2. Create curb appeal with an inviting front porch

Replacing an older door mat, adding a flowerpot or painting the front door all are inexpensive way to improve curb appeal.

“I love to see a pop of color on the front door,” Durbin said. “It makes the house appear happy and fresh. A purple or yellow door get attention and they look great in photos.”

If painting the front door is not for you, add flowers or colorful pillows on front porch furniture for a pop of color. “These are very welcoming and add a little touch that makes people want to see what’s inside,” Griffin said.

3. Virtual staging

Many sellers don’t have the budget for furnishing a vacant home after they have moved, or maybe they are investors flipping the home. It can cost several thousand dollars to do actual Home Staging, but Virtual Staging doesn’t cost a dime – at least not when sellers are working with That Realty Group.

Griffin puts her art degree and eye for design to work to create enhanced photos of vacant rooms that will give buyers an idea of what those rooms might look like if furnished. Putting the photos side-by-side removes the need for an interested buyer to have a vivid imagination. If the house was photographed while furnished and the furniture has since been removed, enlarge and mount the listing photos as large posters and display them on easels positioned throughout the vacant home.

THREE SPLURGES

1. A fresh coat of interior paint

It’s amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do, but don’t go crazy painting walls inside your home with non-neutral colors, the REALTORS caution.

Shades of gray such as Dove Gray and Agreeable Gary presently are popular interior wall colors, Durbin said. “A pop of color is great on the front door, but you should stay away from purple walls inside your home, she said. “Create your splash of color inside with pillows on the sofa.”

In the kitchen, white cabinets are the preferred color for buyers, Durbin said.

2. Granite countertops

Replacing a small bathroom countertop with a slab of granite can make a big impact, the REALTORS say.

“Buyers are expecting to see granite countertops in kitchens, even in homes under $200,000,” Griffin said. “There is so much new construction in our market and builders are including granite at all price points.”

3. Home staging

Home staging is important because it helps the buyer visualize themselves in the home. In the family room, a buyer can see where the sofa, the side chairs and the TV could be positioned. In the bedroom, buyers can easily see on which wall the bed could fit.

There are a number of reasons a buyer might not purchase a home, but when a home is professionally staged, a seller won’t hear feedback from the buyers such as, “I don’t know where I would put my furniture,” or “I don’t know if my bed will fit.” Home staging takes the guesswork out of the equation and allows buyers to focus on the bones, other features and location of a home.

Interested in buying or selling a home in the Upstate? Contact Ronnetta Griffin or Heather Durbin at That Realty Group.