How to get your home ready to sell
Selling your current home is a big and important step in your retirement living journey. From finding the right agent, to decluttering, downsizing, and packing up your belongings, there are quite a few jobs to complete.
To simplify this process, we’ve outlined what you’ll need to do to get your home ready for sale.
1. Engage the experts
You want to get the best results from the sale of your home, and so it makes sense to engage with experts who know how to help you achieve this. There are a range of experts you can connect with to not only increase the interest and appeal of your home, but also reduce any stress throughout the selling process.
Real Estate Agent
You’ll need to engage with a real estate agent to get an appraisal of your property.
This will give you a good indication of how much your home can sell for. Your agent can also help you sell your home, so it’s important to find someone with extensive knowledge and experience in your local area and proof of positive results. Don’t hesitate to meet with multiple agents and ask for references from past clients to help you make up your mind.
Home stylist
Many sellers choose to hire a professional property stylist to stage their home for real estate listing photoshoots and inspections. Home staging is all about making your home look as spacious and appealing as possible, to increase interest and get the best price. While hiring a professional stylist isn’t necessarily essential, it is advised to help you get the best results.
Photographer
Once your home is styled and staged, you may like to engage a professional real estate photographer who can make your listing look desirable. A good real estate photographer will accentuate the features of your home to make it as attractive as possible to potential buyers.
Professional home movers
To take the stress out of the decluttering and moving process, you can engage a service like Classic Moves, who help you sort, organise, remove, pack, relocate and unpack your belongings.
2. Prioritise simple repairs
First impressions can have a big impact, and so the presentation of your home is important. If you’re not sure where to start, an experienced real estate agent should be able to advise what areas require attention. You may need to apply a fresh coat of paint to the interior, give the gardens some attention, replace door handles and tapware, or generally freshen up signs of wear and tear.
3. Downsize and declutter your belongings
Decluttering your home is both a physical and emotional process that can seem overwhelming at first, but it’s an essential step in your downsizing journey. More than helping you minimise the belongings you’ll need to transport to your new home, it’s also an emotional exercise that encourages you to reminisce on the special moments enjoyed in your home. A good way to approach the task is by focusing on one room at a time and sorting your belongings into four key categories: keep, sell, donate and bin.
Don’t forget that services like Classic Moves can help you to downsize, declutter, organise and pack up your belongings as you prepare for sale.
For more decluttering tips, read our blogs:
4. Find the right storage solution
Once your home is styled and staged, you’ll probably have certain items you don’t want on display during open-house walk-throughs, whether it’s big furniture pieces or valuable belongings. Depending on how much space you require, you can use your garage or shed to store as much as you can, or you may need to hire out a self-storage unit.
For more helpful information on the downsizing process, download Your Guide to Retirement Living at Applewood.