You’ve lived in your home for some time and now you feel that it’s time for a change. Before you put your house on the market, there are a few things that you must do to improve your chances of finding an interested buyer. They include the following:

1. Find a Good Listing Agent

When you’re selling your home, it’s obvious that you want to make the most out of that sale. However, you should be realistic. Your home is not the only one on the market. Others may be selling a similar house at a lower price. When choosing a listing agent, go for someone that will tell you the truth about your home and the market.

One of the red flags that you should look out for is an agent that promises to sell your home at a very high price. This is a strong indicator that they don’t have your best interests in mind and are only after the commission. Before you approach the agent do some research to find out how much you can sell the house for. 

Another admirable quality in a real estate agent is knowledge of the market. Look for an agent that specializes in selling your kind of home. There’s a difference between a single-family home and a condo. The pricing is not the same, and they target different markets. If you’re selling a mansion, and you go for an agent that sells apartments, you won’t find a buyer quickly because the agent doesn’t understand the market. Ask a friend or people that you know who have sold a similar home in the same market. They’ll give you a good recommendation.

Avoid real estate agents that market their listings on public transportation or billboards. That’s because such agents have a different target market. Most of them go for high net worth buyers, and they may not be so helpful. In fact, most of them won’t be available to meet you in person, you’ll always be talking to their assistants.

You must meet your agent in person. It’s okay to go for small firms that understand your market and can personalize their services. When you have an agent that’s interested in you, it’s easy to communicate with them and tell them your concerns.

Before you sell the house, you may have to spend extra on minor improvements. Your agent will guide you on the improvements that you need. Also, the agent should know good contractors for the job. Ask the listing agent to show you records of their previous sales. Look at how quickly those houses sell and their selling price. If the record is impressive, they’re likely to know good contractors. How else would they sell all those houses without knowing contractors that can make the best improvements?

2. Stage the Home

Buyers have to see the house before they make an offer. For that, you’ll have to stage the house. The first rule of staging is to remove anything that has a personal attachment from your home. Remove framed pictures from the walls and fridge. Remove the toothbrush and soaps from the bathroom. Remove clothes from the closets. When you depersonalize the space, it becomes easier for the buyer to visualize themselves owning the house.

Another golden rule of staging a home is to make sure the furniture is in good condition. Get rid of any broken chairs or tables. Rearrange the furniture so that interested buyers can easily move around. You should also clean the house thoroughly. Dust on the side table can turn off the buyers. A clean house is inviting and more interesting to live in. It shows that the previous owners took great care of the house.

Open the windows to let in as much natural light as possible for the open house. Switch on the lights in the bedroom and restrooms. Light makes the space feel bigger. Therefore, consider this critical aspect when staging the home. You may have to add extra lighting in the ceiling.

3. Add a Few Upgrades

Home upgrades can help increase the value of your home. Start by replacing the windows and the ventilation system. Although green energy is a welcomed addition to your home, installing solar panels can be expensive. However, that shouldn’t stop you from making your home more energy-efficient. Old windows make your home lose heat fast. As a result, you spend more on energy bills because the heater is always on. Replacing the windows can make the home warmer without spending more on energy bills. You should also replace the air filters in the ventilation system to make it more efficient and effective.

If the interior painting hasn’t been redone in a while. You have to invest in fresh new paint. Repainting your home will give it new life. Other rooms that you should seriously consider renovating are the kitchen and bathroom because people are very sensitive about these areas. Some affordable home improvements include adding extra storage shelves and cabinets.

4. Work on the Landscape and Curb Appeal

During the open house, the first thing that interested buyers will see when visiting your home is the curb. Therefore, you must make it appealing. If it looks good, buyers will want to go inside. To improve the curb appeal, cut and trim down shrubs. Check the leaves, if they’ve dried up, remove them. If a tree has died, remove it because it can mess with the overall landscape.

Plant some colorful flowers on your curb to make it more interesting. Ask a professional gardener which plants are best for your curb. You have to think about the time the plant will take to produce flowers. The open house should be on the day that the flowers are blooming.

Buyers notice the smallest things. Therefore, make sure that the gutters are clean and there’s no dirt on the roofing. If your home has a porch, make sure that it’s clean and well-maintained. You may have to add a fresh coat of paint to the porch and exterior.

Add some mulch to your backyard. The contrasting colors improve the overall look of the landscape. It might also be helpful to add name tags to your plants. That way, the buyers can research on how to care for the plants. Also, make sure that the lawn is well-manicured. The grass should be short and free from brown patches.

5. Use Virtual Tours

Not everyone that comes to the open house will give you an offer. Therefore, you have to separate the serious buyers from the browsers. One way to do this is to include a virtual tour of the house on the agent’s website. The good news is that some real estate agents can do this for you. A virtual tour allows the buyer to walk around the house and see different features using the agent’s website. The buyers that will call you after seeing the virtual tour are the serious ones. They are the ones that are most likely to make an offer.

Use the above tips to sell your home. Despite people wanting to own homes, your house won’t just sell itself because it looks good. You should be ready to face competition. Therefore, get yourself a good agent, stage your home, do a few important upgrades, improve the curb appearance, and use virtual tours to close the deal faster.