Your Ultimate Home-Selling Checklist

Posted on 04th April, 2024

Author
THS

Selling a home can be challenging, particularly if you’re uncertain how the process goes. Understanding what to do before listing your property and what to do upon accepting an offer can help ease things up while streamlining the process. With the help of the right guide, you can present your house perfectly and maximise your potential earnings. Outlined below is your ultimate home-selling checklist.

Get your property ready for sale.

Completing the necessary pre-sale repairs and other tasks before listing your home can help your property sell quickly and cheaply. Since prospective buyers look at many options before making a purchase decision, repairing and upgrading your home can help ensure your property stands out. Getting your home ready for sale enables potential buyers to envision themselves living in that space. Since various people have varying tastes and preferences, consider depersonalising your house.

You should also clean and declutter the property to make it appealing to potential buyers. Preparing a property for sale is time-consuming and can be expensive. If you don’t have the time to get the house ready for sale or are short on cash, you can sell your home in its present condition to cash buyers.

Complete a professional home inspection.

Every homeowner’s primary goal is to get the highest possible return when selling their home, which a professional home inspection can help you achieve. It involves a detailed analysis of your home. A home inspector will look at your property’s systems and any safety hazards, then provide you with a report of their findings and suggestions.

A home inspection helps you spot any necessary upgrades or repairs and address them to ascertain your property is in the best possible condition before listing it, boosting its value. Additionally, addressing these repairs and upgrades accelerates the home-selling process.

Hire a real estate agent.

Although you may be tempted to sell your house independently, hiring a professional real estate agent is more rewarding. As a seller, you aim to sell your property quickly. They have the necessary expertise to ensure a smooth home-selling process. Thanks to their understanding of the real estate market and the resources they have access to, they’ll ensure your home is priced to sell before listing it.

An experienced agent will use professional marketing strategies/ materials and various advertising platforms to boost your home’s visibility, increasing the chances of a fast sale. Negotiating with prospective buyers is one of the trickiest parts of home selling. A skilled real estate agent will handle negotiations on your behalf to ensure the house sells at the highest possible price.

Invest in marketing

Marketing is crucial for home selling because it attracts more offers while promoting quick sales. Some of the marketing ideas you can leverage when selling your home include:

Use virtual tours: They provide prospective buyers with interactive and immersive experiences of your house, prompting them to envision themselves staying there
Leverage professional photography: Professional real estate photography can showcase your property in the best light possible while highlighting unique features.
Organise open houses: These are scheduled times when properties are available for prospective buyers to view.
Stage your home: It involves enhancing your house’s visual appeal to make it more inviting and attractive to potential buyers.

Add curb appeal

When it comes to home selling, first impressions can make or break your sale. This is where curb appeal comes in. It refers to your property’s overall aesthetic appeal when viewed from across the street. Curb appeal is key as it offers the following benefits when selling a house:

Attracting prospective buyers: Your home’s exterior look is vital in enticing potential buyers because it’s the first thing they see when surveying your property. If your house’s exterior appears appealing, it quickly stirs prospects’ interest.
Boosting marketability: Well-maintained, visually appealing properties are highly marketable. If your house has excellent curb appeal, it won’t stay long on the market.
Raising property value: Statistics suggest curb appeal accounts for up to 7% of a property’s worth. Improving your home’s overall curb appeal can help increase your ROI when selling.

Stage your home

Home staging involves establishing a neutral, inviting surrounding that appeals to many potential buyers. Its key objective is:

Showcasing your property’s potential
Maximising space
Establishing an emotional connection with prospective buyers

Staging allows you to strategically arrange furniture, declutter, and emphasise your home’s best features to create an open, spacious feel that lets prospective buyers visualise themselves staying in your house. Besides enhancing your house’s visual appeal, staging also increases its perceived value by creating a sense of quality and luxury. Every home seller wants their property to sell quickly, and staging is among the best ways to ensure your house sells quickly.

Sell your house in a seller’s market.

A seller’s market occurs when the demand for housing exceeds supply, meaning there are more interested buyers than the properties available for sale. Selling your home when there’s a shortage of houses ensures your home sells faster due to a decline in competition. In a seller’s market, you can set a high asking price on your property and even get multiple counter offers from interested buyers, raising the sales price.