Getting Your Home Prepared To Sell: Putting Yourself In Their Shoes

If you're selling a home for the first time, you are about to experience a whirlwind like none other. Not only do you need a good real estate agent, but you also need to keep the place looking great while you're still living in it. Get an idea of what buyers should see by grabbing a pen and a note pad. Then head out to pretend you're buying a home. Visit a home in a subdivision in your area and make note of these things:

First Impressions of the Exterior

When you pull up to the home, write down the first thing you notice. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. Look around for the following:

• how the lawn is taken care of
• light fixtures (are they broken?)
• condition of the driveway and walkways
• exterior paint condition
• first impression of roof condition
• tree condition

First Impressions of the Rooms

Walk into the home and look around in all the rooms. Check for specifics and jot them down. Some aspects to consider include

• wall color (is it neutral enough)
• holes in the walls
• amount of wall hangings (denotes how many nail holes to fix)
• does furniture fit easily
• floor condition
• overall cleanliness

First Impressions of the Amount of Space

Even though you've looked at the rooms and jotted down your initial impressions, there are other things to consider when it comes to the amount of space available. Consider the following questions and jot down your first impressions:

• Will your furniture fit?
• Is there a lot of clutter?
• Are there piles of shoes or magazines on the floor?
• Do items fall out of the closet when you open the door?
• Are the kitchen countertops filled with items?
• Does the flow of the home work well?

These questions all pertain to the amount of space in the rooms. It is possible for some buyers to see past these issues, but since they can opt for a home that doesn't have these problems, why would they want to?

Take your notes home with you and walk through your home in the same manner you did when you pretended to be a buyer. Make plans to fix any problems areas your home has that matches your notes. Ask your real estate agent for other ideas to get your home selling experience off to a good start. Remember that the best way to sell your home, it to put yourself in the buyers' shoes, see what they see, and make changes to make your home sell fast.