How To: Prepare Your Home for Sale

Whether you're upsizing for an expanding family, downsizing for the golden years or just looking for a new place to call home; here's a few easy and affordable tips to make your house an eye-catching piece of real estate for potential buyers when it comes to selling.

De-cluttering/de-personalizing your home for pre-sale allows potential buyers who see the home to imagine their things in the space instead. Some tips for de-cluttering from www.about.com suggest if you haven't used something in over a year, you probably don't need it, it could be donated or thrown away. Before viewings, everyday, essential items can be tucked in a small box and stored ina closet.

Referring back to the aforementioned de-cluttering, don't forget (in some cases) furniture. Houses tend to show better with fewer pieces of furniture, so one option is to rent a storage unit for excess and leave enough pieces to hint at the purpose of a room. Another idea is to hire a personal home stager to utilize your furniture pieces to their full potential.

Potential buyers love to look in every nook and cranny of a home they're interested in. Rearrange and organize your closets and cabinets (things like colour-coding closets and neatly stacking dishes in cabinets). Organized spaces show potential buyers you're an organized homeowner and you take pride in the space, keeping it in great shape.

Minor repairs can be made throughout the house taking little to no time at all but making a huge difference in the look of a space. Change burnt out light bulbs, patch holes in the wall; re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.

Refresh spaces by dusting, vacuuming and replacing worn out rugs. Consider buying new towels or be sure to hang fresh ones in the bathroom and kitchen or jazz up your current ones by tying a ribbon around the middle of them. Carpets can be given a new lease on life by having them steam cleaned.

Affordable updates can be made to make your home more modern and appealing to potential buyers. Changing paint colours can vastly change the mood and feel of a home. For example, if your child's room is a bright pink, consider painting it a more neutral colour like a beige or taupe.

The kitchen can be updated easily with simple steps such as re-grouting tile and changing the hardware on cabinets. The same can be said for the bathroom as well as potentially purchasing a new shower curtain and scented candles and stashing personal items under the sink.

Wash windows, inside and out giving potential buyers the best perspective of what kinds of views they'll have from different rooms in the house. If showing in the spring, renting a power washer to remove collected dust and debris left by winter storms gives a home a more inviting look.

The exterior of the home is the first thing a potential buyer will see so curb appeal is also important. In the winter, ensure sidewalks are shoveled and salted if necessary and in the spring and summer ensure the lawn is mowed, garden weeded and hedges trimmed; you want to be sure the house number is easily seen.

Do you have any tips we missed? Add them in the comments below.

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