Are you getting ready to put your Toronto home on market? With some planning and hard work you can help ensure you get the highest possible price for your property. Listed below are some tried tested and true tips for getting your house ready for sale.
1. You need to part with your home mentally
You need to convince yourself that the house no longer belongs to you. It is a brick-made four wall enclosure, it is nothing more than a saleable asset. Value it on monetary terms not emotional, this will help you greatly when you start to negotiate with buyers. Treat it as a new beginning not the end of an era.
2. Remove Your Personal Touch
Remove as many of your personal touches as possible. Take most of your family pictures down, but keep a couple up. Purchasers should be able to imagine their pictures on the wall which is hard if all they can see is yours. But you do not want the space to look devoid of life so keep a couple of choice pictures up. You should make an effort to make potential home buyers feel at home from the very first time they view the home. A big part of doing that is giving them the ability to visualize themselves living in the space.
3. Clean up the mess
We have a tendency to gather rubbish and call it nostalgia. Don’t keep anything in the house which you have not used for the last year. Rent a storage space and take all those items which are used less frequently to it while your house is on the market. Donate unused items to Goodwill, Salvation Army or any other charitable organisation in your area. Thin out your bookcase. You don’t want it to look cluttered, clutter can be mistaken for mess. Keep your house clean during the showing period which includes keeping the kitchen counter free of clutter.
4. Tidy up all cupboards
Prospective home buyers will look in your closets and cupboards. Cluttered racks and dumped shelves will have a more negative impact than organized racks and shelves. It is always better to give the impression of a well maintained home. A well-organized home would include keeping containers in the kitchen organized, properly arrange your plates, bowls, cups, and mugs. Organize your shoes and make sure all of your coats are hung up not just thrown in a heap on the floor of the closet.
5. Less Furniture
A room with too much furniture, even if it is nice furniture looks cluttered and small. Thin it out, take some of your pieces to a storage unit. Keep only your best furniture that accents the room well, you want people to be able to move comfortably and appreciate the size of each room. This is a fine balancing act as you don’t want to make the rooms look bare, just airy.
6. Take down Nostalgic Items
There could be certain fixtures that are important to you for sentimental reasons. It could be some light fixture that you received as heirloom or machine that was your first buy after your wedding. If you don’t want to part with them, remove them before showing your house as you don’t want to have to include a special clause in the sale agreement that protects that item. You should take all reasonable action to avoid including additional clauses in the sales agreement. So remove the item beforehand and substitute them if required.
7. Fix All Problems
Fix up your property before putting it on the market. If there are one or two missing tiles in the bathroom, fix it right away. Patch up any holes in the walls. Repaint those brightly coloured rooms that seemed like a good idea at the time. A lot of these minor repairs and renovations go a long way to maximizing the price you get for your home.
8. Its worth mentioning again. Clean your home before all showings. Your house should sparkle:
a. Wash the windows.
b. Put new caulks on bathtubs, wash basins and showers.
c. Your fridge should be cleaned out.
d. Mirrors and faucets should shine.
e. Steam vacuum your carpets.
f. If floors are wood, polish it with wax.
g. Clean accumulated dirt from lights, fans and furniture.
h. If carpets and mats are old, replace them.
i. Put new and clean towels in the washrooms.
You get the idea.
9. Put Yourself in the Purchasers’ Shoes
Put yourself in the purchasers’ shoses and ask yourself without any prejudice what is good and bad about the house. Roam around every corner of the home and act like a prospective purchaser, what is special about this particular house that he or she would prefer it over others. Do you like the way the house has been arranged and what does it reflect about the owner’s taste? If your answer is negative, modify the setting till you get the right vibes.
10. Making a Good First Impression is Paramount
You only get to make one first impression so be sure it counts. If the customer is dissuaded by the way your house appears to be from his or her car, you have a very tough uphill battle. The first thing you need to do is tidy up the yard, cut the grass, clean up any garbage, and pull out any weeds. A fresh coat of paint on the windows will go a very long way so do it. You can beautify your lawn by buying new flower pots and plant some flowers. Clip the hedges. Cut down overgrown shrubs. Be sure your house number is clearly visible from the street.
