Anyone who has tried to sell their home will tell you that it takes money to sell quickly. You have to put some effort, time, and cash into your home to sell it fast, in most cases. The home that you are used to living in might not be very attractive for someone else who is trying to find a home to move into.
They may have an ideal home in their mind, and you have to try to create that ideal as best as you can. So, with that thought in mind, let’s look at a few ways you can focus your budget so that you make the most of what you have in order to sell your home effectively.
Make It Spotlessly Clean
The most important thing to focus on when preparing to sell your home is that it look attractive. You might not have money to fix major issues, to redo the roof, to change the landscape much, or to repair the garage, but you can tidy the house. This is something you can do on your own and probably do a decent job of it, or you can hire someone for living room cleaning in Tampa and other cleaning jobs that you need doing.
Make sure you focus on cleaning everywhere in your home better than you have ever cleaned it. You want to do a deep cleaning so that you don’t miss anything. The little stains and stuck-on grime that you never bothered with before and that didn’t bother you- that may bother a prospective buyer. Take an extra close look at all of the imperfections in your home and anything that isn’t tidy, organized, or clean.
The idea is to make your home look as new and as untouched as possible. No one likes the idea of moving into a space that may have dust, dirt, hair follicles, and spills from the previous tenants. So, you want no evidence to remain that there was any dirt or debris left in the home by you and your family.
It doesn’t have to cost a lot to get your home looking tidy, but then you want to do what you can to keep it looking tidy as your home is on the market. If you are still living there, then it will be tougher to keep things clean, but you can work out a system where you clean after yourself and clean ahead of any scheduled visits by prospective buyers.
Fix Essential Components
If your home has been in your possession for many years, there may be some level of disrepair that has accumulated. Maybe some of the pipes are leaking, or a few of the switches don’t work. These kinds of problems might not be deal breakers for prospective buyers, but you need to try to fix them as much as possible.
Start with the most essential parts of the home that are in need of repairs. That would be the primary faucets and the major electrical switches. You may not need to fix the kitchen sink garbage disposal, but the kitchen lights will be important. A minor leak won’t be as important as having running water coming out of each tap.
Walk through the house and catalog all of the issues that need fixing. Then, prioritize them and try to fix as many of them as you can, starting with the highest priority item. You can arrange the items on the list by priority based on what you think new owners will want fixed first. What will cause them the most inconvenience and might scare them away from buying the house?
As you get more money, you can fix more issues and make your home more attractive to buyers.
Focus on the Front
People are more likely to buy your home if they like what they see at first glance. You will lose a lot of potential buyers if you have a front yard in disrepair or the front of your home is looking shabby.
Take an assessment of what needs to be worked on in the front of the house. Does the house need painting? Is there some gutter work required at the front? Could your landscaping use some work out front? You can tackle these issues one by one, but they should be a priority over any issues with the back of the house.
If the home has serious frontage issues in need of fixing, then you may want to hold off on putting the house up for sale until they are fixed. You could scare off potential buyers by having a poor showing at the front as they pass by and see the house up for sale.
There may be some frontage problems that you can fix on your own, like tidying up the bushes and the lawn. The ones that you have to pay someone to fix or that will cost a lot of money (like painting) should be factored into your budget and then taken care of as soon as possible.
If there are problems with the backyard or the back of the house, those are less important than anything that is wrong with the front. Put your focus on the right place when it comes to your time and money as you prepare the house. That way, you will not end up with little money to work with and a list of regrets as to what you should have spent your money on fixing.
Closing Thoughts
If your finances are limited and you really need to sell your house soon, then you have to be careful about where you put your money. Use it wisely so that you can make that sale before money runs out.
This list of things to focus on that we have given you should get you started and help you put your money into the most important aspects of your home. We wish you the best of luck in selling your home.
