It is important to begin to separate yourself emotionally from your house, begin to think about it as a commodity, and walk through it with the eyes of a buyer. An agent can be helpful to work with to get objective about making your house dazzling for potential buyers.
Prepare for the sale by doing the following:
- Pre-Sale Inspection
Be ahead of the game, getting your home inspected at the beginning of the process allows you to address issues and make repairs before you sell your house. This also reduces surprises, and reduces any price reductions you would have to make in order to make last minute repairs that can be costly. - Deal with disclosures.
Colorado now requires sellers and their agents to disclose any issues that may affect a buyer’s decision to purchase your home. It is important to understand what you need to disclose and decide whether to make any repairs or adjust your asking price. - Make appropriate repairs.
This is not the time to make major home improvements, it is generally only necessary to make necessary repairs. These include things like cracked windows or rickety front steps and cosmetic improvements like painting and planting flower beds. You want to focus on improving your home’s salability only. - Neutralize your decor.
You want your home to be appealing to potential buyers, and eccentricities can turn others off. Tone down and pack away many of your personal possessions to neutralize the environment, replace out-of-date carpeting, paint odd-color rooms, and polish your home’s appearance. Putting your pets in a kennel, as well as spending more time cleaning (or hiring extra cleaning help) will help your house sell faster.