If you are thinking about listing your property, one thing that might be holding you back is the concern about preparing your home for sale. You may be wondering how much work there will be and how long it will take to prepare, especially if this is your first time selling a home. Is it going to take a couple of months? A few weeks? A day or two?

That, of course, depends on the state of your home currently. Whether you have already completed some tasks or have not started any of your preparation work at all, there is plenty you can do to reduce how long it will take to complete. Consider these ideas:

Declutter, de-personalize & sell stuff online

The less cluttered your home is, the better it will show, both in pictures and in person. Your home should be easy for Buyers to envision themselves living in, which includes the removal of personal items like photos. Decluttering your home is a big job and you may need to rent a storage locker to store extra and personal items. Utilizing online marketplaces like Kijiji or Facebook Marketplace for items you do not want to keep is a great way to both declutter and make some extra money in the process! 

Taking the time before you list your home to do a full declutter will also save you time after you sell as alot of the items in your home will alrady be packed away and ready to move to your new home. 

Try our 30 day declutter challenge with a printable PDF checklist to get your whole house completely decluttered well before the Holidays!

Have a repair day

Go through your home and make a list of everything that needs to be fixed and any projects that need to be completed. Either set aside a few days to complete this list and/or schedule repair people to come on the same day, or over the course of a few days, and you are done! If you need any professional referrals, give me a call! 

Get saging advice

Instead of guessing what changes you have to make around your home to make it look its best, get expert staging advice! This is a fantastic service that we include in every property listing. You’ll find out exactly what the experts suggest you do, and you will save a lot of time and money in the process. Professional stagers know exactly what will draw a buyers attention and help you get your home ready for its close up fast.

For kitchen staging tips, check out this previous blog for a step-by-step how-to! For some not-so-obvious home staging tips, check out this previous blog. 

Ask before making big improvements

Are you planning to convert a wood burning fireplace into a gas unit to help sell your home? Before making any big improvements or renovations, talk to me. You don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a project that may be unnecessary to help your home sell. 

Hire or ask for help

You don't have to do everything on your own. Ask friends and family for help and/or hire the help you need. For example, hire a painter, cleaner, and/or junk removal service. The help of these people will significantly shorten the time it takes to prepare for sale and save you a lot of time and work. Also, the cost of hiring a professional or a few may be off-set by the increase in the sale price of your home.

Bottom line, preparing your home doesn't need to be overwhelming, time consuming, or stop you from moving forward on your plans to list your home. Contact me for ideas to help get your home ready for sale!