Prepare Your House for the Sizzling Summer Sale Season

If you’re planning to sell your house for sale by owner (FSBO)-style and hope to capitalize on the sizzling summer selling season, now is the time to get busy. In summertime, 60 percent of all homes are bought and sold, so get in on the action by taking these six essential steps now to be ready to sell in June.

1. Pack up the clutter and depersonalize the space

Clutter is not conducive to a successful home sale. Free up as much space in your home as possible to give homebuyers the best possible vision of living in it. Be ruthless and save, store or scrap all unused items, personal affects (photos, knick knacks, even your children’s art work (get it off the refrigerator!) Family heirlooms should be packed up and stored. You’re not selling someone your house, you’re selling someone their future home.

When preparing your home for sale, remove any controversial elements such as religious or political items. These items tend to elicit a strong emotional reaction—don’t give buyers a chance to lose their enthusiasm for your home just because their ideology is different than yours.

Next step, organize. Living space is an important commodity, and you want buyers to feel plenty of it when they view your home.

2. Leverage the beautiful weather to sell your home

Take advantage of the mild weather by opening windows and doors to let light, sunshine and fresh air in.

3. Tackle the needed repairs

If there are obvious and necessary repairs to be tended to, get to them. You don’t want potential buyers to be distracted by chipping paint, scuffed floors, and missing cabinet hinges when they tour your home. They will be making a mental checklist of all the fixes they’ll need to make to move in, which can sour interest fast.

You can save time (and money) by eliminating needless negotiations with buyers over minor repair issues. Taking care of repairs ahead of time will save you a lot of headaches. Any cost to you for repairs will come back to you in the home’s sale, and will actually cost you less than a buyer’s post-inspection estimate.

4. Spruce up the curb appeal, and bring the outdoors in

First impressions are everything, and a well-kept yard is sure to attract buyers. Take advantage of the season and plant some colorful flowers and some new grass. Don’t forget to trim the trees and bushes.

Match the inside with the outside by adding fresh flowers in a vase to one or two rooms when buyers tour the home.

By sale day, your curb appeal should be in full bloom and ready for the stream of potential buyers. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why curb appeal is so very important.

5. Do your homework

Get to know what homes for sale in your neighborhood you’re competing with by attending open houses of similar homes on the market. A quick survey of the competition’s features and list price can be extremely helpful in picking the right list price for your home.

Get a head start on the busy summer home sale season by preparing your house to sell!


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