When the snow is flying and the wind whips through your jacket many people hesitate to put their home on the market, fearing that buyers may be waiting for warmer weather before they trek from house to house. Although there are still buyers in the winter, there is some truth to the statement that the market picks up in the spring. It’s definitely more fun to look at homes when the flowers are blooming and the birds are singing. So, this time of year I often get the question: “What should I be doing now to prepare my home for the spring market?” Well, that is a great question.
1) Start packing! Sound strange? Pack before you even have an offer? People know you are moving so boxes in the corner make sense. What doesn’t make sense it clutter everywhere. You get used to your own house so go out the front door, close your eyes, turn around, open your eyes and go through your own house as if for the first time. Does your house look like a show room at a model home or furniture store? Are there things that you could do to make it feel more like that? Sometimes it’s too many magnets on the fridge, sometimes it’s too much furniture, but this is the time to box up and free up space in your home.
2) Evaluate the hardware on your cupboards. This is often the cheapest and most impactful thing you can do to help your home not feel dated. The same is true for light fixtures, this can have a huge impact in how a buyer views your home but does not cost thousands of dollars.
3) Deferred maintenance. Is there something that you keep saying: “I’ve got to get to that”. Well, don’t procrastinate any longer. Even if repair items aren’t apparent to the buyer walking through the home, it will catch up with you at the time of inspections. Do deferred maintenance now!
This blog post has some general pointers, but not an exhaustive list. If you would like to get our Home Enhancement Checklist, simply e-mail or call our office and we’ll get that to you as soon as possible. Also, if you are thinking of putting your home on the market in the spring and would like an estimation of value, we would be happy to help you with that as well.