5 New Year’s Resolutions to Sell Your Home

Is selling your home on your to-do list this year? Before listing your home, commit to these five New Year’s Resolutions to help ensure the quickest sale for the highest price. 

1. Mark Your Calendar!

Deadlines are great motivators. Setting a listing date in advance will allow you to plan and prepare for the sale of your home!  Think about when you want to move, perhaps before schools starts if you have children, and if you want to buy a new home or sell your home first. Reach out to a selling agent early on in the process to discuss your options, get important advice and get the ball rolling

2. Repair and Replace

Now is the time to assess your homes condition and make repairs before your property hits the market.  Minor fixes such as changing burnt light bulbs, repairing carpets and leaky faucets go a very long way to make your property more appealing to prospective buyers. It can be tough to determine what is worth your while in terms of increasing your homes value.  Focus on repainting (neutral and light colours), upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms and touching up floors.  Your real estate agent can always come by and let you know what improvements will yield the greatest return.

3. Get Comparables

Many factors affect your homes selling price like lot size, adjacent parks, interior and exterior finishes and demand in the marketplace.  Three to six months before you plan to put your home up for sale, reach out to your real estate agent to start scanning for comparable listings to get a ballpark price. Furthermore, a mortgage broker can help you determine what your bottom line is which is important to establish before you start looking at any offers.

4. Declutter

A cluttered home often looks less spacious and can drastically affect your homes sale price.  Start off by donating unused or gently used clothing, décor and furniture. Decluttering can be a big undertaking so take it room by room and be honest about what you want, need and what you can live without.  The bonus? Less for you to pack!

You will also want to do a deep clean to make sure your home doesn’t look worn down.

5. Stage to Sell

Staging your home allows your house to be shown in its best light.  Start packing up family photos and personal items as buyers need to be able to envision themselves in your home. Ask your agent if they provide any staging services; this will help make your home looks spacious, clean and modern.