If you’re considering selling your Crested Butte home, you may be wondering what steps you can take to help the process. One of the first steps is finding a good real estate agent who will help with the process. Even so, you can take many of these steps before you even meet with an agent. This will make the process faster and easier for everyone involved, and your home will be ready to list as soon as you meet your chosen agent.
For some homeowners, this may be an easy process. Many of the second homes that are short term rented are already in perfect condition and ready for a quick sale. For those that aren’t, here are a few steps you can take before selling your home:
- De-personalize your home- One of the goals when presenting your home for sale is to make it as easy as possible for a buyer to visualize themselves living there. Photos and keepsakes for your family don’t make that easier. So go ahead and take those items down and put them in storage while you’re selling your home.
- De-clutter your home- This is similar to the goal above, you want to make your home as inviting as possible. Remove furniture that makes a room feel small. That CD collection from the 90’s that is all on your phone now anyway- it doesn’t need to be in your living room. Take as much as you can to storage or charity. Selling a home is a perfect time to simplify things.
- Paint- Once again, you want the buyer to immediately feel at home when they tour your home. That deep red accent wall that you love may not be everyone’s cup of tea- neutral tones are better (though that does not mean that the whole home needs to be one plain and sterile feeling color). A quick coat of paint also brightens things up and covers up the minor dings and scrapes that a buyer may notice. As an added bonus, new paint makes a home smell new!
- Fix minor items- Now is a great time to take care of those little items that a buyer may notice or bring up during inspection. So tighten up those loose door handles, fix that leaky faucet, and anything else that you’ve “been meaning to do”. You may even want to get a home inspection so you’ll know anything that a buyer might find. One item that constantly comes up are GFCI outlets in kitchens and bathrooms- something you may want to take care of prior to listing your home.
- “Add light”- Buyers like homes that have plenty of light. Cleaning your windows and keeping your blinds open during showings is a great step. If you can use higher wattage light bulbs, that’s another good step, along with buying lamps if you don’t have enough ceiling lights. During the winter months, it’s a good idea to keep snow shoeveled away from windows so lower level bedrooms don’t start feeling like a cave.
- Clean- Clean everything, from top to bottom. It may even be worth hiring a cleaning company to do it for you. Professionally steam cleaning the carpets is always a good idea as well- it’s amazing how much better carpets can look. A clean house indicates to a buyer that the property has been well cared for. According to the National Association of Realtors, cleaning and de-cluttering a home results in an average of $2,000 more in the seller’s pocket.
- Landscaping- During the spring and summer, you’ll want to showcase some of Crested Butte finest wildflowers, even if you keep your landscaping “natural”. Keep your lawn mowed and watered. This is, after all, one of the first things that a buyer will take note of. Even in winter, consider holiday decorations, a snowman, or something else to greet visitors.
This list is of course just a start, and every home may have different needs to get it ready for sale. Even after following all of the suggestions above, there are still other factors which can affect the sale of your home. The most important of those factors include hiring a great real estate agent, and pricing the property appropriately. If you would like to discuss selling your home, I would love to hear from you- please contact me today.
