Preparing to Sell Your Home in the New Year

Published: January 09, 2017

For many, the New Year signifies change and one of the biggest changes you can make is selling your home. But, you don’t have to be a pro to get your home ready for potential buyers. Whether you’re downsizing, upsizing or moving to an entirely different area, here are some tips for preparing to sell your home in the New Year. 

Deodorize your whole home.
To do this, sprinkle some baking soda over all of your carpeting and any upholstery. Let this sit for 30 minutes, then vacuum up. You’ll also want to wash your drapes and any dog beds in the house. 

After you’ve cleaned the carpet and drapes, clean out your fridge and freezer. Homebuyers won’t be looking through your fridge, but throwing away any leftovers or old food that you’ve forgotten will help with deodorizing your home. 

Bonus: If you have a few days of decent weather, leave your windows cracked so that fresh air can flow through your house. This will help eliminate some of the odors you’ve got so accustomed to and clear out the stuffiness.

Clean your windows.
This may seem small and even unnecessary at first, but first impressions are everything. When potential home buyers walk through your house, they want to see a fresh slate. Clean windows 

Put fresh linens on all bedding. 
Fresh linens keep odors away and add an overall clean feeling to the bedrooms. 

Clean your bathrooms. 
This means scrub the inside and outside of the toilets as well as scrub all mold and mildew from the shower. You’ll also want to make sure there is no hair left piled in any corner and that there are fresh hand towels set out. 

Knock down cobwebs and dust fans. 
Dust and cobwebs are always unsightly and you may not have noticed the cobweb that started to accumulate in the top corner of your kitchen, but potential homebuyers will. 

Wipe off floorboards.
Floorboards easily collect dust and scuff marks. A quick wipe down can actually brighten up the area. 

Put bulky furniture and excess items in storage.
When selling your home, you want potential buyers to be able to picture themselves there. To help them do this, put furniture that takes up a lot of space in storage. Having a big open area, helps home buyers better imagine all of the possibilities. You’ll also want to put personal items like pictures, your grandma’s handmade quilt that rests on your sofa or anything else that signifies your personality, in storage. 

You can learn more about portable storage here. 

Selling your home in the New Year is a big step to starting fresh. These tips will help you tidy up your home for potential buyers.

What are your tips for preparing to sell a home in the New Year?