How to Prepare Your Home to Sell for Top Dollar

San Diego Real Estate Podcast with Dale Downing

I've received a lot of questions lately about how to prepare a house to sell for top dollar. Today I'll go over the easy and inexpensive things you can do to maximize your profit.

After a recent video about why you should list your home during the winter, I received multiple emails from people who wanted to know how to prepare their homes to maximize their profit.

So what's the best way to prepare to sell for top dollar? Every home is different, but most buyers are looking for a move-in ready home. To prepare your home to sell, the first thing you need to do is make sure the front yard looks good. Buyers can typically tell what the inside of a house will look like by looking at the outside. If the outside is a mess, the inside tends to be a mess too.

"First impressions are extremely important."

Paint is another improvement you can make at a relatively low price. It will make the house look and smell good. You should also pay attention to your kitchen and flooring to make sure they look great. If your cabinets are worn, consider painting or staining them. When it comes to flooring, if you have tile, wood, or carpet, they need to be professionally cleaned.

Next, you want to open all your blinds to let as much light in as possible and turn on all the lights—even in the closets. You want your house as light and bright as possible. You should also buy air fresheners to ensure a great smell and even play some soft music while you're out of the house for showings.

De-clutter your house by packing up, storing, or getting rid of knickknacks and unnecessary furniture. Finally, you want to clean the house top to bottom.

As you can see, you don't need to do much to maximize your profit. So, if you are thinking about selling your home or getting a free personal estimate of your home's current value, give me a call, send me a text, or send me an email.