Six Musts Before You List Your Home
•Organize Your Paperwork: 
If you're ready to list your home it's best to gather all the paperwork of past repairs, upgrades and renovations that you've completed on the property. This will help the real estate agent understand any upgrades that need to be mentioned and will let them know what needs to be disclosed on the agent remarks or on the seller's disclosure form. These repairs should include anything such as a new roof, any home warranties, appliance repairs or damage repairs.
•Declutter:
Moving and selling is a perfect time to de-clutter your life and your home. Even before you've officially listed, you should start getting rid of some of the things you do not need. Set aside a box for donations, throw away or keep. Pack up things as you go so that the home seems brighter, lighter and easier to maneuver.
•Clean, Clean, and Clean Some More:
This one is a must. This is a clean unlike potentially anything you've done in the past. If needed, hire a maid or a housecleaner to come and do a thorough, deep cleaning of your entire home. This means that showers must be scrubbed, tile grout must be perfect, tracks on Windows and doors must be clean and clear, these sports must be wiped down and light fixtures must be dusted. This is a serious deep cleaning and you might want to consider renting a carpet shampoo machine in order to get your carpets clean or hire a professional carpet cleaner when the time comes.
•Consider a Pre-Inspection:
Home inspections don't necessarily have to be for home buyers. You might consider having a pre-sale inspection to identify any problem areas or issues that should be repaired before listing. Yes, this is going to cost you a little bit but it could severely affect your list price. You have to be realistic and if the home has numerous issues or problems that buyers will find, this will save time by not having to re-list and re-market the home after a buyer declined the inspection.
•Make Repairs or Get Estimates:
If you do have a pre-inspection completed, you will have a little list of repairs that need to be made. Depending on the age of your home, you may have a pretty large list so make sure you go over that list with your real estate agent on what needs to be handled immediately and what might be able to wait or decide if a buyer wants to handle it in the future.
•Staging:
Staging is a crucial part of the home listing and selling process. That first impression has to "wow" the buyer enough to linger, check out the home more than once and eventually put in an offer. It has to be clean, well-dressed, easy to walk through and boast an impressive first meeting. Group home decorations in groups of three on each table, clear off countertops with just one or two appliances or a bowl of fruit or fresh flowers, make sure the flow of the home room to room is easy and not cluttered and set up rooms as they were initially intended. This means there should not be in office in the dining room and bedrooms should be staged as such.
Getting your home ready to list does take a little bit of work but you'll be well rewarded when a full price offer comes in in the first week or two. Of course, this is not a guarantee as the pricing structure needs to be accurate with today's market. For more information feel free to call me at any time for tips and staging advice, cost market analysis on your property and how quickly it might sell in today's market.
