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Getting your house ready to put on the market takes time. Exposing your property to the market before it looks its best gives buyers and agents who tour the house a bad initial impression. It's nearly impossible to get them back for a second look after you correct the showing flaws. After you read this section, you'll know why you probably need at least two weeks to prepare your property for marketing.
If you make the right improvements when fixing up your property, you increase the odds of selling it quickly for top dollar. If, conversely, you make the wrong changes to your property, you waste the time and money you spent, prolong the sale, and possibly even reduce the ultimate sale price.
Start the presale fix-up process by getting outside opinions of your house's strengths and weaknesses. Don't ask your best friends or the next-door neighbors. They may have the same blind spots you do. Worse yet, they may sugarcoat the truth in a misguided attempt to spare your feelings.
Good real estate agents are an excellent source of advice about readying your house for sale. Because agents see your house with fresh eyes, they can spot flaws you no longer notice. Furthermore, agents look at your house the way buyers do. They know how to prepare houses so they're appealing for marketing - a process sometimes referred to as staging. And, last but not least, because agents work on commission, good agents don't want to waste your time or theirs trying to sell a house that isn't up to snuff. The more you get for your house, the bigger their commission. This section focuses on how to prepare your house for sale, starting from the curb and working your way inside.
