It is said that the average house buyer has no vision – which means that you need to make their ‘envisioning’ themselves within the house as easy as possible. You need to rid your old home of items and features that may kill any deal before it even begins. For example, dark paintwork is a definite turn off – as are stained, worn or smelly carpets – both of which need to be taken care of prior to having your real estate agent stage a viewing of your old property.
On the latter, you could offer an ‘allowance’ or remove a fraction of the house costs for carpets – or, if you can, invest yourself and replace them, to allow a possibly higher sale price. Walls should be painted off-white or antique white – or possibly very pale and pastel shades if you’re planning on redecorating – you may have no option if your walls are stained, marked or damaged.
It’s also a good time to ensure that everything that you’ve been meaning to repair has actually been done – a faulty stair tread, banister or fence in the garden may only be a minor annoyance to you, but can be a danger to anyone looking at the house. In this, creating a to do list of things to change, spruce up or repair can be very helpful as long as you stick to it and get the things on the list done.
Next, one of the most important things you can do to ensure your house sells is to make sure you’ve removed your ‘imprint.’ Looking at the house impartially, remove anything that screams ‘my personality’ and ‘my personal space.’ Remember that the next family that moves in may have a completely different aesthetic than yours. In short, your old home should be a Tabula Rasa or a blank slate.
Things like photos, pieces of unique artwork, and ornaments and more can be removed before people come to view the house. Remember – they want to buy the house, not feel the way you felt when you lived there, so if you haven’t finished boxing up your non essentials by the time you start showing them the house, it’s time to consider whether you really need the clutter still unpacked – or whether it’s time to put it in the bin.
Finally, the sooner you can prep your old home, the sooner you can truly start enjoying your new space. Our Calabasas moving and storage company can help by making the move seamless and stress free. We are one of the best moving companies in Los Angeles and we pride ourselves on our customer service.