7 Essential Steps to Getting Your House Ready to Sell
Here's how to boost your home’s sale price and attract buyers in the digital age.
You don't need to embark on a lengthy renovation to sell your home. Smaller investments can bolster your windfall just as effectively. With most Americans scouting properties first from a laptop or smartphone, "pictures are key," says Jay Bell, co-founder of Virtually Staging Properties in Doraville, Ga. Even before the pandemic, 70% of house hunters toured the inside of a home online, according to a 2019 report from the National Association of Realtors.
To lure buyers and maximize your home's sales price, real estate experts have these seven tips, including a new way to stage a space in the digital age.
Let go of the sentiment
Your home may be special to you, but for potential buyers, it's just another property. To sell it, get over your emotional attachment and think of your home as a product. "For many retirees, this is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, especially for those who've been living in their home for a decade or more," says Lori Matzke, owner of Home Staging Expert in Arlington, Minn. Just because you love your home's brightly painted accent wall or bold, patterned wallpaper doesn't mean others will find it attractive. Look at the space as a buyer would -- with a critical eye -- to spot what needs changing.
Depersonalize the space
Homebuyers like to picture themselves living in the home with their furnishings in the room. So put away family photos, knickknacks and collectibles, and remove pictures from the walls and mantels.
Clear out the clutter
Downsizing your belongings helps your house command a higher selling price. "The less stuff in a room, the bigger it looks," says Mary Kay Buysse, executive director of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers in Hinsdale, Ill. If weeding out a lifetime of possessions seems overwhelming, hire a professional organizer, who will even call the movers and donate your giveaways. Organizers charge between $50 and $125 an hour, or between $3,000 and $5,000 to help clean out an entire house.
Stage your home
Although rooms should be free of clutter, you don't want them completely empty either. If you need to move out of the house while it's on the market or just want more neutral, attractive furniture to show off the rooms, a staging company can help. Traditional staging usually involves furnishing only a few key rooms, such as the living room, dining room, master bedroom, master bathroom and a half bath. This can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to upwards of $6,000 if you end up renting the furniture for an extended period.
Consider virtual staging
As a cheaper alternative to traditional staging, firms can digitally add pieces of furniture to pictures of the rooms in your house. These photographs can then be used on websites that show home listings. Virtual staging costs about $500 total and lets you furnish spaces you wouldn't ordinarily do with traditional staging, like placing a pool table in a recreation room. The downside is the rooms you are virtually staging must be completely empty.
Make everything brighter
Anything you can do to lighten and freshen up your home is likely to pay off. Paint the outside accents of your home, including the mailbox, to bolster curb appeal. Use a product like Orange GLO to make cabinets and wood floors shine. Change light bulbs in lamps and overhead lighting for ones with a higher wattage. Replace heavy window coverings with something that lets in more light such as sheers. "Light-filled rooms energize potential buyers," Matzke says.
Aim for nice but not too ice
If more significant renovations are needed, limit them to simpler projects, such as upgrading kitchen appliances or bathroom cabinets, rather than knocking down walls to reconfigure the room's footprint. Any improvements you make should be in line with the average home prices in your area. "You don't want the nicest house on the block," Buysse says. "If your house is in a moderate price range, pick moderately priced cabinets and appliances. Otherwise, you aren't going to make the money back."
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Jackie Stewart is the senior retirement editor for Kiplinger.com and the senior editor for Kiplinger's Retirement Report.
-
Farewell Paper I-Bonds: Savings Bonds Are Going Online-Only
The last remaining way to buy a paper savings bond in the U.S. (with your income tax refund) won't be available from January 2025. Tax filers will still be able to buy I-bonds online, however.
By Lisa Gerstner Published
-
Is Medicare a Good Reason to Wait Until 65 to Retire?
The average retirement age is 62, but many people wait until Medicare starts at 65. Should health care be the key driver of your retirement date?
By Evan T. Beach, CFP®, AWMA® Published
-
Medicare Basics: 11 Things You Need to Know
Medicare There's Medicare Part A, Part B, Part D, Medigap plans, Medicare Advantage plans and so on. We sort out the confusion about signing up for Medicare — and much more.
By Catherine Siskos Last updated
-
Six of the Worst Assets to Inherit
inheritance Leaving these assets to your loved ones may be more trouble than it’s worth. Here's how to avoid adding to their grief after you're gone.
By David Rodeck Last updated
-
403(b) Contribution Limits for 2024: Good News for Teachers
retirement plans Teachers and nonprofit workers can contribute more to a 403(b) retirement plan in 2024 than they could in 2023.
By Jackie Stewart Last updated
-
SEP IRA Contribution Limits for 2024
SEP IRA A good option for small business owners, SEP IRAs allow individual annual contributions of as much as $69,000 a year.
By Jackie Stewart Last updated
-
Roth IRA Contribution Limits for 2024
Roth IRAs Roth IRA contribution limits have gone up for 2024. Here's what you need to know.
By Jackie Stewart Last updated
-
SIMPLE IRA Contribution Limits for 2024
simple IRA The SIMPLE IRA contribution limit increased by $500 for 2024 and workers at small businesses can contribute up to $16,000 or $19,500 if 50 or over.
By Jackie Stewart Last updated
-
457 Contribution Limits for 2024
retirement plans State and local government workers can contribute more to their 457 plans in 2024 than in 2023.
By Jackie Stewart Published
-
Roth 401(k) Contribution Limits for 2024
retirement plans The Roth 401(k) contribution limit for 2024 is increasing, and workers who are 50 and older can save even more.
By Jackie Stewart Last updated