Your home is your castle. It’s where you’re free to express yourself and take refuge from the outside world. A life well-lived is one where we can surround ourselves with the things we love—whether that means material possessions or friends and family!
All of this is well and good, but there is one time in your life when a little depersonalization can go a long way, and that is when you decide to sell your home!
In this post, I’m sharing my best tips for cleaning out your home before selling it.
First, A Backstory
I remember years ago, my daughter Kate and I were at a listing presentation for a home where the owner was passionate about two things: porcelain dolls and antique liquor bottles. Now, on any other day, this unique collection would be fine. Your home is what you make it, and we aren’t here to judge anyone’s taste.
But it’s a different story when it comes to selling the property. At the listing presentation, Kate and I could hardly make an informed opinion on the house for all the dusty bottles and dolls lovingly displayed around the home.
The moral of the story is that if two highly skilled and experienced real estate professionals can’t see past the clutter and grime, how will the average buyer do it?
Selling your home doesn’t have to be complicated. Read these posts next for answers to some of your biggest selling questions:
- Should I Paint Before Selling My House?
- 4 Essential Landscaping Tips to Boost Your Curb Appeal
- Home Inspections: Are They Necessary?
You Aren’t Selling a House—You’re Selling a Lifestyle
Many sellers (and even some real estate agents) make the mistake of thinking that selling a house is all about the four walls and roof. It’s not.
Selling a home is about creating a space where buyers can envision themselves. We want buyers to have a reaction when they enter the home. It should take their breath away. They should easily picture themselves helping the kids with homework at the kitchen table, or gathering around the family room for a movie night.
Buying a home is an emotional experience as much as it is a financial decision. If you’re able to communicate the heart and essence of your home in a way that captivates buyers, you can consider that house as good as sold.
Do You Need to Renovate Your Home Before Selling It?
Many times, sellers will ask my opinion on renovations before listing. They become obsessed with the idea of renovating a bathroom, refinishing cabinets, or even investing in professional landscaping.
Do you want to know a secret? You can renovate your home from top to bottom, but if it’s cluttered and messy, buyers will see right through your new cabinets and fancy bathroom fixtures.
The number one thing sellers can do to help the sale of their home is Pack & Clean.
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Will a Clean Home Sell For More Money?
At the end of the day, selling your home is all about getting results, and I can say with absolute confidence that cleaning your home is the best way to increase your return on investment (ROI). Not cleaning properly means you’re leaving money on the table. In some cases, I’d estimate up to 10% of the home value. So yes, a clean home will sell for more money.
Depersonalization is the Name of the Game
Before listing the home, try to move as much out of the house as you can. The amount of stuff you can remove depends on whether or not you will be living in the house while it is being listed.
This step serves three main purposes:
- Buyers won’t get caught up looking at your belongings, family photos, etc., they will be too busy thinking about their own family and visualizing them in your home.
- It will open up the space and make your home look and feel larger. Remember, buyers are essentially “trying on” your home.
- From a practical perspective, if you remove things early on in the process, that just means you have less to pack later on!
Cleaning Your Home Before Selling: The Basics
“Broom clean and free of debris” is a phrase often used in purchase contracts. It’s the bare minimum level of cleanliness the home needs to be. However, we know that a sparkly clean home will attract and captivate more buyers (and therefore, yield a higher price and a faster sale), so we always recommend more than just the minimum.
Here are a few extra steps we recommend you take:
- Scrub Everything Down – Good old-fashioned soap and water should suffice here. Scrub the floors, the walls, and all the nooks and crannies. Don’t forget door frames, door knobs, light switches, and baseboards—these are easy to overlook when cleaning, but a buyer will notice if it’s dirty.
- Windows and Doors – Clean the inside and outside of your windows. Crystal clear windows look spectacular from outside the home, and inside, it helps stream in even more natural light. Don’t forget the front door too; that’s the first impression your home will make.
- Remove or Fix Broken Items – I get it, life happens, and sometimes that loose door knob you’ve been meaning to fix winds up at the end your seemingly endless to-do list. Now is the time to take care of these things. Fix any broken or worn-out hardware. If you have broken or old drapes and blinds, get rid of those too.
- Lights – Clean your light fixtures, make sure any chandeliers are cobweb-free, and if possible, make sure all the bulbs match in temperature and brightness.
- The Yard – Don’t forget your yard! Make sure leaves are raked in the fall, lawns are mowed in the summer, and walkways are shoveled in the winter.
Feeling Extra Ambitious? Here are a Few More Things You Can Do
Once your home is clean from top to bottom, you (and your agent) can make a better assessment of anything extra the home needs to further improve its value.
An ethical agent would never recommend any repairs or renovations unless they were confident that it would increase ROI. However, in many cases, homeowners might paint the walls or update the flooring as a quick way to refresh the space.
Working with a professional to sell your home truly pays off! Read our blog about why you should work with a professional real estate agent for your next transaction.
What if You Don’t Have Time to Clean?
This is where working with a full-service real estate agent is worth every penny. Life gets busy. Between work, family, after-school activities, and your (well-deserved) downtime, it can seem overwhelming and chaotic to try and organize this by yourself.
I have the names of numerous service providers on speed dial. You’d be surprised how quickly my team can assemble to completely empty and clean your home.
When our clients ask for help with cleaning, we usually take 2-3 days with a team of movers, cleaners, and tradespeople. In some cases, we’ve been able to clean and organize 30 years of living in that time. By the time we are done, your home will be in tip-top shape, ready for staging, photos, marketing, and listing!
Don’t let cleaning your home become an insurmountable task. Whether you’re cleaning yourself or working with a dream team like me, cleaning is by far the most important step in preparing your home. Once that’s done, it’s all smooth sailing!
Looking for help selling your home? Get in touch with me today by calling 801-949-9878 or emailing Julia@JuliaSplan.com.
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