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9 Projects to Do Before Selling Your Home
Selling your home can be stressful. However, doing these nine projects before putting your home up for sale could sell your home faster and for a greater price.
Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint
A fresh coat of paint makes your home shine and smell brand new. Paint the whole home with neutral colours to get buyers to see the home’s potential.
If you have lived in your home for 10+ years, there’s a good chance the paint is dingy, has marks on it and needs a good sprucing up. You may overlook paint peeling in your house daily, but buyers and real estate agents won’t.
Accent walls should be repainted to match the rest of the walls.
Wash the Windows
Cleaning your windows will allow all the natural light you have to flood into the home. Window cleaning is one of those things we seldom do as homeowners. I have never washed the windows on my house so they would need a good deep clean if I were selling!
Think about hiring a professional to clean your windows and exterior before putting your home on the market.
Do a Deep Clean
Clean your home from top to bottom before showing your home from the ceiling fan blades to the picture frames, wall and baseboards. Show off the true potential of your home by cleaning all surfaces thoroughly. Remember to clean the floors under large appliances, like the fridge and stove.
Declutter
Decluttering is a great place to start when thinking about selling your home. Remove personal items, family pictures and anything that makes the room feel smaller. Thinning out some furniture and clearing off table tops and counters will make the house feel more significant to buyers.
Also, remember that not everyone has pets, so remove any trace of your pet and the clutter.
Get Noticed by Updating the Curb Appeal
Landscaping gives the buyers the first impression of what they will find inside the home they are viewing. Your local garden center can help you decide the best way to get the most bang for your buck.
Simple changes such as reseeding the patchy lawn, adding new mulch around trees and adding colourful flowers boost your curb appeal.
Address Pests
Pests can inhabit your home without notice. However, if pests are noticeably present, get pest control to remove them from your home. Cleaning up the mess and initiating the removal of pests is a good place to start.
Upgrade Your Cabinets
Homeowners spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and it is the most viewed photo in the listing. Refreshing cabinets can greatly impact the sale of your home—either repaint or stain the existing cupboards. Replace the doors or drawer facades, then change the hardware to modern knobs and handles. Fix faulty drawers and doors so they all work correctly. If all those things are out of budget, giving the cupboards a good deep clean inside and out will work wonders too!
Add a Backsplash
Another excellent way to update your kitchen is to change out the backsplash. Upgrading your backsplash is a cost-effective way to boost your kitchen’s appeal.
Choose a backsplash that complements the existing countertop, floors, cabinetry or all three! The best part about adding a backsplash is it adds a little personality to the space and protects the paint from water damage and splatters while you are cooking.
These are easy projects that take little time to tackle but are surefire ways to boost your home’s appeal to buyers. Try them out for yourself!
If you want to buy or sell a home, contact your local REALTOR® today!
Top Secret Homemade Clean Hacks
As we get older, we all have in common how much more time we spend in our days and weeks cleaning. Seriously, how does everything get so dirty so fast?! Or perhaps, maybe, you find yourself mesmerized by #CleanTok? Regardless of whether you are sprucing up the place to get ready to sell or just enjoy a clean space, there’s no shortage of products to help get the job done.
However, it’s way more fun spending your time and hard-earned money decorating our homes instead of constantly cleaning them. So, what if I told you there was a way to keep your home sparkling with materials you already have at home?
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel appliances are trendy in homes right now. It’s pretty when it’s clean, not so pretty when it’s not. The good news is that using Windex or any other glass cleaner will shine it back up in seconds. Ran out of Windex? No problem. Spray some vinegar, wipe with a damp cloth of hot water, buff dry and voila!
Clogged, smelly sinks
While you’re shining up your appliances, you might as well keep that vinegar handy. Kill odours by pouring some vinegar down the sink.
Ugly Coffee Rings
As much as you insist on coasters, you can still be left with a dreaded ring on your poor coffee table. Instead of hiding them with books, Magic Erasers are great for getting rid of marks on a majority of surfaces if you have one handy. Or, try hot water and mild dish soap. It might take a little bit of elbow grease to scrub it off, being aware that scrubbing can wear down paint over time.
Airborne Grease
There are plenty of wonderful kitchen degreasers on the market to get the job done. However, if you want to create your solution, combine a few drops of dish soap with some hot water and spray onto the area. Allow it a few minutes to sit and break down the grease before wiping it away.
Caked on Microwave Gunk
Eliminate the scrubbing and leave your microwave smelling fresh by putting 5-10 drops of lemon juice (lime juice or vinegar will also work just fine) in a bowl of water. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, letting the bowl sit for an additional 3 minutes to steam before opening. Then remove and wipe all the gunk right off. If you’re sensitive to scents, heat just the bowl of water, following all the same steps!
It’s amazing what a little vinegar or dish soap can do! Did any of these tips surprise you? Looking for more advice on selling your home? Haven’t found your Saskatoon dream home yet? We can help!
Selling a Home With All 5 Senses
When selling your house, most people think about how it looks; you want your home to look as beautiful as the memories you made there. However, appealing to buyers’ other four senses can help make them feel fully present in your home. Our five senses play an important role in processing the world around us and triggering our emotional responses. You can create a positive emotional reaction in potential buyers by appealing to all five senses and helping them imagine living in your home.
Selling a House with Sight
This is the obvious one. Make sure to create a neutral clutter-free environment that buyers can imagine as their own. Neutral colours with an accent can help create a stylish and clean setting that is perfect for letting the imagination run wild. Try to tidy up as much as possible and keep the space appealing to your guests. If you have features in your home that make it feel more cozy, such as a fireplace, don’t be afraid to turn it on to make people feel comfortable.
Selling a House with Sound
Find some relaxing or comforting music to play in the background during the house tour. Keep the music to a minimum, so it doesn’t overpower the conversation. For genres of music, you could match it to the season, such as Christmas music during the holidays, or pick sounds suitable for any season, such as lo-fi or jazz.
If you have natural sound features, create a space where guests can enjoy them. For example, water fountains or other elements can add a relaxing atmosphere to your house. Wind chimes are another great way to welcome guests into the space and make them feel in touch with your home.
Selling a House with Smell
While some people recommend using strongly scented products for cleaning, some research says that buyers prefer neutral or lightly scented spaces when touring your home. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea to skip on the scented candles or air fresheners, as buyers may feel you are trying to hide something.
Instead, use light or unscented cleaning products and find ways to add more natural scents to your house. For example, baking before guests arrive can add that homey smell to your space. Another trick, if you’re short on time, is to put some vanilla or lemon on the stove. This can give the same welcoming atmosphere while not being too overpowering.
Selling a House with Taste
While I wouldn’t recommend that you provide anything too labour-intensive, it may be nice to have some snacks or water for your guests. Consider buying in bulk and having a dedicated bowl of small candies for each walk-through to make it easy. Or, if you did that baking we mentioned earlier, consider putting some out for guests! This simple gesture will leave a lasting impression on your potential buyers.
Selling a House with Touch
Make sure to display a variety of fabrics and textures around your house. This also adds to the visual appeal of your space. You should also vacuum the carpets and well and wash your floors. Not only is this a great practice for general cleaning and home maintenance, it also keeps unwanted graininess away and adds extra bounce and comfort underfoot. Put out the fluffiest blankets on your bed and add some throw pillows to add depth and variety.
By engaging all five of a buyers’ senses, you can ensure that your house sticks out in their Saskatoon home search and maximizes its appeal for every tour. If you’re looking for additional help or support, you can contact us, and we would be happy to help you sell your home!
Presenting Offers 101
You’ve found your dream property, congratulations! Now what? The next step in your journey to becoming a homeowner is your agent will put together a presentation of an offer, proposing a deal to the listing agent and their client. Together, you and your agent will decide the terms and conditions of what you wish to offer and determine a fair price for the property. The proposal also most notably includes the Agreement of Purchase and Sale—the official offer to the Seller. It’s a considerable amount of paperwork that needs signing, but once you have those keys in hand and settle into your sweet new digs, it will all be worth it!
Irrevocable Period
This is the period when your offer is valid, as well as the time the Seller is allocated to consider your proposal. After the deadline, if the Seller has not accepted or made a counteroffer, the offer is voided, and you are no longer committed to it.
Offer Registration
Once signed, the Buyer’s agent will ‘register’ the offer with the Listing Brokerage to notify that they have a signed offer from a Buyer. Registering offers help make it easier to track offers, especially if there is more than one on a single property.
Single Buyer Offer
Most commonly, a single buyer is offering to purchase the property at one time. Typically, the single Buyer offer process will take place within the span of a single afternoon or evening with the Seller, listing agent and buying agent in attendance of the negotiations. Many offers are also presented with the Buyer close to hand in a nearby coffee shop or restaurant, if not also in person, for the quickest and most efficient negotiation process. However, with the current life and times, more and more offers are being presented electronically. Regardless of who is in attendance, both the listing and buying agent’s goal is to get their clients the best possible price, gauging each other’s flexibility in terms and conditions.
Once assessing the Buyer’s offer, the Seller and their client can do one of three things: accepting the offer as is, rejecting it, or signing the offer back with initials and signatures to changes in price, closing date or any other particular terms. If the Buyer is not willing to negotiate up to those changes, negotiations will cease, and the Buyer will have to go look elsewhere.
Multiple Buyer Offers
Alternatively to single Buyer, multiple Buyers can present their offers simultaneously, creating a bidding war. Multiple offers on a single property predominantly happen when the property is priced at market value or relatively underpriced. Underpricing can be done deliberately or by accident but is rarely recommended as it can be quite risky for the Seller. However, a listing can receive multiple offers by luck or skilled marketing.
In this case, the listing agent will communicate with each Buyer’s agent, gathering the pros and cons of each offer to discuss privately with their client. Once again, one of three things can happen: accept one of the offers outright, reject all offers if they fall below expectations or decide to work with one Buyer if they can change a few things.
With either presentation style, critical discussions should include closing dates, as well as the size and soonest availability of deposit in the form of a bank draft for maximized confidence in the offer. Additionally, it is often also more secure of a decision to accept a firm offer over a conditional, even if the conditional offer is higher. After all, chances could be that the Buyer is caught up in the moment and gets Buyer’s remorse a few days later.
Of course, your best course of action is having a knowledgeable local REALTOR® by your side. No matter if you are looking to buy or sell, contact us today for a trusted guiding hand in the process, drawing on all our combined years of experience.
