The spring real estate market in Wisconsin has begun early – buyers are out in force looking at a smaller inventory of homes for sale than they’d like. You have an opportunity to be a part of this market leaning towards the seller side, but you must prepare first. Even in a busy market, preparing a home for sale is important.
Here’s what to do now before listing your home:
Inspect your home
Buyers will walk through your home with a keen eye and if they make an offer to purchase, it will most likely include a home inspection contingency. Take a walk through your home before listing and look at it through a buyer’s eye. Look for potential issues and address them. You could also hire a professional inspector to do this for you and provide a copy for buyers to see.
Repair, replace or adjust price?
Leaky faucets, doors that stick or don’t close, stained concrete, a drab and dinged up front door… those are all examples of things you can and should address before listing your home. Some needed repairs/replacements are obvious as well as expensive – a visibly worn roof, for example. This type of repair, if not addressed before listing, will likely mean you need to adjust the list price to reflect the needed repair. Another example is really old/dirty carpeting. No one likes to see this. Replace it, remove it. If you don’t, you may need to offer a flooring allowance to the new buyer.
Declutter and clean
Declutter first, making your space feel more spacious immediately. Pack away knick knacks, excessive furniture, family photos. Go through closets and get rid of what you have not used or worn in the last year. Organize all closets and cabinets. Clean everywhere and plan on keeping it clean while your home is on the market.
Fresh paint
This makes such a difference and is inexpensive. If your walls are dingy, wash and paint them. Stay neutral – but that does not mean everything has to be white. Stick to light colors to make your home seem larger.
Look outside
How does your home present itself to the buyer driving by or walking up your walkway? Is your door in good shape? Landscaping kept neatly? Sidewalks clear of snow? Siding and windows clean and in good shape? One of the most important things you can do when selling a home is to make sure it looks inviting – or the buyers won’t bother coming to see what is on the inside.
Talk to an agent
Talk to and/or interview a few real estate agents in your area of Wisconsin. Ask them about your preparations so far and see if they have other recommendations. Listen to their pricing recommendations and look at the supporting local market data. Select the agent that you feel comfortable with and confident in. Sign the listing contract and you are on your way. The work you have done here to prepare your home even before talking with an agent is an excellent way to begin the home selling process.
First Weber sells real estate throughout Wisconsin: Metro Milwaukee and Southeastern WI, South Central Wisconsin/Greater Madison, Southwestern WI, Central Wisconsin, Western Wisconsin, Northeast Wisconsin and Wisconsin’s great Northwoods. You can start searching for Wisconsin real estate and Wisconsin real estate agents at firstweber.com