If moving is on your mind, then it’s a good idea to take the thought as a sign to take action. Ideally, you want to have your home sale-ready before you even start the process of finding a realtor. This will allow you to focus on closing the sale and making the move. With that in mind, here are five things to do before putting your home on the market.
Deal With Maintenance and Repairs
Even if you know something really isn’t a problem, you still need to deal with it before you put your house on the market. Remember, your buyer won’t know your property as you do. They will simply judge it by what they can see (and hear and smell) for themselves. Any indications that you’ve been skipping on maintenance will probably act as a red flag to most buyers.
Get Your Paperwork Together
What documents you need to sell a home will depend on where you live. Find out what they are (remember they may have changed since you bought your home) and get them together. Having all your paperwork in order can speed up the home-sales process. The quicker you can get through the legal technicalities, the less time there is for something to go wrong.
Put Valuables Into Storage
Your home is going to go on the internet. Even if the advert doesn’t give your exact address, you have to assume that a determined person (like a criminal) could work it out. This means, quite bluntly, that anything you’d be worried about having stolen should be kept out of photos and, if at all possible, out of the house.
If you’re clearing out valuables, then you might want to take the opportunity to clear out anything you’re worried about having broken. This can wait until you’re ready to offer viewings. On the other hand, doing it early lets you check one item off your to-do list.
Clean Out Your Kitchen and Bathroom
Your kitchen and bathroom are the places where you’re most likely to have “use them or lose them” items. These are items like food, cleaning products, and medicines that you’re probably not going to take with you when you move. Cleaning out your kitchen and bathroom early lets you see what you have. Then you can focus on using them up while you’re waiting to move.
Further decluttering can wait until your home is on the market. That said, there can be advantages to doing it early, or at least starting it early. In particular, if you’re thinking about selling items, it makes sense to start the process as soon as possible. Remember, it takes time to put together good listings. You also need to allow time to arrange packing and postage.
Make a List of Places to Update Your Address
This may seem like an odd point, but it can actually save a lot of time and stress. As soon as you start thinking about moving, start putting together a list of who you need to update about your move. The longer you give yourself to do this, the more chance you have of remembering everyone you need to inform.
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