How to Prepare a Home for Sale in Today's Market (& Some Exciting News!)
Over the years, Steve and I have met with countless homeowners who were on the verge of a move and seeking remodeling advice. When preparing to sell, we usually advised them to do as little as possible to their current homes.
Why, you might ask? Well, our reasoning was two-fold: (1) we wanted to help our clients conserve cash that we believed could be better spent in designing and remodeling their new home, and (2) we assumed the new owners of our clients’ home would want to put their own mark on the space anyway.
But, when the time came for us to personally make a move a couple months ago, we had to “eat our own cooking,” as a good friend of mine says. Taking the advice of our agent, we realized we couldn’t get away with the bare minimum. We had to put in some work to make our house sellable... and to put it simply, that effort paid off with very fast, profitable sale.
Now, you might be reading this and thinking, “What? You’re not in Atlanta anymore?” So allow me to fill you in…
YES… we moved!
Recently, Steve and I were faced with a big decision. As you know, we had purchased and renovated this gorgeous waterfront property in FL earlier this year. Well, our original dream was to someday, several years in the future, make this home (and its beautiful views) into our permanent residence.
Of course, this would mean picking up and moving everything — our lives, everything in our home, and yes, even our business. We knew it would be no easy task, which is why it was simply a dream way off in the distance. But then…
COVID happened. We watched the city go into lockdown, our renovation projects screeched to a halt, and we were forced to do what all of us have had to do this year: sit and wait.
And as we waited in the unknown, an opportunity crept into our minds…
What if we followed that lifelong dream now? Could we do it? Do we want to?? Many long discussions ensued as Steve and I talked logistics, but we saw a sparkle of excitement in each other’s eyes and realized that, yes, our dream could be closer than we had ever imagined! (I’ve found that the most rewarding decisions in life always start with a little bit of fear.)
So, we said YES to a new adventure. In September, we packed up our lives in Atlanta and moved down to the Emerald Coast. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy. But when we wake up each day and see the Gulf as we drink coffee… or cook dinner (Steve) and drink wine (me) as the sun sets… well, we have never been happier!
But let me get back to today’s topic… preparing our home for sale.
As simple as it sounds, it actually took a lot of hard work and substantial sweat equity, but our preparations paid off in the end. Here’s what we suggest…
Our Pre-Market Home Renovations
To be fair, as soon as we decided to sell our home, we did have a small list of changes that we knew needed to be made, such as the interior paint color, so it was not unexpected when our agent suggested those upgrades.
But… there were also a few larger items that our agent insisted upon which we hadn’t planned for. We bit the bullet anyway and are very glad we made those investments. Here’s everything we did to prepare our Atlanta home for the competitive real estate market.
A Clean Home Exterior
We are well aware that first impressions matter… in fact, sometimes they are everything! So we followed the advice of our agent and did some exterior clean-up.
We pressure-washed the house to remove stains, dirt, dust, mildew, moss, cobwebs, etc. and to help preserve the curb appeal of our home.
Once our house looked neat and clean, we chose to re-stain the deck and front porch so that the entire exterior looked as good as new. Not only would potential buyers appreciate that effort when they visited in person, but we knew these small upgrades would also help our MLS photos stand out from the crowd, too.
A Brand New Roof
While not exactly our most exciting project to date, putting a new roof on the house was a non-negotiable, according to our listing agent. Apparently some lenders frowned on the age of our roof...after all, our house was built in the late 1960s and it was due for replacement. Actually, a typical asphalt shingle roof lasts 20 to 25 years, and we were well beyond double that lifespan. So this was a wise suggestion on our agent’s part.
While we were at it, we put a brand new roof on the dog house, too... just so that the two structures would match. And it’s safe to say, there are a lot of pet owners out there who love the extra touch.
A Fresh Coat of Paint
I’m very much a warm color person, and our home interior reflected that. Nearly every wall was painted in a warm tone, some even tending toward the gold family. These colors suited us perfectly, but they didn’t put the home’s best foot forward.
We wanted to give the impression of a light, bright, open home. So we knew a brighter white was necessary. (This is where being an interior designer comes in handy!)
After: Walls in Sherwin Williams Shoji White
We painted the entire inside of the house in Sherwin Williams Shoji White, which is a great neutral that works well with a lot of other colors. The result was a home that feels airy and spacious, just waiting to be personalized by the new owners.
A Blank Canvas
We absolutely love the art collection we have amassed over the years. Every piece was hand-selected by Steve and me, and in many cases, was purchased directly from the artist. So taking down all of this beautiful art was painful. But it had to be done.
Our agent suggested opening up the walls to provide a blank canvas for potential buyers to envision their own collection in the space. And as hard as that was, I know our agent was right. We left one or two just for some color and to show buyers the potential.
A Clutter-Free Home
This was probably the most time-consuming of all our listing preparations. After all, when you’ve lived somewhere as long as we have, stuff accumulates in every corner of the home.
We started by decluttering all of the shelving throughout our house. We were too close to notice, but as our agent reminded us, our personal items were distracting. Everything from family and wedding photos to jewelry boxes were removed. We put away the kitchen appliances that we stored on the countertops. We did our best to make the space neat, tidy, and clutter-free.
Once the more obvious spaces were tidied, we moved on to the closets. Systematically, we emptied each one. We packed up our linens, stored our winter clothing, and dealt with all of the items at the back of each closet that we had forgotten about over the years.
This was hard work, but the end result was a beautiful home that looked organized, well-maintained, and nearly move-in ready.
An Illuminated Space
Last, but certainly not least, we changed all of the ceiling light bulbs out, opting for bulbs with daylight settings, so as to give off as much light as possible. An added bonus was that these daylight bulbs are neither too blue, nor too yellow, so they played perfectly with our freshly painted white walls.
Although not part of our original budget, investing in our agent’s suggested home changes more than paid off. Taking the small risk to spend money on the home we were selling resulted in a quick sale that recouped our investment, and then some.
The move itself... well, that was an adventure all its own. But that’s a different story for another day.
Our biggest lesson in all of this? Never again will we advise our clients to spend as little as possible on their homes before selling. We have seen the result of intentional preparations to a home before listing, and it is worth it!
When asked by future clients how to maximize their potential home profits, we will encourage them to listen to their agent, and then, of course, to come to us for anything they need help renovating on that punch list. As a GC and Interior Designer team, we can handle anything you throw at us. ;)
If you’re currently in this situation, give us a call. We’ll gladly give you our best advice, rely on our personal experiences, and help you prepare to sell your home quickly and at top dollar… so you can move on to the next exciting chapter of your life.
Warmly,
Sarah