Putting your home on the real estate market in Waltham, MA can be strenuous, but there are many steps you can take to make it easier and more effective. Ask any Realtor about this and they are likely to tell you that one of the most crucial steps is preparing the house for sale. This is when you rearrange and decorate your home for the purpose of enhancing its appeal to the potential buyers. It's a demanding, yet interesting process, but before you begin, there are a handful of factors you should consider in order to ensure you receive the interest you are hoping for.
Decluttering is the first step. Chances are that you are moving to a new home anyways, so this is a good opportunity to get a head start on packing, while more importantly improving your homes marketability. Decluttering is also an important way to show that your home hasn't experienced any neglect. If anything is broken, it is of course helpful to fix it. Painting can be helpful however it is best to stick to light, neutral colors to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and decorating styles. To get an idea of what colors are current and popular, you can research or visit model homes used by home building companies. They typically have designers who pick colors that appeal to the widest set of audiences.
What sells a home best is its kitchen and bathrooms. These rooms also happen to be the rooms that get the messiest and are the hardest to clean. Try to employ a 'leave only footprints' mentality when living in a home on the market (but also don't leave any footprints!). Clear your kitchen counter tops and stove of nearly everything, including appliances you generally leave out. You can relocate your kitchen and bathroom counter top items to a drawer, but remember that the buyer is likely to open those too. They will want to get an idea of the storage space they offer so keep it clean and organized. If your dining room table have leaves in it, remove them to create a more open impression. It would also help if you set the table. The nicer the room looks, the more likely the buyer is to picture themselves enjoying the space in the future. If you have a china cabinet, you may want to remove its contents and dust the surfaces before they arrive.
Many people have bedroom furniture that is too large for the size of the room. If this is true of your home, you may want to consider removing a piece or two to open up the room. Of course, you want to make your bed before each showing, but it may also help to buy a new set of sheets and covers. Perhaps you can use this as an excuse to buy a new set you would like to bring with you to your new home. If you have a home office it is important to remove any personal items like calendars, bulletin boards, or documents. Not only do you want to keep these items private, but you again want to depersonalize the home for the benefit of the buyer’s imagination. There is a chance that the buyer doesn't even want to use that room as an office so, in this case, less is more. The same is true of hallways, walls, and entryways. Clear the stairs of anything you may keep on them and limit decorative fixtures so that they are neutral and minimal. Mirrors are good as they add light and give the buyer an impression that the home is larger than it is.
Many first-time sellers are under the impression that a successful arrangement is all about the home's appearance, when in fact there is much more you can do beneath the surface. For example, it is very important to remove any and all odors. Whether a smell is unpleasant or not, it's important to offer the perspective buyer a blank slate of smell by completely eliminating odors, and not simply covering them up with fragrances. You can also play soft music in the background to create a comfortable and inviting setting. Many realtors provide warm food and cold drinks in order to make the buyer feel more comfortable. Make sure to turn on every light in the house and set the rooms to a comfortable temperature. Set your home apart by catering to all five of the buyers senses and create for them, not only a tour, but an experience. As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression.