Key Steps to Selling Your Home Include: Deep cleaning, making small repairs, removing valuable personal items from your home, and having a checklist for tasks right before a showing. Each of these can help make your home ready to become someone else’s home.
Selling your home in Grove City, Mercer County, Cranberry Township, or the Pittsburgh North area can feel exciting, nerve-wracking, and daunting all at once. The good news is that a clear plan and the right preparation can help your home show better, attract stronger offers, and reduce the stress that often comes with listing.
At Bonner Realty, we help both buyers and sellers navigate the steps to selling your home with confidence. Below are six practical, high-impact ways to prepare your home for sale, whether you’re listing a starter home in Grove City or a move-up home closer to Cranberry.
1. Get Organized & Clean
Organizing and cleaning are two of the most important early steps to selling your home. You will also find it is much easier packing and moving when you are organized.
Your home should tell the story of who you are as an owner, but also appear appealing to a potential buyer. Immediately after walking through your front door, every potential buyer is imagining themselves living there. What picture are you helping them paint?
A home that is clean and organized is a far more inviting canvas for a buyer. If there are specific items in your home you are able to pack up and store, it is best to do so prior to listing.
The top things that you should be focusing on when organizing and cleaning are:
- Neat and organized kitchen: Remember, buyers will open your cabinets, pantry, and maybe even your refrigerator! There’s a good possibility that they will discover the notorious “kitchen junk drawer”. Also, having too many appliances or other items on your counters could tell potential buyers that there is not enough storage. Consider placing some of your countertop items in cabinets or box them up to store elsewhere during showings.
- Clean bathrooms: Buyers appreciate a clean and clutter-free bathroom. Again, excess counter usage could imply that there is limited storage space. Place what you can in drawers or on shelves to declutter the counter. Additionally, scrub your bathroom well. Stains from calcium, rust, or makeup on your shower, toilet, or sink can send the message that the bathroom is hard to keep clean, or that the fixtures need to be replaced.
- Places you touch:
Don’t forget to clean those places you touch everyday. These could include light switches, door handles, railings, outlet covers, etc… The truth is that natural oils from your hands can make them look dingy over time.
- Closets: The more storage space that you can showcase in your home, the better! Keep linen, pantry, and bedroom closets tidy and organized. This is where packing things like winter sheets, summer clothes, or beach towels and storing them neatly can impact how potential buyers see the storage options in your home.
- Depersonalize: Your family photos, collections, or art pieces are part of your story, but the open house is about others seeing themselves living out the next chapter of their story in the property. As we highlighted earlier, one useful way of thinking about how to prepare your home for sale is to make it into as blank a canvas as you can for the people viewing it. Presenting your home in this way empowers them to envision where they are going to put their personal items after the sale goes through, rather than discussing your decor choices in the moment.
- Pets: As pet owners ourselves, we completely understand that pets are family members. However, just because you have become immune, or “nose-blind” to your pet’s general hygiene, that does not mean potential buyers have. It is a good idea to wash their beds, deep clean their litter pans, and freshen up their favorite toys. You can also use natural odor eliminators like activated charcoal, white vinegar, or baking soda.
- Curb appeal: Don’t forget about the outside of your house. If you can, have your house power washed so that the outside is as clean as the inside. Trim any unruly shrubs and remove any dead tree branches. Also, doing something as simple as buying potted plants for the exterior entryway or porch can go a long way to making your home more welcoming.
2. Stash Your Valuables
One of the other practical things to do before selling your house is to protect items that are valuable. If there are items in your home that carry a significant value, be that financial or sentimental, consider storing them in a safe place or relocating them while your home is on the market. With the increased foot traffic that is soon to be in your house, you will feel better knowing that your valuables are safe!
3. Replace Light Bulbs
Homes that are light and bright show better to potential buyers. Because of that, it makes sense to replace bulbs that are not currently functioning or appear to be less bright. You might not notice that they are not functioning because you have adapted to your surroundings, but potential buyers will notice if they switch on a light and nothing happens. Sometimes it is the small things that can make a big difference – every little bit helps.
4. Take Care of Small Repairs
Speaking of little things… when learning how to prepare your home for sale, minor repairs can have a surprisingly major impact on buyer perception. The door knob that doesn’t quite lock. The faucet that drips a little. The toilet handle that needs jiggled “just right” to stop the water running. These small repair needs and others can be easy for you to ignore.
However, a potential buyer could view them as “non-functional” items in your home. If you are handy and are able to make these repairs easily, that is great! If you’re not handy, reach out to us and we can recommend trusted local pros in Grove City, Mercer County, and Cranberry Township, including handymen, painters, cleaners, and contractors who understand what buyers in our market notice first.
Remember: minor repairs could be the difference between a potential buyer loving your home, or just giving it a passing nod.
Some small repairs to consider making as one of the steps to selling your home can include:
- ensuring all interior and exterior doors open and close properly;
- addressing any plumbing problems like leaky faucets, running toilets, or slow moving drains;
- fixing safety issues such as loose hand rails, damaged stairs, uneven flooring, or loose wall outlets;
- checking for, and correcting, frustrating trouble spots including loose handles and knobs, cabinet doors that don’t stay closed, or lubricating squeaky doors; and
- touching up wall scuffs with fresh paint.
If you want to take home repairs to the next level, you could have a pre-sale home inspection done. Doing a home inspection as one of the steps to selling your home allows you to know early on what major repairs may be needed. Often, a home inspection is done after an offer is accepted, but knowing ahead of time if there is a big ticket repair coming up gives you the option to fix it, or at least let prospective buyers know about it.
The areas generally covered in a home inspection include the:
- windows and doors;
- floors;
- foundation;
- basement;
- plumbing;
- electrical wiring;
- heating and cooling units;
- hot water heater; and
- roof.
5. Make an Extra Key for the Lock Box
One of the wisest things to do before selling your house is to have an extra front door key made for the lock box that will be outside of your home. We understand that you might not ever use your house key, so putting an extra one in the lock box can feel inconsequential. But in our experience, accidents do happen, keys have gone missing, and it is always a good idea to make sure that you have a copy of your house key accessible – at all times!
6. Create a Plan or Checklist for Showings
By this point, you’ve learned how to prepare your home for sale and completed many of the essential steps to selling your home. Now it’s time to make sure your hard work shines during every showing. Regardless of the instructions on your listing, we will get requests to show your home at the last minute! We wish it were different, but our experience tells us it’s more likely to happen than not. Even so, as the seller, you will ALWAYS have the final say with showing requests.
In order to be ready for last-minute viewings, however, it is important to have a plan or checklist in place.
You have just gone through all of these steps to selling your home to get prepared… The showing is where it all gets to SHINE! The following will help you prepare for a showing, especially if you find out about them at the last minute:
- No dirty dishes or laundry left out: get those items loaded in the dishwasher, washer, or hamper.
- Make the beds: well-placed throw blankets and pillows are always a nice touch as well.
- Keep up with dusting: don’t let those pesky dust bunnies move in while your home is listed.
- Clear off surfaces: remove personal items, such as contact cases, ashtrays, and mail, from end tables, coffee tables, kitchen and bathroom counters, and nightstands.
- Quickly vacuum: before you leave the house, vacuum the carpet. That always creates a welcoming feeling for buyers.
- Let there be light! Open the curtains and blinds: a light-filled home is extra appealing!
- Odor-free: empty the trash and, if you have pets, freshen up their areas.
- Marketing materials: don’t forget to display any marketing materials we provide for you. Agents might not always bring marketing collateral with them.
Still Need Help? We’re Just a Phone Call Away!
We know there are many steps to selling your home, but you don’t have to navigate the process alone. Bonner Realty helps homeowners across Grove City, Mercer County, Cranberry Township, and the greater Pittsburgh North area prepare, price, and market their homes with a clearly defined plan and a focus on the best possible outcome.
At Bonner Realty, our team of experienced realtors is always ready to guide you through every step of the listing process. Your realtor is ready to discuss any questions you may have, provide local handyman recommendations, and even give you a pep talk before your showings.
Ready to sell your house and experience home with Bonner Realty? Connect with an agent or call us at 724-405-7653 today.
FAQs
What are the top things to do before selling your house?
Some of the top things to do before selling your house include decluttering, depersonalizing, deep cleaning kitchens and bathrooms, addressing minor repairs, improving lighting, and boosting curb appeal. These simple improvements can significantly impact buyer perception.
Should I fix small repairs before listing my home?
Yes. Small issues like dripping faucets, loose door handles, or squeaky doors may seem minor, but buyers often notice them. Taking care of these small repairs ahead of time can prevent buyers from viewing your home as poorly maintained.
How can I quickly prepare my home for a last-minute showing?
For a last-minute showing, focus on quick wins: load dishes and laundry out of sight, make the beds, vacuum high-traffic areas, open blinds for natural light, remove trash, and clear surfaces of personal items. A simple checklist can make the process stress-free and efficient.
