Quick Overview

Prepare to sell your home: Overview

We're making the assumption that you've thought through the reasons and financial aspects of moving your family and belongings. Enough said. Let's get into it.

When you sell your home, you can opt to sell as a FSBO (pronounced fizzbo) meaning “For-Sale-By-Owner”, or through the traditional method of paying a Realtor to market your home. Either way, it often takes a lot of preparation on your part if your objective is to maximize profit. 

How much preparation depends on the care and maintenance you've applied over the years, the attention you've given to keeping your home in tune with current fashions and your overall cleanliness habits. 

In the Considerations topic (to your left), we point out timing considerations for going on the market, payback expectations for the past upgrades you've done, situations you should consider and options to traditional selling for getting rid of your home.

Preparing your home requires more than basic cleaning and slapping on some paint. You're vying for the buyer’s attention–and approval in a crowded market of homes for sale. 

The "Prepare to sell" topic is the meat of your pre-marketing efforts. Included is "home staging", which has become so important in this competitive market that we have devoted some serious space to this topic.

Preparation is unique among the six selling steps. That's because it is the ONLY step that can add value to your home. You can increase your profit through employing techniques recommended in the other steps, but the Prepare step will result in maximizing your home's actual worth. Ask any agent and they'll tell you that the most cosmetically appealing homes sell for top dollar.

If you are using an agent, the agent's efforts are focused on producing a buyer, not on making your home more appealing. If you want to get the most for your home, you are the one who is going to have to make your home's condition and subsequent presentation stand out from the competition. 

CONTINUE your Tour of Overviews here >  Price your home