The best time to sell your house quickly is March, according to real estate website Zillow. (If you want to get really granular, the best day to list is a Thursday.) That means now is the time to get it ready. Home expert Diva Haase, of Hudson Valley Staging and Redesign, offers tips on what to do in the winter to prepare your home for sale in the spring.
Minimalism: Too much furniture and an abundance of personal items can make the rooms appear smaller. Pack and store away anything you can live without, Haase advises.
Clutter: “Find a storage space in each room to put things away quickly when a showing appointment has been made,” she recommends.
Painting: “If your walls have not been painted in quite some time, are dingy or painted in bright colors, this will negatively affect the sale of your home,” Haase says. But don’t make white your automatic go-to color.
“If a room has minimal to no light, white will appear dingy. On the flip side, if you have a home that is flooded with light and on the minimalist side, white can be wonderful.” Remember, too, that top-shelf paints give a more durable finish and cover more square footage. It often takes double the amount of inferior paint to do the job of one quality gallon.
Bonus rooms: Be sure to “define” your bonus room, for example as an office, playroom, or guest room. “Many buyers lack visual ability, so therefore an undefined space becomes a negative,” Haase notes.
Renovations: The majority of buyers are seeking turnkey homes, and unfinished or unrepaired items will be used as bargaining chips during a spring sale. Think carefully, however, before you upgrade. Research the current tastes of recent local buyers in your area first before choosing to do any major upgrades. Base the upgrades on the buyers’ tastes rather than your own, and keep the average cost of the neighboring homes in mind.
Bottom line: “A property should present an idealized lifestyle in an understated and relatable way,” Haase sums up.
Related: Spruce up Your Outdoor Living Space in the Hudson Valley
