Essential Tips to Prepare Homes for Warm Weather Buyers

Staged homes sell 78% faster and for 11% more than their counterparts. If some of your sellers are wary about staging their homes, these two statistics should be enough to convince them. Many homeowners put their homes up for sale and wonder why they don’t get any offers. If your sellers have upgraded their homes, priced them competitively, and they are still not getting offers, they should consider staging for the season. Here’s how to go about it.

Declutter and Depersonalize

Clutter makes a home look small and also distracts buyers (which is the last thing every seller wants). Sellers should get rid of unused items and knickknacks. Those with many possessions can put them in self-storage units as storing them in closets or the garage will put off buyers.

Depersonalizing a home is also very important. Buyers cannot visualize themselves living in a home if it is filled with someone else’s personal possessions. Homeowners should remove family pictures, refrigerator art, personal collections, and items with religious or political undertones.

Carry Out General Cleaning

Even the cleanest of homes could do with a little cleaning. Home sellers should clean their homes regularly as they quickly get dirty during summer. Those who have kids may have to clean their homes more often. Buyers are only interested in a home’s appearance and won’t care if a home has kids or not.

Tell sellers to look at model homes in magazines and websites. They should make their homes as clean as those ones. Furniture, fixtures, appliances, surfaces, flooring, and everything else should be cleaned. Sellers who can’t tackle this project on their own can hire professional cleaners.

Consider Adding a Deck

A deck can be a home’s selling point. When the weather is nice, people like to spend more time outdoors than indoors. A deck can make prospective buyers picture themselves entertaining, cooking out, or relaxing. It can enhance an exterior, extend the living space, and add value to a home. A deck improves a home’s outdoor appeal regardless of the season.

According to Remodeling Magazine, homeowners who build decks recoup about 73% of the amount they spent. A great deck can make a home stand out from others in the neighborhood. Home sellers can make their decks cozy by adding cushioned seats and fire pits. They can also embellish their decks with deck stones.

Improve Curb Appeal

Before buyers book a showing, they examine a home online and even drive by a couple of times. Curb appeal helps a home to sell itself. Buyers don’t have to be shown outstanding features as they can already see them. Tell your home sellers to clean their driveways and walkways, to mow their lawns, to tend to their gardens, and to power-wash their exteriors. They should also display plants in planters as these boost a home’s aesthetics.

Deodorize the Interiors

Even homes that are cleaned every day have a few odors. The stenches of daily life are unavoidable. Thankfully, there are many ways homeowners can dispel bad odors and make their interiors smell wonderful. Natural scents like vanilla, cinnamon, and lemon produce a homely scent. Sellers should light cinnamon sticks or bake vanilla pods on low heat before buyers come.

Home staging is all about creating a space that activates a buyer’s imagination. A home seller’s goal is to make buyers picture themselves in their home. But most sellers stage their home interiors and neglect the exteriors. This is a no-no. Buyers focus on exteriors during the warmer months and these spaces should ooze comfort and relaxation. Advise your clients to stage their homes for warm weather buyers and they will be sure to get quick offers.