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Preparing your home for sale in a hot market

The Montreal Real Estate market is booming. Low interest rates are generating lots of buyers. Furthermore, during the first quarter of any given year, the highest sale volumes occur as buyers look eagerly. If you are thinking of selling, 2010 will be no exception. Here is some advice to help you to prepare your home for sale.

It is important to make your home appealing to as many buyers as possible, so remove personal and religious items, photos, trinkets, and memorabilia.

Buyers need to visualize themselves in your home, so remove clutter, re-organize and clean your home from top to bottom.

Odours must be eliminated. Clean the cat litter box; deodorize and disinfect surfaces; throw out old cigarette and cigar butts and the garbage. You should prepare yourself for living in total cleanliness for the time your home is for sale.

You might want to consider renting additional storage space for excess items. Rooms need to be functional and clearly defined.

Redistributing what you have can work, but consider renting furniture if a room is empty or if you have nothing appropriate. Be creative with the themes of your rooms and set a mood. Everyone loves a light-filled room. Make sure the blinds are open and the windows are cleaned. Let in as much light as possible.

Consider adding lights in a dark room that has poor sun exposure or has no windows. Light and neutral paint colours help reflect what light enters a room. Consider repainting.

Complete minor repairs and inexpensive touch-ups. This will place buyers at ease toward what they fear most—that which they cannot see! Buyers feel more comfortable purchasing a well-maintained home. Don’t give them reasons to not purchase. This includes wading through deep snow on their way to view your home. Shovel the laneway and walkways often.

If you feel that you must renovate, talk to an agent to find out what is popular in your area. They might save you from spending money on unimportant renovations. An agent might also help you with staging your home. I offer home staging advice or the services of a home staging consultant. Other agents do the same.

Examine your home as though you were the buyer and be scrutinizing.

Make the best use of what you have and spend as little money as possible. Talk to an agent to get sound real-estate market advice and to get your home staged for sale.

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