Ready Your Home for Selling Success

Considering selling? Here are six things you should start thinking about.

Selling a property is not an easy task. There are many things to consider when preparing your home to sell and knowing where to begin can seem intimidating. Luckily for you, I know all about selling houses.

In Barbados, we have a phrase called “pulling down de house” which means to clean, refresh, and update a home, typically done around the holiday season. Whether it's spring, summer, fall, or winter cleaning, tidying up your home inside and out plays a big part in readying your property for sale.

Here are six tips to help you kickstart the process of getting your house ‘for sale’ ready.

1. Declutter - It’s free! We all have that drawer (or room) in our house filled with various odds and ends of half-working devices, old documents from years ago, almost dried-out pens, and other “I know I’ll need this one day!” items. But do you really need to keep the box of every mobile device or tablet you’ve purchased over the years? Clearing out your space of unnecessary items is a great first step to preparing your home for sale. Categorising your clutter into groups like rubbish/recycling, donation/sale, and keep/store can help keep you organised and quickly get through the clean-up process.

2. Refresh - It’s cheap! Making minor adjustments to a room can completely change how it’s received. Do basic home repairs like replacing old fixtures, fixing leaky faucets, and tightening loose doorknobs. You can also spruce up a room by rearranging the furniture or adding a fresh coat of paint. Focussing on one room at a time is a great way to break up the tasks and organise your refreshing process.

3. Landscaping & Curb Appeal - Make it pretty! Naturally, the outside of a property is the first thing a potential buyer sees and the outside should be as refreshed as the inside. Make sure the lawn is well maintained and the trees and hedges trimmed. Powerwashing is a great and effective way to clean driveways, decks, and walls. And don’t forget to clean the windows for a natural way to brighten up your house. If you maintain your property as best as possible, it will be the most attractive of anything comparable to it. Not only will your property look good in person, but it will also stand out in any photos taken. This leads us to...

4. Photography - Show it off! Now that you’ve decluttered, refreshed, and got your curb appeal on point, invest in good photography. Before anyone sees your home in person, they see it online. The photos are the first impression and play a huge part for potential buyers when choosing to view your home. Make sure to get photos of the property’s best features and selling points, such as an updated kitchen, a pool, or a beautiful patio space.

5. Rentals and Guest Feedback - Make it easy! If you’re selling a second home in Barbados, it’s likely you or your buyer will want to rent the property to help offset some of the costs of running it. Many buyers will ask for past revenue, future bookings, and guest reviews before they decide to buy. Positive reviews from previous tenants and a strong book of future rentals are attractive to potential buyers.

6. Prepare inventory, accounts, and the rest - Make it quick! Prepare everything you’ll need to pass on to the attorneys once a sale is agreed upon. Provide your real estate agent with up-to-date running costs of the property, both monthly and annually. Include communal fees and what they entail, land tax, insurance, various maintenance costs, pool and garden, and an average cost of utilities. If your property is owned by a company, make sure all accounts are up to date to avoid any delays in closing.

Do you have more questions about what it takes to get your property ready for sale? Feel free to shoot me an email at muffin@barbadossothebysrealty.com.

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Stay tuned!