With most home moves occurring between April and September, now is the perfect time for Realtors® to start helping sellers prepare their homes for sale.  

While it’s been a seller’s market in Northern Virginia due to a lack of housing inventory, to command a higher sales price, homeowners need to make sure their house shows well.  Here are six tips for home sellers:

• Make it personal—but not too personal. You want some personality in your home but not to the point that buyers can’t picture themselves living in your house. For example, leave plants, but put the family photos away.

• Keep clutter to a minimum. To show off the best assets of your home, including any architectural features, make sure to keep distracting items such as excess pillows or art on the walls to a minimum. And it goes without saying, hide items such as children’s toys, cables and wires, and small appliances on kitchen counters.

• Deep clean. Make sure your home is as clean as possible. That includes emptying the trash and making sure that tissues are full. It also means cleaning the fridge, cabinets, drawers, closets, fan blades, oven and more. Serious buyers are likely to look in every drawer and closet, so make sure every space is buyer-ready.

• Conduct the sniff test. For many people, the sense of smell is the strongest of the five senses. That’s why when potential buyers walk into your home, it’s helpful for your home to smell like home.  It’s great if you can get buyers to think nostalgically about their home like memories of making cookies with children or grandchildren. BONUS TIP: Fresh flowers not only add a nice smell, but they also look good too.

• Remember: no pets. We love our pets, and they are like family members. However, not everyone loves your pet. So, when selling your home, put away your pet’s toys and supplies. You don’t want any unnecessary distractions when potential home buyers are looking at your home.

• Do's for the day of the showing. It’s the little things that matter on the day of a showing or at an open house. Make the beds, close the toilet seats, turn on all the lights, open the blinds, secure all your valuables, and leave the house.
  

Keeping these tips in mind will help Realtors® assist their clients in getting the best deal when selling their homes.