When selling your home, you want to get the maximum return on your investment. The question many homeowners have, however, especially those selling for the first time, is how to get that maximum price? What’s the best method to boost a home’s value before selling?

The answer? Preparing your home for potential buyers to view. Experts agree that a well prepared, or prepped, home will sell for more money, and faster, than a home that is shown as-is. According to experts, it’s possible to increase your home’s sale price by up to 10% just from prepping the home correctly.

If you’re selling and want to get the highest offers on your home, read on. Below are the top seven tips from pros who know how to make a house look like home.

Top 7 Pro Tips:

1. Work on Your Curb Appeal

From most buyers, the first thing they’re going to see when they first visit your home is the exterior. That’s why curb appeal is so important, because you only get one chance to give potential buyers a first impression. To make sure it’s a good one, be sure to:

• Keep your lawn short and any bushes, trees, and plants trimmed and looking good
• Add potted plants around key area areas (the front door, porch, etc.) and plant some fresh flowers
• Clean your porch, patio, or any other outdoor gathering space
• Power-wash your driveway and walkways

Prepping doesn’t have to be expensive but, in some cases, you might want to spend at least a few bucks. That’s especially true when it comes to your home’s exterior, where a fresh coat of paint could make all the difference. If the paint is faded, chipping, cracking, or otherwise damaged, your home’s curb appeal will drop significantly. Giving it a fresh coat of paint could significantly increase your offers.

2. Declutter

Too much stuff can make some rooms look smaller. When selling your home, that’s the last thing you want potential buyers to think. Having a clean, minimalist look to your spaces makes it look like there’s more square footage. That makes decluttering an important home prepping task. Here are a few decluttering tips:

• Remove 80% of items from any display shelves. Only a few simple, non-personal items should remain.
• Take extra furniture out of your living room, especially if it’s already crowded.
• Clean out your closets so that there’s only a small amount of clothing stored in them.

If your home is genuinely stuffed with things like furniture, clothing, hanging decorations, and other knick-knacks, renting a storage unit is a good solution. Having a storage unit to use allows you to safely store extra items like furniture, sports equipment, personal items, and so forth while showing your home. That way you can keep your cherished items safe while fielding offers.

Home prepping experts agree that renting a storage unit and storing your stuff to make your home look bigger makes good financial sense. The more “open” and inviting your home appears to potential buyers, the better!

3. Do a Deep Clean

Even if your house is in great condition, prospective home buyers are discerning. Many will open cabinets, peak into corners, or check for dust in unsuspecting places. Little things can affect the buyer’s opinion of a property. To prevent that, experts recommend a deep cleaning throughout your home. Be sure to:

• Wash all windows inside and out.
• Clean all of your ceiling fans.
• Clean around baseboards, vents and anywhere dust can gather.
• Consider having your carpets professionally deep cleaned or rent a machine and do it yourself.
• Clean and scrub your bathrooms until they sparkle.
• Organize your kitchen cabinets and pantry.

Another thing to consider is the smell of your house. Although it’s probably normal to you, many home buyers notice the smell of house as soon as they enter. Doing a deep clean and using air fresheners can be a good idea so that your house has that familiar “fresh” smell.

4. Let in Lots of Natural Light

Bright homes with lots of natural light look bigger and feel more open and inviting. To get this easy and low-cost home prepping advantage be sure to:

• Open all of your curtains and blinds before showing your home to potential buyers
• Use light colored curtains
• Remove your curtains all together, as long as your windows are clean
• Add stand-up lamps for dark corners and be sure to turn them on when potential buyers arrive

5. Repair the Small Stuff

Signs of everyday wear-and-tear can give a house a worn-down look. On the other hand, one where everything looks like it’s in great shape does exactly the opposite; it shows that the house has been well maintained. To increase your homes interior appeal, making the following small repairs is highly recommended:

• Patch any holes in your walls, even if they’re tiny
• Replace all lightbulbs in every room
• Repair any broken tiles or trim in your kitchen and bathrooms
• Use household grease like WD-40 to fix any squeaky doors
• If necessary, call in a professional plumber to fix leaky faucets and unclog any clogged drains

6. Remove Personal Items

This psychological trick is something home prepping experts love! By removing anything personal like pictures, clothes, and other items, you depersonalize your home. Why is that a good thing? Because it allows potential buyers to better imagine your home as their home, with their things. At the same time, it can feel odd to imagine living in another family’s house, and personal items might remind them of that.

Try to make your house look like a home in a magazine: no photos, clothing, toys or knick-knacks. This will increase your chances of getting offers.

7. Stage All of the Main Living Spaces

Staging is a term that home prepping experts use to describe making your home look more attractive. Think of staging like a photographer setting up a photo shoot and making everything look perfect. 

That’s what you want to do with all of your main living spaces; make them look as perfect as possible so that potential buyers will find them attractive. To that end:

• Set up a simple, attractive service on your dining room table with silverware, glasses, plates, etc.
• Rearrange furniture to make your living spaces look larger and more open.
• Use plants (even good fake ones) as accents.
• Use light-colored bedding in your bedrooms and light-colored accent pillows on your sofas.
• Hang mirrors to make small smaller living spaces appear bigger.

Use NSA Storage While Selling Your Home

Home prepping is an excellent way to increase the offers on your home. We hope the pro tips we’ve provided today will empower you to get the best price when selling yours.

At NSA Storage we’ve helped thousands of homeowners across the United States through the process of selling their home and moving. Our safe, clean, and secure storage units are the key. You can use one to store furniture and personal belongings until your house has been sold, and then move those cherished items to your new home. Reserve a storage unit online with NSA Storage today!