Improve Your Initial Offers by Making These Changes When Selling Your Home

There’s a lot to think about when putting your house on the market to sell, and it can be difficult to know exactly what steps to take when you do. To get better initial offers on your Galveston real estate, try making these changes when selling your home.

 

First impressions can have a big impact on a buyer interested in your property. Buyers find homes online first, which is why a strong listing with professional photos is important when selling your home. Hire a professional photographer to take photos, as they’ll have knowledge about lighting, angles, and staging to capture your home at its best. Then, work with your real estate agent to write a description of your property that emphasizes its best features and great location next to the beach, restaurants, and outdoor entertainment spots.

 

When buyers visit your home for a showing or open house, make sure your home’s exterior looks its best. If you’ve just come back from a sandy day at the beach, wash off walkways and driveways of any mess. Maintain your landscaping by trimming bushes and trees and removing weeds from the yard. Potential buyers will be entering your home from the front entrance, so make sure it’s clean and inviting. Wipe down the door and sweep the surrounding area. If your doormat is old, replace it with a new one.

 

Once you’ve taken care of the outside, it’s time to tend to the inside. Buyers won’t make stellar offers on an untidy house or even be interested in coming to a showing. Also, it may indicate to a buyer that other, more serious problems have been neglected around the property. Start deep cleaning by sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming and removing stains from the carpet, and wiping down areas that collect dust. Also, try and remove any odors from last night’s dinner or pets in the house.

 

Decluttering is also an important step to increasing the offers on your Galveston real estate. A cluttered home appears smaller to a buyer’s eye, which can deter buyers from considering the property. To declutter, decide which items to sell, donate, and throw away. Keep storage areas like closets and cabinets in the home clear of items, as buyers will be looking in those areas. If you need to, rent a storage unit for boxes and large pieces of furniture to better show your home.

 

 

It’s worth noting that any repairs left unfixed will decrease the value of your home, which negatively impacts the offers you’ll receive. Pay attention to damages done by the humidity or tropical storms common to Galveston’s Gulf island location. Make small repairs like fixing a leaky faucet or filling holes in the wall yourself, then get a pre-inspection to uncover any possible major problems with your property. Although you may be able to get away without completing some repairs, others, like a malfunctioning HVAC system in the height of a Texas summer, are going to be non-negotiable.

 

Also, be smart with the upgrades you make to your home. You want to make sure the upgrade will pay for itself when you sell your property, as well as increase the value of your home. To capitalize on Galveston’s great oceanside location, a worthwhile upgrade could be increasing your home’s outdoor space to include a deck or pool. Upgrades to kitchens and bathrooms, in general, are usually safe bets that will pay off.

 

When the functional tasks of preparing your home are finished, it’s time to think about cosmetics. If you don’t have the time to stage your house yourself, then working with a professional home stager is a good way to save time and energy researching ways to stage each room. If you want to stage yourself and don’t know where to start, try sticking to the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and bathroom. These areas have the highest impact on buyers when they’re staged.

 

Overall, when staging your Galveston real estate, you want to draw in as many buyers as possible by depersonalizing your space. Take down family photos or particularly unique decorations, as this will help buyers imagine their life in the space. Also, stick to neutral and simple colors and style choices throughout the house. Lastly, make sure the interior is full of natural and artificial light. Pull back curtains and open blinds to let in spring and summer sunshine, and replace any dimming or broken bulbs with new ones.

 

 

If you don’t know where to start when listing your home, finding a local real estate agent is a good first step. An agent will know what buyers in Galveston are looking for, and will highlight that in your home listing. For example, they’ll know to emphasize the great beaches in the area, which school district it serves for families with children, and what other amenities are nearby, like the pier or shopping centers. They’ll also know what the local real estate market trends are and how that affects the timing of your listing.

 

An agent will have a network of connections for you to use when you’re getting your home in selling shape. They’ll have contacts for home inspectors, photographers, stagers, mortgage lenders, and more. An agent can help you competitively price your home by comparing it to other, similar properties in the area. They’ll also know how to negotiate with a buyer’s agent to get you the best offer.

 

Try following some or all of these tips to help you sell your home for a higher price. When you’re ready to list your home, contact trusted Galveston real estate expert Valerie Gil to guide you through the process.