whalen mortgages grande prairie

Whalen Mortgages Grande Prairie gives you tips on how to keep your home show-ready

You have a showing that is coming up, but you find your house is far from presentable. Maybe the kids or pets just made a mess in the living room. Perhaps the bathroom hasn’t been cleaned all week, and it shows. Or you just made dinner.  

This hurts you in a variety of ways. It increases the odds the home buyers will be turned off by the property and buy a different one. Now your home sits on the market longer, along with the attendant carrying costs. Or the home buyers make an offer. In this case, the perceived lower quality of the home results in a lower offer. Studies show that the hit is around twenty thousand dollars. Know this, you may then find it worthwhile to spend a weekend decluttering the house and doing a thorough cleaning. But what else can you do to help your Grande Prairie house to sell?  

  1. Capture the smells of the season. Peppermint, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mint. It is your choice whether you use scented candles, incense, or baked goods. But you really can’t go wrong with fresh cinnamon rolls or gingerbread cookies.  
  2. Decorate in the colors of the season. Switch to grey, brown, cream, and grey. Red and green can be present but not dominant. You don’t have to repaint the house. Simply switching out your throw pillows and rugs may be enough.  
  3. Minimize the potential for a future mess. Put rugs by the door to trap debris. Ask guests to remove their shoes, though you shouldn’t ask this of home buyers. Box up a lot of stuff, and limit the toys the kids and pets play with to what you can toss in a storage container when the company is about to arrive.  
  4. Remember the importance of curb appeal. Head outside on a dry day and get to work. Sweep up leaves, clean up the garden, and pick up any toys left out there. Remove cobwebs. Sweep the walkways, and shovel the snow off your driveway.  
  5. Maintain your home. Clean the gutter. Clean the windows. This has the side benefit of improving the natural light reaching your home’s interior.  
  6. Let there be light! Winter is a dark, cold season. You’ll make your home inviting just by lighting it up. Turn on all the lights in the house before a tour. Replace any burned-out light bulbs. Open the blinds and pull back the drapes 
  7. Check on that furnace or heater. If there’s anything the home buyers will prioritize, it is checking the condition of the HVAC system. Ensure that there are no error messages on the control panel, and make certain it is keeping your home warm. And turn up the thermostat a little so that it is comfortable when they arrive.  

Your Grande Prairie home should look like it is your pride and joy, even when you’re trying to sell it. And investing this effort into its appearance and upkeep will pay off in a fast closing at the price you want.  

 

Whalen Mortgages Grande Prairie