If you’ve decided to sell your Florida home, getting it in tip top shape isn’t optional, especially if you want to get top dollar. You can start home staging on your own, with some of the tips below, but your best bet is to then have a great realtor come in and do a good walk through to see if you missed anything.

The first things you need to do in getting your home in shape to sell is clean and declutter your home. Realistically you will be doing both at the same time. Go room to room and look around. You should be taking down and packing up at least half of what is in it, and in closets and cabinets. You’re going to be moving and packing anyway, so get a head start. As you are removing things you will see areas of your home that need a good scrubbing or fixing.

Getting your home in shape to sell means making your home look less personal. Personal things should be the first to be packed. Buyers want to be able to picture their things in the house, and seeing your family pictures and memorabilia everywhere will make that difficult. Clutter also makes rooms look and feel smaller. Small doesn’t get you top dollar, spacious does, so the more it feels spacious, the better.

As you pack, scrub. The cleaning should be a deep, floor to ceiling and everything in between cleaning. Under furniture, in closets, behind doors because buyers look everywhere. Steam clean carpets, wax and buff hard woods and make every surface gleam.

Fixing things in the house helps you in getting your home in shape to sell. Once things are clean and decluttered, you will probably see things that need fixing. Fill nail holes in walls, spackle and touch them up. Chipped paint on door jams and woodwork are noticeable and make things look shabby. If you find that the touch ups don’t match the paint on the wall, repaint. This is especially true if your walls are dark or bright colors. Neutral is better. Make sure cupboards open and shut, that their doors are level and match and that no faucets are dripping. Bedrooms and baths should get new linens. Find bedding that looks modern and minimal.

Now you should have your realtor come in and let you know what still needs to be done. The owners that follow our advice frequently sell faster and for more money than they thought they would get!

Give us a call today to find out about listing your Clearwater or St Pete Home for Sale 727-410-0336