If you’re planning on selling your house this year, these tips on how to prepare your house to sell quickly will come in handy. It’s that time of year when the housing market picks up and is suddenly filled with homes for sale, so it’s important to make your house stand out.

Most of these tips on how to prepare your house to sell quickly can be easily done by the homeowner, but some should be completed by a professional.

How to Prepare your House to Sell Quickly

Hire a Realtor

The average house, priced right in a good market will sell in 30 days. In a not so good market, incorrectly priced it could sit there for up to 9 months. With that in mind, one of the best things you can do is to hire an agent to sell your home. A professional will price your home fairly which means it will sell quickly. An agent will also manage the showings and work directly with potential buyers. You’ll save yourself time, money and frustration by hiring a Realtor.

Clean House

If you’re like most homeowners there are parts of your home that could use a little sprucing up. If you’re generally a neat nick or someone who keeps a clean home this should be easy. A weekend spent cleaning grout, and scrubbing the places that normally get overlooked should be all it takes. On the other hand, if you have kids and pets you’re going to need a little help. Hire a professional cleaning service to help. If the carpets are soiled or smelly, consider replacing them.

Paint

A fresh coat of paint can give new life to an otherwise tired looking space. A new coat of paint makes the room feel fresh and clean and most importantly it smells freshly painted. Use neutral colors so potential homebuyers can imagine their things in each room. Bright colors might be making a comeback, but you want to keep your home as neutral as possible.

Make Repairs

If you’ve got a broken porch light, get it replaced. We all goes house blind to those little things that need repairing but never get around to fixing. The last thing a new homeowner wants is to move into a house and have to start making repairs (unless the home was priced to reflect that). Fix the leaky toilet, clean out the slow drains, and any other repair you’ve been putting off.

De-Clutter

Get rid of the clutter. Anything that isn’t a necessity should be packed up, donated or thrown away. Get rid of the piles that seem to fill our homes so easily – mail, laundry, bills, magazines, etc.

Remove Photos

Homebuyers want to envision their family living in your home so remove any reminder to them that you currently live there. Keep wall art to a minimum.

Stage the House

Hiring a professional stager is a wise investment. A professional stager will go through the house, remove furniture, clutter, photos, etc of things that don’t belong and replace them with fresh furnishings.

Leave the House

Be ready to leave the house if a potential buyer wants to see it with short notice. Bring the pets with you if possible, if not be sure they are kenneled securely. Nothing puts off a buyer more than viewing the house with the current homeowners present. It’s awkward for everyone and can really sabotage your efforts to sell your home.