Tips For Selling a Smaller Home

Smaller homes have a lot to offer, but they can be tougher to sell than bigger homes. When selling a smaller home, one can still get a good price for your property by preparing for the sale, framing the home in a positive light and accentuating the positive aspects about the home. Playing up the features the house does have can help to sell the property for as much as possible.

Cultivate the Listing

Smaller homes have a variety of advantages over larger homes. A smaller footprint means reduced costs, less time to clean and greener living overall. Cultivating the listing to emphasize the advantages of a small house will help potential buyers see the appeal of the property.

Be sure the house listing names all the advantages of living in the home, and don't forget to mention amenities not related to the size of the property, such as nearby conveniences, good schools and other bonuses that attract home buyers. When selling with help from a real estate agent, the agent should do this for you.

Hire a Professional Real Estate Photographer

Real estate photographers are skilled at portraying homes in the best light possible. Hiring a professional to take the pictures for your listing will help ensure that your home looks attractive and comfortable for buyers.

De-Clutter and Purge

Clutter can make small homes look even smaller. Get rid of clutter before putting the house on the market and before calling the professional photographer. Clean out closets to show off the home's storage space, and if necessary, get an off-site storage facility where you can keep your extra possessions while you're in the process of moving.

Keep the Interior Well-Lit

Light helps make interior spaces look larger and more spacious. To emphasize natural light in a home, take down heavy draperies and replace them with sheer curtains. Wash the windows to ensure they allow in as much light as possible. Cut away any shrubs and landscaping features that block windows. In dark rooms, install more light fixtures and keep them on during showings to chase away shadows and make the interior more bright and cheerful.

Give Away Excess and Oversized Furniture

Oversized furniture, like a very big bed in a guest bedroom or a large sofa in the living room, can make small rooms look smaller. Swap out the extra-large sofa for a love sofa, and replace the guest bed with a twin bed to put the room back into proportion.

Get Non-Furniture Items Up Off the Floor

Avoid putting non-furniture items like stacks of papers, toys, books and DVDs on the floor. This makes the home look more cluttered and detracts from the floor space that a home has to offer. Put any non-furniture items on shelves, in cabinets or in a storage unit for safe keeping.

Focus on the Landscaping

Drawing attention to the space outside the front door help home buyers see the positives about a property. In addition, maintaining the landscaping can help home buyers form a good impression of your home when they arrive for the first time.

• Plant colourful flowers. colourful flowers make your home look cheerful and inviting to buyers. If you're not sure what kind of flowers most appeal to buyers, annuals are a safe choice because they're easy to grow and require little maintenance aside from watering.
• Trim, water and fertilize the grass. Lush, green grass can signal to buyers that your soil is fertile and your property is well maintained. Keep grass cut, well-watered and fertilized throughout the growing season.
• Pick up debris. Pick up any yard debris like sticks, grass and other waste. Pick up yard waste every time yard work is done.
• Use mulch to make garden beds look tidy. Mulch gives garden beds a uniformity and a tidy quality that reflects well on your home maintenance habits. Lay down mulch on all garden beds around flowers and other plants.
• Prune and maintain shrubs. Cut shrubs back to promote lush, healthy growth and to remove overgrown, scraggly branches.
• Install garden lighting. Install solar-powered garden lighting to ensure that your home is well-lit and easy to find for buyers who show up after hours.
• Place attractive plants or decorations near the front door. Placing attractive potted plants and decorations near the front door can draw attention to your front door and make your home seem more inviting.

Paint Walls in Light Neutrals

Light colours help push back walls and make rooms seem larger. Painting a small house in lighter-tone colours can open up the space and make it appear larger, so a new paint job can do wonders for staging. Neutral tones like beige and gray tend to appeal to buyers the most because they're sophisticated and easy on the eyes. Avoid medium-toned and dark colours, because these shades can make small rooms seem smaller.

Make Other Popular Improvements

You can take the improvements you performed, inside and out, and elevate them by attending to the exterior of the house. This curb appeal booster has the power to bring your entire home improvement project together. As you align the results with your vision, you can effectively improve the perceived value of your cozy home.

When making exterior improvements, refinish or replace the siding, roof and deck areas to clean up the appearance of your home. Once you have these areas completed, you can turn your focus to the finishing touches. Look at how you can upgrade the light fixtures, exterior doors and window trim, for example. You may also want to replace or refinish your garage door to boost curb appeal even more. With these improvements, you can ensure your home quickly attracts the attention of homebuyers in the market for a new place.

Work With a Capable Real Estate Agent

An experienced real estate agent will know what to do to stage a small property before putting the home on the market. To get started, contact a real estate agent today. They can give you suggestions that can lead to faster, bigger offers when it's time to sell.