Summer is a great time to sell a home. It can also be nerve-racking making preparations and getting your home presentable to list on the open market.

These crucial tips will help you sell your home regardless of season. This will definitely give you an advantage through the summer months.

1. Make the exterior shine

The first impression is crucial for potential buyers. Recently mowed grass isn’t going to be enough when it comes to exterior aesthetics. Put some effort into making your yard beautiful.

After your yard is in a good place, remove any exterior stains on your home and focus on the windows. With newer homes, a thorough cleaning can make them sparkle. With older homes, new windows will stand out, provide instant value and even make buyers feel safer.

2. Stage your home

As buyers enter the door, they want to envision themselves in the home. This means there should be no sign of dishes or personal items like bills or mail. Make your home welcoming by having lights on, fresh flowers or fruit in the kitchen and recently vacuumed carpet.

If you have kids, keep their toys organized and in their own bedrooms. Give buyers the impression that each room has a purpose and is used accordingly. Keep things tidy.

3. Make your home smell pleasant

A home that smells bad will turn away buyers just as quickly as a home that looks bad. Whether it’s pets, food from a recent meal, bathrooms or smelly garbage cans, make sure you’ve done your due diligence to not just mask the smell, but to eradicate it. Clear drains, open windows, air out your home, etc. It’s wise to ask a neighbor or friend to act as an unbiased smeller before showings.

About.com recommends that you relocate your pets while trying to sell your home. Pets often make people uncomfortable and send signals to buyers that the home may have stains, smells or damage that aren’t easily detected. It can also be a poor experience for a buyer if a pet is present during a showing.

Now that you’ve rid your home of gross smells, fill it with pleasant scents, such as fresh baked goods, brewed coffee or, if you’re selling in the colder months, stoke a fire (and make sure the chimney damper is open).

4. Take high-quality pictures

When you list your home, don’t settle for mediocre pictures. Remember, buyers are looking at hundreds of photos as they look at online listings. The pictures of your home should set it apart from others.

DO NOT settle for pictures taken with your smartphone. It’s best if you have an experienced photographer with adequate equipment (wide angle lens, external flash, etc.) taking the photos. A pixelated or stretched photo may turn away a qualified buyer.

5. Use an experienced realtor

Using a realtor can help magnify the visibility of your home. Realtors have access to a multiple listing service (more commonly referred to as an MLS). Realtors usually don’t get paid until the home sells, so a good realtor is proactive in listing the home in several places and responsive to prospective buyers and their agents.

Realtors are also trained to deal with contracts and negotiate. This goes a long way to protect sellers and buyers when the home goes under contract.

6. Paint with neutral colors and touch up

You may love that red accent wall, but that doesn’t mean a buyer will. Many buyers don’t want to repaint the entire house at move in, so, if you want a quick sale, do it for them.

A fresh layer of paint will be a nice addition and may even give the house that “new smell.” At minimum, you should touch up areas where paint is cracked or chipped.

7. Get a home inspection

It may cost some money up front, but getting a home inspection will tip you off to anything that needs to be fixed. Buyers often look at home inspection reports as an opportunity to get the seller to come down in price or make substantial fixes to the property. Just because you’ve been living with the home that way doesn’t mean someone else will. Inspect it. Fix it.

8. Clean your carpets

Getting your carpets professionally cleaned could help you avoid replacing them in the long run. Carpet is often a big deal to buyers and if it looks old and worn, you can expect they’ll want you to replace it or take some money off the top for them to do it.

Also, getting your carpets cleaned before you start showing your house can help eliminate any bad odors that may be lurking from pets or just old material (refer to point three).

9. Let that light shine

Open the blinds and let the light in. Not only will you save on energy costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, but you’ll also create an inviting atmosphere. Natural light also has many health benefits, so aside from helping to sell your home, you may start to feel better too.

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10. Focus on fixtures and aesthetics

Remember, when a potential buyer walks through that door they are looking for anything wrong with the house. You can easily spruce up your home by putting new fixtures on the wall for electrical outlets.

Other aesthetic tips would be to take a magic eraser to any marks on the walls that don’t require paint touchup.

11. Deep clean your home

This should be obvious, but so many seem to forget this crucial step. Nobody wants to see your toothpaste splattered on bathroom mirrors or someone else’s hair near drains. Nor does a buyer want to see dust buildup on bookshelves or grime on faucets.

Purchase the cleaning products necessary and do an intense, deep clean of your home before listing it on the market.

12. List your home appropriately

When you list your home, it’s important to remember that most lenders may not give buyers money if the asking price of the home doesn’t correlate with an official appraisal. According to HGTV, sellers must study past sales and not confuse that with current listings nearby (aka your competition).

Listing your home appropriately can give you an advantage and potentially lead to several offers, creating a bidding war among buyers.

Making your home look nice from the outside in and inside out isn’t easy. The professionals at Advanced Window Products are ready to help you conquer the task before you sell your home.

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