The thought of selling your home can be overwhelming. There is a lot to consider, like finding and working with a real estate agent, determining market value, deciding what you need to do to sell your home in a timely manner, and even settling on the right time of year.
As a result, many homeowners become overwhelmed with making repairs, painting, and sprucing up curb appeal to attract buyers. Although there is a lot a homeowner can do to attract buyers and increase their chances of a sale, there are some things out of their control, such as the season.
Many homeowners who are under pressure to sell their homes in a certain amount of time might not be able to control the season in which they need to put their homes on the market. In fact, statistics consistently show that spring is the ideal time of year to sell a home, but what if you have to sell your home during the winter?
Winter home selling isn’t impossible, but it can be more difficult. However, there are some small, inexpensive measures you can take to improve the look, feel, and comfort of your home so that it appeals to buyers, even during the colder winter months. In this article, we provide nine simple tips for selling your home during the winter that won’t break the bank.
1. Spruce Up the Front Door
Something as small as a festive wreath or a coat of paint on the front door can drastically improve the overall look of your home and make it feel more welcoming. In addition to adding a bit of flair, make sure your porch area is clean and well maintained. The first thing buyers see is the entry, so it’s setting the precedent for the entire house.
2. Avoid Over-the-Top Holiday Decor
Although sprucing up your front door is a great idea, avoid decorating your home and yard with over-the-top holiday decor. White holiday lights are nice, but overdoing it and littering your front lawn with tacky, plastic holiday decor and blow-up characters will turn potential buyers off. It’s okay to get into the holiday spirit, but when you are trying to sell your home, less is more.
3. Keep it Warm and Cozy
Before you host an open house or open your home to showings, make it warm and welcoming!
Make sure the heat is set at a warm, but not hot level, and light the fireplace if you have one. Not only will this help your home feel more comfortable in the winter, it will also help it feel, well, homey.
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4. Curb Appeal Matters
When the weather is cold and frightful, it’s more difficult to keep up with the exterior of your home. Although it’s normal to forget about landscaping until the spring, if you are trying to sell your home, there are a few things you can do to boost curb appeal. Keep the sidewalks and driveways free of snow, and make sure to salt any ice. You don’t want buyers slipping and sliding while they visit! Go the extra mile by clearing snow off of bushes and shrubs so buyers can get an idea of what the yard will look like when it’s in bloom.
5. Let in Natural Light
The winter is naturally a darker time of year than other seasons. Keeping curtains closed and shades drawn can leave a home feeling dark and empty, even if it isn’t. Let natural light in as often as possible to show potential home buyers how bright it can be.
If your home has smaller windows or is located in a shady area, be sure to pull open the blinds or shades. You can also adorn your rooms with light-colored curtains to help bring in more natural light. Avoid room-darkening curtains and blocking out your windows with clothing or blankets. It is also a good idea to throw away any broken blinds or shades.
6. A Fresh Coat of Paint
There are a lot of things you can’t control during the winter, like a blizzard on the day you had four scheduled tours. However, you can control how your home looks on the inside. A fresh coat of paint is a great way to show off how well you’ve taken care of your home, inside and out.
7. Outdoor Lighting
Lining your porch, walkways, driveway, or gardens with exterior lighting is a great way to light up your home—literally. You don’t even have to hire an electrician or purchase expensive light fixtures. You can purchase exterior lights that stick in the ground or sit atop the posts on your fence or porch, go the “green” route and purchase solar lights.
8. Repair It
Although we’ve primarily focused on easy and inexpensive ways to improve the curb appeal and interior look of your home, more in-depth repairs may be necessary.
If you are on a budget, take the time to prioritize repairs and upgrades. Start by making a list of issues that need to be addressed.
Are any windows broken? Are any shingles missing on your roof? Are there any holes in your walls or broken pieces of trim or tile? These issues can make your home undesirable compared to others in the area. No one wants to buy a home that needs major work in the winter.
9. Sell With Homie
Although the winter may not be an ideal time to try to sell your home, it is possible. Start with the tips above, and finish by selling your home with Homie! You can save tons of money to invest in a new home because you’ll pay a low fee to list, market, and sell your home with Homie.
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