You’ve selected a great realtor, prepared your house for listing and the For Sale sign is up. However, now comes the most crucial step of all. Yes, we’re talking about getting buyers through the door, and generating a fantastic offer! 

Even in a hot market, sellers can lose out on offers if they don’t take the time to prepare their properties for viewings. So make sure you take a step back, really critique your house, and take care of the final touches that will showcase your home to its best advantage. 

Here are our top ten tips for maximizing offers, and ensuring your home sells for the best price possible:

1. Tidy up your front yard
Every book is judged by its cover. To enhance the curb appeal of your West Island home, here are some simple tasks you need to take care of:
     •make sure your walkway and driveway are in good repair
     •mow your lawn 
     •soften the landscape by installing shrubs and flowers

Even if you’re selling in the middle of winter, it makes a difference in terms of aesthetics - not to mention safety - to clear and de-ice your paths. You should also think about dressing the front door area. It should look wholesome and welcoming for potential buyers.

2. Focus on your entryway
Just as with your front yard, you only have one opportunity to create a first impression. So focus on your entryway. Clear away shoes, add hangers to tidy up coats and clean any mirrors. Add a nice decorative feature, such as fresh flowers, to make buyers feel at home. 

3. Clear out your closets
It’s no good clearing floorspace by cramming everything into the closets. Potential buyers will open up drawers and look into closets to check for storage space. So take the time to clear out and organize your belongings. Don’t leave your closets completely full, make sure they’re thinned out. You want buyers to know that there’s more than enough space for their belongings.

4. Clean your carpets
It’s amazing how much debris carpets trap over the years, especially if you have pets. A vacuum simply won’t give carpets or area rugs the deep clean they need, so either hire a professional carpet cleaning service, or you can rent a carpet cleaner to spruce up your flooring.

5. Deodorize your home
When getting a home ready to sell, we tend to focus on the visual. But bad odours can be just as off-putting for buyers as bad décor. If you can smell something off, then make sure there’s no underlying issue. If there is, it needs to be addressed. Once the root cause is resolved, clean and air the rooms and use natural scents in reed diffusers to create a welcoming environment for buyers.

6. Hide the pets
We all love our pets, but this doesn’t mean potential buyers will! So make sure your pets aren’t at home during viewings. Likewise, remove all pet-related paraphernalia like food bowls and litter trays. This will also help minimize pet odours that you’ve become accustomed to over the years.

7. Add special touches 
Ah, there’s nothing lovelier to brighten up a room than fresh cut flowers. Not only will they smell wonderful, but they also bring nature in and give spaces a real lift. This really is the smallest of investments to give your home a healthy, fresh burst of colour. While you’re at it, look around you. Could your rooms do with some decorative accents, or a touch of hygge? This Danish concept is all about cozy, comfortable living and something as simple as a plush throw, scatter cushions or a new rug can be just the facelift tired décor needs. 

8. Brighten up your home
A dark house looks sombre, so turn the lights on. Not just overhead lights, but side lights too. Think about replacing the light bulbs with higher wattage bulbs, and open all the curtains and blinds, to really brighten up spaces. 

9. Clean, clean and clean again!
A clean home signifies a well-cared for home. It may not always be easy, given how hectic our day-to-day lives can be. But the best way to keep things pristine is to do a thorough, deep clean and then stay on top of household chores in-between viewings. Clear away clutter, make the beds and clean dishes as you use them. 

10. Leave your home
As part of your pre-listing preparations, you should already have depersonalized your home. This means de-cluttering, toning down bold walls with neutral paintwork and putting away family photos. But in order to really imagine themselves in it, the first time that a buyer visits your home, you shouldn’t be there. That way, potential buyers will have the freedom to inspect the rooms, open closets and ask as many questions as they like, without feeling like they’re snooping or sounding judgmental. A good real estate broker will already know your house inside and out, and be able to showcase all the best features. 

So that’s it! By following these simple steps, you’ll ensure your home is in tip top condition for viewings. Here at the Broady Windsor Group, we always advocate doing a final walk-through of your home, and trying to see it through the eyes of the buyer. To help you with your final preparations, we’ve also created the video ‘Tips to sell your home for more money’. You can also use this handy checklist. It covers everything (and more!) that you need to take care of to ensure your home looks its best.

Of course, there will always be homes that look amazing, but that just don’t sell. If you’ve followed all these steps, have had multiple viewings over the first 4 weeks and not received any offers on your Montreal home, then it’s probably time to look at pricing. A good real estate broker will be able to guide you on this, and will of course be providing regular feedback so you won’t be surprised at a change of plan.

If you’re interested in learning more about how we work, then get in touch today on 514-612-8041 or email us at info@broadywindsor.com. We pride ourselves on providing a friendly, professional real estate service and our expert realtors have unsurpassed local knowledge of the West Island. Reach out for no-obligation advice, and let us help you achieve the best price for your property!