Top 10 Home Selling Tips for Florida- Spring
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FastExpert partner and experienced real estate agent, Janine Fine, shares her home selling tips for Florida. With a focus on Cape Coral and Fort Myers and over two decades of experience, Janine provides detailed insight into the Florida housing market.
The spring selling season is upon us. If you’re thinking of selling your Florida home, get the home ready to sell now.
Try to anticipate what buyers would want to see in their new home purchase. Think about having friends over and what the atmosphere should be. We all have that one white-glove neighbor that will always be critical of any overlooked cleaning or lack of maintenance. Have the cleanest home on the market!
10 Home Selling Tips for Florida
1. Clear Surfaces
Clear items off of countertops, pieces of furniture, and all surfaces. Box them up and store your boxes neatly in the garage. Buyers expect some boxes stored neatly in the garage since you are moving. Straighten out the closets and throw out or donate unused items.
Uncluttered spaces provide freedom for the buyer to envision themselves in the home.
2. Deep Clean
Cleaning is a must! It is more than just attending to the dirty baseboards, blinds, curtains, and fan blades. Dusting is the tip of the iceberg. There is more to getting your home nice and clean looking. Buyers will notice the crevices and areas that you may overlook when cleaning.
Hire someone to do a deep cleaning, especially if you are older, or if you just don’t have time to do it all! Also, use a cleaning service consistently clean your home on a weekly or bi-weekly basis if cleaning your appliances and bathrooms is too much to tackle on your own!
A clean home is always more attractive to buyers and indicates a home that is cared for.
3. Wash Windows
Florida is where the sun shines bright! So clean all your windows. Let the sunshine in! Update the old blinds and take down any heavy curtains, even custom, expensive curtains you bought in the 90’s or before!
Sheer curtains over your blinds are more than enough if you like curtains. Keep them open and pushed aside when selling your Southwest Florida home.
4. Imitate a Model Home
Check out the builder’s model homes for ideas on how to stage your home.
Brand new homes are clean and fresh with up-to-date colors that are popular in Florida. Just like in a model home, make sure there are only a few well-selected paintings or pictures on the wall. Copy those builders’ models’ decor ideas, and take many of the personal paintings and family photos off your walls.
We can all learn from viewing brand-new homes. Clear off the extra items on the countertops, floors, and bookshelves. Visit a builder’s model home to identify the trends and your competition.
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5. Refresh Paint
Paint! Make sure the exterior paint is an up-to-date color for more curb appeal.
Additionally, interior paint is as important as having a clean house. Make sure your interior color choices are neutral. Did you let a child pick their bedroom paint color? Do you have a “girls” room or a “boys” room? Those rooms should be repainted in soft neutral colors that are on trend and popular now.
If you have any rooms not ready for all buyer’s preferences, it could hurt your final sales price. They do not think of the home as move-in ready.
6. Revitalize Landscaping
Landscaping is very important in Cape Coral and in Fort Myers. This is the tropics; everything grows year-round, so trimming is essential.
Take out large overgrown plants, especially around the entrance and front. Replace those plants with smaller fresh-looking plants.
Having flowering plants by the entrance is also very inviting.
Many people that move to Southwest Florida don’t do their own yard work. Most people hire a lawn service. Ask the landscaping company to edge everything. Edge the walkways, the driveway, even the street, and the planting beds. This simple step will make the home look sharp and clean.
Also, refresh your mulch or stone ground covering.
A critical home selling tip for Florida is to show off your outdoor living. People move to Florida to enjoy the sunshine and outdoor spaces, so make sure yours shines!
7. Remove Pets
Pets are our family, but they are not the love of other people’s lives.
As a realtor, I have walked into the cleanest home and stepped right into the pets’ food or water bowl left out by the front door! Put away pet bowls during showings and limit the obvious presence of pets.
Some people don’t like animals in the home. Some cat people don’t like that there has been a dog inside. Also, dog people do not like that there has been a cat living inside the home. Make extra sure the home does not smell like your dog or like a litter box, not even a little!
If you are gone for long periods during the day, consider using a pet daycare or ask a friend to help with removing the pet during showings. With heightened allergies or children that are afraid, a pet in the home could cost you a sale.
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8. Put the Personal Away
Personal items left out can be a turn-off for buyers.
Pack up all religious or political items in your home now in preparation for the move. Additionally, awards, college diplomas, and family sayings should be removed. Take down personal photos of your wedding, graduation, and grandma. Buyers should make a judgment on your home, not on your personal characteristics.
Also, many of us take off our shoes when we walk inside our homes. Don’t have a collection of shoes, jackets, backpacks, and items right by your front door. The best practice is to not have anything personal on the floor or around the entry.
Clear out items that are often used. Put away hairbrushes and toothbrushes around the bathroom sink for showings.
9. Make Necessary Repairs
Attend to all the big and small flaws or needed repairs. You will be required to disclose any known material facts about the home, so get them fixed now.
Have the air conditioning serviced, and change out dead light bulbs. Repair or update any problems with the roof, and make sure the electrical outlets work. Have the shutoff valves to the sinks and toilets working.
If you have a pool home, service the pool system so there are no surprises for you or for the buyers.
There will be a home inspection, and you can expect that all issues that are not addressed ahead of time will be exposed. This could hurt your sale and could cause the buyer to cancel the purchase and sale contract during the inspection due diligence period.
10. Choose Your Agent
Now is the time to have your agent of choice come over to view your home, help you to evaluate pricing, and get the home listed for you on the local MLS.
You are now ready for showings and photos. These home selling tips for Florida will net you the most for your home, no matter the age or size of the home.
For best results, use an agent that is a Realtor to sell your home. Listing and selling your home with a Realtor nets a selling price that is on average 17% higher in price, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Find a Real Estate Agents That Works For You
No matter how clean your house is, your real estate agent is critical in the sale of your home.
FastExpert makes it easy to find a real estate agent that works for you. With ratings, reviews, and agent information, you can discover and compare agents in your area. FastExpert also makes the process of finding an agent even easier with our matching option. Fill out a short survey, and we’ll match you with several agents that fit your criteria.
