Selling a home for the first time can be a bit daunting. The task list may seem endless, but with the right support you may have your home “list ready” with ease!

by Latoria Logan
January 2025

Here are a few tips that you may find useful as you prep your home to sell for the first time ever:

• Walk around the exterior and look for any peeling paint, wood damage, landscaping issues. If you live in an HOA, make sure any known issues are noted as well.
• Declutter home and pack away anything you’ll be taking, then put together a list of any possible updates you think are needed (paint, caulking, tiling, carpet/floors, etc.). Anything you know you will not be taking with you, get rid of now.
• Prior to starting any major updates, speak with a REALTOR who will be able to go over the best projects that will give you a good return on investment—this will be based on what comps are looking like. You don’t want to spend money where you are not going to get the return!
• Make sure you have any important documents about the home ready and available. These include: survey if you have one, title insurance, any invoices for work done to the home, any manuals for current appliances in the home.
• This prep work will make listing the home a lot easier because you have already taken care of the hard stuff – decluttering! Your real estate agent will be able to take it from here with area comps for pricing, best ROI upgrades that buyers are looking for and then taking the lead on marketing such as staging, photos, videos and getting your home sold.

In summary, be sure to work closely with your agent to create an individualized plan for preparing your home to list.  Life is stressful, selling your home doesn’t have to be!