7 Tasks You Should Do the Week Before Listing Your House

For those who have never done so, selling a house might look fairly simple. However, as you know, there’s a lot more to the process than just planting a sign in the yard and posting an online listing.

It can sometimes take weeks or even months of preparation before you’re ready to put a residence on the market. In most cases, that last week before listing is the most draining.

Your Week-Of To-Do List

There are plenty of times in life when you experience the calm before the storm. Selling a house typically isn’t one of them, though.

The days before a listing are often the most time-consuming and chaotic. In order to relieve some of this stress and provide you with a greater sense of control over the situation, here’s a week-of to-do list that may make things easier.

1. Deep Clean of the House

You don’t want to clean your house too far in advance of the listing, or course. It’ll inevitably get dirty again. But when you’re a week out, it’s time to perform a deep clean.

As the name suggests, the deep clean entails more than just wiping down countertops and vacuuming carpets. You have to get into the tiny nooks and crannies of your house.

Bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoor living areas are the most important spaces for this treatment. According to Realtor.com, there are six spots that most people neglect or simply forget:

• Overhead light fixtures are magnets for bugs and other grime. If it’s been a while since you cleaned your fixtures, this is the time to remove them and wipe them down with a damp rag.
• Take a look at your floor and ceiling air vents. Those tend to accumulate dust. Floor vents are also notorious for catching coins, trash, and crumbs. Remove and clean them with a moist cloth.
• Hardware — including doorknobs, drawer pulls, and faucets — become worn over time. Washing them down with a damp cloth and polishing with the appropriate cleaner can bring them back to life.
• Light switch covers are made to be touched, so over time, they become smudged. Wiping them down will refresh them to their original appearance.
• Do you have peeling or drooping weather stripping around your windows and doors? If so, that’s certainly not going to do you any favors when house hunters come to call. Either reattach or replace it.
• Stove drip pans cost about $3. Instead of wasting time trying to scrub them, just toss and replace.

2. Box Up Clutter

You don’t have to pack up all your belongings when you list your home, but you should box up as much of the clutter as you can. This may include such items as picture frames, knickknacks, kitchen counter clutter (such as utensils), unused blankets and pillows, books, magazines, and anything else that takes up space without adding value in terms of visual charm.

Having to box up clutter also offers an excellent opportunity to think about whether you actually need the items. Instead of hauling them to your next house, this could be the best time to sell or donate unwanted items.

3. Replace Light Bulbs, Filters, etc.

Over time, simple maintenance tasks that you neglect can pile up. They aren’t serious, and most prospective home buyers may not notice them, but there’s no sense in leaving them undone before listing.

First, go around your house and check every light. Replace old bulbs as necessary. Second, this is a great time to swap out air filters. (You wouldn’t want a prospective buyer to open up your intake vent and find dirt, dust, and pet hair.)

4. Perform Landscaping Tasks

The week-of listing is the ideal time to spruce up your curb appeal with a little landscaping. In particular, pay attention to the following:

• Go through your yard and remove any If there are any in the driveway or sidewalk cracks, spray them. Within 24 hours, they should shrivel up. Then you can pull them.
• Plant some fresh flowers and mulch any beds that look a little puny.
• Prune back overgrown bushes or tree limbs.
• Pressure-wash hard surfaces, such as siding and concrete.
• Mow and edge the lawn the day before listing.

If you don’t have the time to perform all these landscaping tasks personally, hire a professional. Depending on the size of your yard and how much there is to do, all these tasks could be handled by an outside expert in just one or two days.

5. Talk With Neighbors

If you haven’t already, let your neighbors know you’ll be listing your home. Not only is this the polite thing to do (nobody likes to learn a neighbor is moving by seeing a for-sale sign in the yard or strangers wandering through the area), but it could also bring further leads your way.

6. Find a Place for Your Pets

You shouldn’t have pets running around your home when it goes on the market. You never know when a prospective buyer might schedule a last-minute showing and you don’t want to be rushing around to clean up and hide the animals.

If you have a close friend or family member nearby, this might be the time to ask a favor.

7. Stay in Constant Communication With Your Agent

In the final days that lead up to listing, you should be speaking with your agent steadily. Make sure all the details and kinks are ironed out, so there won’t be any issues when it’s time to list the property.

Sell Your Home With Green Residential

When you work with a Green Residential real estate agent, you not only get experience and expertise, you also enjoy significant savings. Most other Houston real estate agents charge a three percent commission to sell a house, but we operate a flat fee rate. On the sale of a $400,000 home, this could save you $4,000 or more.

To find out more about how our flat rate works and the other things that set our agents apart from the competition, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We look forward to speaking with you!