How to Prepare Your Home for Sale in 2025 – A No B.S. Strategy

When preparing your home for sale, there is so much work to do it may feel like a never-ending challenge. Let me share with you 8 powerful tips that will not only help you prepare your home quickly and efficiently but also significantly increase your chances of a successful sale. Let’s focus on what’s most important and get you ready for the exciting journey ahead.

Your dedication to maintaining your home over the years will greatly influence the amount of time and energy you'll need to invest in preparation. Remember, deferred maintenance may require additional resources, but it's all in your hands to get your home ready for potential buyers.

1.) Ensure All Home Systems & Appliances Are in Working Order

You should consider ensuring all your home systems and appliances, also known as 'mechanicals', are in good working order. These include your furnace, hot water tank, electrical panel, plumbing, sump pump, and air conditioner. Believe me, when I say things you might excuse, other people won’t.

2.) Declutter Every Room

Take the time to remove all clutter from every room, every closet, and items on all surfaces, and let’s not forget the basement, the garage, and the attic.

When I sold my home in 2021 after 22 years and raising eight kids, I put a dumpster in my driveway. I needed more time to sort through everything and figure out what was junk. If I hadn’t seen something in six months, I tossed it. If I thought something was worth keeping, I invited people to pick it up. If an item stayed out for over a day, I threw it in the trash.

3.) Use On-Demand Handyperson Services

Use on-demand handyperson services, similar to how you would use Uber for a ride, to come in and make minor repairs. These services can help you check things like your leaky sinks, pipes under sinks, seals on toilets, gutters, and downspouts, trim back your trees, and check the seals on your windows.

Then be sure to have your furnace cleaned, your AC unit serviced, batteries in smoke detectors, clean your gutters, check your sump pump, and make sure that the dirt around your house is sloping away from the house so water does not get into your basement while somebody is looking at your home?

4.) Focus on Curb Appeal

Now, it’s time to get some curb appeal. There’s nothing like pulling into the front of a home with eager buyer clients only to see that the current owner has not maintained the front of the house. Many markets are still 'seller’s markets', meaning more buyers than sellers.

The question is, who wants to buy a house where it looks like nobody cares about it? I have had buyers waive off seeing a home based strictly on the outside of the home. If your front door needs to be painted, paint it. I cannot overstate how important it is to make the exterior of your home look nice and feel inviting.

I want you to add flowers, and it never hurts to be colorful with your floral selections. Trim everything up and keep it neat.

5.) Remove Unwanted Smells

Let’s talk about smells. You may be nose deaf, but the buyers are not. I suggest you spend the money to get your vents cleaned. Make sure your furniture has been shampooed and smells brand new. Don’t smoke in your home, even if you are a smoker. And let’s figure out how we can check the pet smells, especially if you own a kitty.

Remember, a person with no animals can smell them the moment they walk in the door.

6.) Remove Furniture If The Room Feels Crowded

That’s an austere enough statement: people like open, spacious, clean environments.

7.) Focus on Kitchen and Bathrooms

The two most important rooms in the house for selling are your kitchen and baths. Please pay close attention to how you present these rooms. Most of the time, you don’t have to do the whole room to make your kitchen and bath feel clean, updated, and a space to appreciate.

This may sound a little repetitive, but I’m going to tell you that paint goes a long way. These days, you can paint just about everything, including your countertops, and change the entire look.

If you’re the type of person who is more of a DIY, head over to 'Tube University' for online DIY tutorials, to get ideas. It is always a great idea to save yourself money if you are skilled enough to do it and have the time.

8.) Hire a Professional Cleaner

Engaging a professional cleaner is the final touch that will make your home feel fresh, smell good, and ready for sale. This step will not only enhance your home's appeal but also boost your confidence in the selling process.

Trust me, you’ll feel proud when people walk through your beautifully presented home.

These are my top eight tips for getting your home together and preparing your house for sale. When selling, your home has become my store, and I want to present the space in the best light possible.