Selling Your Home

How do I get my home ready to sell?

By Steve Lockhart

The short answer

A ready home does not mean a rebuilt home. It means a buyer can see the space.

Full answer

A ready home does not mean a rebuilt home. It means a buyer can see the space. The usual order is: declutter until each room reads larger, depersonalize so the buyer can picture their own life, deep clean from walls to baseboards, and refresh the touch points that show wear, the door, the light plates, cabinet fronts. Then the easy visual wins: neutral wall colors, brighter bulbs, clean counters, and the surfaces that photograph. Fix the obvious small issues, and sharpen the curb appeal because the first showing is the street and the photos. The final layer is professional photography, the listing language, and a repeatable showing routine that keeps the home ready on demand. The trick is time: most sellers underestimate how long the clearing out takes, so plan it backwards from the listing date. A clean, clear, light home earns a wider pool of buyers and a stronger group of offers than the same home at its worst.

Go a little deeper

Frequently asked

Questions sellers often follow up on

Should I spend on small fixes or bigger ones?

Start with the high-impact, low-cost items: brightness, paint, cleanliness, and the little repairs a buyer notices. Larger remodels rarely return their cost in a sale. Get the basics right first and let the bigger spend wait for the buyers' own taste.

How long does it take to prepare a home?

Clearing years of accumulation and presenting the home honestly usually takes days to a few weeks. That is why we schedule the prep backwards from the listing date, so the home is at its best on the day that counts, not on the day it is finished.

Does presentation really change the offer?

It changes a lot. Presentation decides who shows up and helps buyers feel confident about the price. People pay more confidently for a home they can imagine living in, which is why a well-presented home more often lands at the top of its range.

The Lockhart Method

Your Home | My Strategy | Proven Results

My strategy: work the plan in a planned order, not a whirlwind. We turn the ready-to-sell steps into a sequence keyed to your date, from the declutter and paint to the photos and the showings, so the home is at its best on the day that counts.

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