Home buying 101: Declutter your house before selling

Properly prepping your house to put on the real estate market is a vital step in increasing your chances of getting a good offer on your home. However, there is a fine line between making your home feel comfortable while also de-personalizing it enough so that a potential buyer can visualize themselves living in your home.

You want to show your house in the best light possible, literally. To create depth and make your home look as large as possible to potential buyers, start by making sure your home is well-lit in all rooms. Make sure your curtains are open and all the light bulbs in your lighting fixtures are working.

Along with having good lighting, you have to declutter your home. This cant be emphasized enough. Even if you feel youve put enough things away or have taken many of your possessions to an off-site storage facility, you may have to do more. Your real estate agent should be able to objectively tell you if youve decluttered to the degree necessary to enhance the positive aspects of your home.

Be ruthless about cleaning your home when youre getting ready to put it on the real estate market. Remove any unpleasant odors before a showing. HOWEVER, make sure you dont leave behind a strong chemical smell, like bleach. It may lead a potential buyer to think you are actually trying to cover up a major problem. Do whatever is necessary to remove the cause of the odor dont just mask it.

Some other key things to do when cleaning and decluttering your home include the following:

Take pictures of yourself and your children, including their names, off walls and other places. Remove any large family portraits and replace them with mirrors, if possible. Mirrors also help create more depth in your home.

Put all valuables away or remove completely from your property if possible, including items that have a valuable autograph on them.

Remove prescription drugs from your medicine cabinets or anywhere else you have them stored. Completely remove from your property if possible.

Put toys and gaming systems away.

Remove pets from the property if you are having an open house and when your real estate agent has scheduled showings.

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Home buying 101: Declutter your house before selling