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Writer's pictureJacquie McCarnan

A Beginners Guide to Selling a Home

Updated: Sep 25, 2023

Look, selling a home can be exciting or depressing depending on your situation but one thing that is constant is that you will want to get the very best price.


Getting a good price for your home comes down to a bunch of different factors and this, short, article will get you heading in the right direction.


Whether you choose to use me as your Realtor or someone else, these tips will definitely help out if you're selling a home in the Vancouver area. If you find that preparing your home for sale is too overwhelming, give me a call. I will help you do it all. In fact, I kinda love prepping a home for sale!


When you're reading these tips remember, anyone viewing your home to purchase wants to imagine themselves living there (unless they're an investor in which case they may not care as much but why limit your target audience?)


TIPS ~ the basics:

  1. take half of your stuff and either sell it, donate it, or store it. Nothing takes away from your home's value more than clutter.

  2. look around, are there any glaring issues? Holes in the walls? Big stains on the carpet? The smell of cigarette smoke or animal odour? Have someone walk through the home and tell you what they notice. If your friend sees something. you can bet a potential buyer will too.

  3. clean, clear, polish, dust, vacuum, scrub the heck out of it. Clean will always win out over dingy. Even if you've inherited a home to sell there are lots of things you can do to make it much more attractive; cleaning being the cheapest thing.

  4. toss out any dead plants or anything that is unsightly. If your garden is full of dead things, toss them.


Tips ~ levelling up

  1. ok, you're probably already feeling like things look a lot better but you can improve your chances of getting a great price for your home if you do a few more, inexpensive, improvements;

  2. paint. You'd be surprised what a coat of paint can accomplish. There is a lot of info about colour theory with regard to homes. Kitchens shouldn't be blue, bedrooms shouldn't be yellow etc. White is safest but not very dynamic. Having a Realtor with an Interior Designer daughter would be super helpful in this case ;)

  3. floors - are they dingy? cleaning can only do so much for carpets so if its really bad you may want to replace it. You can usually find a great deal on carpet and installation at a place like End of the Roll. Grey is the universal neutral colour and if often the cheapest. (new and cheap beats old and expensive for carpet every time) If you have hardwood and its really wrecked get the floors polished. It's crazy how great they can look!

  4. don't forget the exterior. Power wash the grime away, make sure the lawn is cut and the gardens are weeded. This is often the very first thing buyers see so make it purdy!

  5. staging is always a great idea. In many cases your own furnishings can be used to stage the home but, occasionally, you'll need a professional stager who can really make it amazing!

There are a lot more things you can do to make sure you're maximising your home value and I'm always available to discuss what your home needs. I can pop over and give you a list of what needs doing and a list of who can do it. You'll save a ton of time and money and we'll get that home shined up like a new penny (not that anyone uses pennies anymore ;)



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