How to Prepare Your Miami Home for Sale: A Seller’s Guide

If you’re planning on selling a home in Miami-Dade County, preparation is key for a quick and lucrative sale. Potential buyers are much more likely to pull out their checkbooks when they see a home that’s in great condition and ready to be sold. Yes, preparing your home for sale involves some work on your part, but a high-quality home attracts high quality offers. 

With this in mind, here’s how to begin the process of selling your home and impressing potential buyers:

Find a Local Real Estate Agent

Step one for selling a home is finding a highly qualified local real estate agent. You may have to interview two or three agents before you find someone you feel like you can trust. This person should be knowledgeable about your community and realistic when it comes to sales price. 

Why is this the first step? Because an experienced local real estate agent can help you identify any issues with your home that may deter potential buyers. In a perfect world, you’re conducting your interviews about six months before you’re ready to list. That way, your agent will be able to share their network of reputable professionals for any work that needs to be done and there’s plenty of time to get the work done as well. 

Declutter and Deep Clean

Real estate agents often recommend making your home as clean and open as possible. So, pack away excess furniture or anything that isn’t essential for daily living, including items that are overstuffing your closet. This will not only make your house look cleaner, but also give you a head start on packing for your inevitable move. A general rule is that if you haven’t used an item if over a year, you probably don’t need it anymore. If you have a lot of items you still want to hold onto, you may consider renting a storage unit. 

For maximum cleanliness, it might be worth it to hire a professional cleaning crew to do a deep clean. This includes washing the windows, spraying down your exterior, recaulking tubs, showers, and sinks, and polishing faucets and mirrors. A professional cleaning crew will also cover commonly overlooked areas like baseboards, windowsills, and tile grout. 

Make Minor Repairs

When your agent walks through your home, they will probably point out a few minor repairs you can make to improve your home’s appearance. This might include replacing doors that don’t close properly, replacing cracked floor or counter tiles, or fixing kitchen drawers that jam. You wouldn’t want to have a light bulb blow out when your agent is showing your house, right? A small, harmless incident like this could sour the potential buyer’s experience. 

Maximize Curb Appeal

Here in Miami, people make their first impression of a home before they even step inside. You can improve your home’s curb appeal by painting your front door, mowing the lawn and trimming all the vegetation. Are there any cracks on your front steps or walkway? Can people clearly see your house number? If your home’s exterior needs a lot of work, it might be a good idea to ask your real estate agent about their preferred landscaper or a contractor instead of attempting to make these improvements yourself. 

If you are looking to sell your home in Miami, now is the time to make an appointment with the Kern Team! With our 25+ years of local expertise, we can carefully walk you through every step of this complex process, including preparing your home for potential buyers. When the offers start coming in, you’ll know you’ve done everything in your power to achieve your desired price. Reach out to us today so we can start creating a timeline for a successful sale.