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When it’s time to sell your home you want the best possible price the market will bring. This means staging your home for maximum appeal, something most Realtors will assist you with. There are some very commonly held rules you should follow in order to achieve the best possible experience. Declutter everything. Remove all personal touches. Have you heard these staging tips before? While clutter certainly detracts from a house, leaving a few personal touches like family photos is a good idea. It makes potential buyers see your home as a good place for people to live, and not just another staged house. Ensuring a Smooth Transaction Once you decide to put your home on the market, there are some things you can avoid to help make the process easier, not only for you as the seller but also for potential buyers. Here are some tips on things to avoid based on mistakes others have made in the past.

• Skipping Home Inspections – Scheduling a home inspection before listing your home could save you a lot of time and frustration later. It helps you learn what issues might hold up a sale so you can tackle them before a buyer tries to use them as a tactic for negotiating the bottom line.
• Cutting Corners with Sales Prep – If you put your home on the market without preparing it first then you risk losing interest from potential buyers. A fresh coat of paint and a professional cleaning are the minimum of what you should do before listing your home.
• Choosing the Wrong Agent – Choosing the wrong real estate agent is a frequent error among homeowners who plan to sell their homes. Although you may have a friend or relative in the business, take time to pick someone with an excellent reputation for selling homes like yours.
• Neglecting Your Home’s Curb Appeal – The curb is what gives people a first impression when they come to see your home. If you have weeds growing up around the porch and paint peeling from the front door, then potential sellers could leave without ever stepping foot into your home.

Always be as honest as possible with potential buyers. Withholding the fact that your basement floods every spring or that there’s a leak under the kitchen sink could compromise negotiations during closing. Even worse, it could put you at risk for a lawsuit later. Put a fair price on your home and keep informed about what comes next. You need to understand things like points, closing costs, and what can cause a transaction to take more or less time than anticipated. It could mean the difference between selling your home and being stuck there for months or even years longer than you planned.