Preparing to List Oahu Real Estate

When looking to list Oahu real estate, we recommend that you contact Home Shoppe Hawaii for a listing presentation and pre-listing consultantion.

At the Pre-Listing Consultation, we will discuss Pre-listing Due Diligence and we will go over with you the various other steps to take to get your Oahu property ready to list. These various other steps will include Cleaning and Repairs, as well as Decluttering & Storage and/or Staging.

CLEANING & REPAIRS TO LIST YOUR OAHU HOME FOR SALE

Unless the property is a vacant lot or the home is being sold as a teardown, it is of the utmost importance that a home be impeccably clean for the sale and all showings. It is recommended to have the house professionally cleaned, if possible prior to listing.  Any repairs should also be made prior to listing. Don’t forget the following, often over-looked areas:

1. Clean around light switches, door knobs and door jambs
2. Clean baseboards
3. Pressure wash outside of home
4. Sweep out garage
5. Lubricate tracks for windows and sliding doors
6. Fix broken jalousies
7. Fix screens that have holes
8. Clean windows
9. Touch up any peeling paint, this could affect financing options
10. Make sure all light bulbs are fresh and working
11. Clean or replace old grout in tubs
12. Organize closets
13. De-fuzz any fans or vents in bathrooms or other areas
14. Clean blades and motor of all ceiling fans
15. Remove all bugs and clean ceiling light fixtures 

With higher priced properties, you may wish to also consider, at times, minor remodels. The relatively small investment for these can sometimes amount to a much larger price improvement. We will provide consultation on this, if necessary.

Home Shoppe Hawaii can connect you with contractors and cleaners who can help you with all of this.

DECLUTTERING & STORAGE

Preparing to list Oahu Real Estate also inlcudes de-cluttering. De-cluttering is just as important as cleaning. It makes all the difference, especially in the listing photos. And photos are your first showing of your property.  

REMOVE FURNITURE

Most people have too much furniture in their home. Too much furniture makes a home look smaller. It makes a lot of sense to get rid of things you don’t want to move before you sell.  Any furniture that blocks walkways or interferes with the flow of the house should be removed. Remove extra leaves in the dining table, etc. to create more space. I recommend getting one or more POD units for storage and removal of anything you don’t readily need in your home.

MINIMALIZE

How people normally live is not how you sell a home. You must minimalize and allow people to see themselves in your home by depersonalizing. That means getting rid of distracting collections, personal photos, etc.  You want to ensure that your home looks as though it has plenty of storage, with some unused, not busting at the seams with boxes or Christmas decorations, old sports equipment and out of season clothes. You should remove a lot of decorative items if they create any clutter on shelves, kitchen counters or atop refrigerators, etc.  A clean dust-free surface looks best, in most cases. 

REMOVE VALUABLES

While you are removing your tchotchkes, make sure to remove your valuables.  CD collections, jewelry, and any other small thing of value should be kept out of sight or under lock and key.  Prescription drugs should also be removed from medicine cabinets or bathroom drawers.

ORGANIZE

Lastly, become a little compulsive. Alphabetize your books, hang your clothes by color and length, group decorative items by color or size, organize all cabinets and stack things in size order.  Store small, loose things in decorative boxes or storage containers. Put everyday items that you use in a box that you can easily tuck out of the way.

These TIPS for PREPARING TO LIST OAHU REAL ESTATE should help get your home in great shape to sell. You might also want to consider STAGING your home for sale. HOME SHOPPE HAWAII can help you with staging tips, and light staging too, or direct you to a professional stager on Oahu.

When we meet with you to list Oahu real estate, we will go over all these items with you. If you have questions, please call us.

~ Aloha