Getting Your Home Ready to Sell: Trish's Practical Tips

Selling your home is both an emotional and financial milestone, and the preparation you put in before it hits the market directly affects your sale price and how long it sits. The goal is to show the home's best self — not to renovate it into something it isn't.

Declutter ruthlessly before any photography or showings. Buyers need to envision their own lives in the space, which is difficult when your home is full of your family's history. Rent a storage unit if necessary. Deep clean every surface, including windows, baseboards, appliances, and bathrooms. Fresh paint in neutral colors is almost always worth the investment.

Focus your improvement dollars on the areas with the highest return: kitchen and bathroom updates, fresh landscaping and curb appeal, and any obvious deferred maintenance that will show up on inspection. Avoid over-improving — you rarely recover the full cost of a high-end remodel in a neighborhood of more modest homes.

Pricing correctly from the start is more important than any physical improvement. An overpriced home sits on the market, accumulates days on market, and often sells for less than it would have at the right price from the beginning. Your agent's comparative market analysis should drive the conversation about pricing — not what you need to net or what you've invested over the years.