https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 24 May 2026 20:04:46 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914852 Sat, 02 May 2020 00:40:10 +0000 LemonJack 2914852@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JMOM: I’ve been wondering how it’s going for sellers right now. That has to be stressful!</p> <p>We don’t have a realtor as we aren’t listing right now. I want to be as prepared as possible in case that’s something we decide to do.</p> <p>Great idea with the 3D tour! I would definitely want to do that with everything going on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914753 Thu, 30 Apr 2020 10:31:07 +0000 JMOM 2914753@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We listed our house the 2nd week in March - worst timing ever. It took about a month to go under contract and we had to drop it 5%. We painted our basement before we listed as it was a very weird color and it had large murals. We weren't sure if we could get it done so we would have given a paint allowance at closing but we found a painter so we went ahead and did it. Have you found a realtor yet? We have very specific things we look for in a realtor - works full time as a realtor (no other jobs), has a good online presence and marketing, stager and professional photographer included, responsive to texts/calls. We started decluttering and putting stuff in storage a month or two before listing. We had quite a few showings the first week or two but when all the Covid restrictions started it obviously dropped off. We had our agent do a 3D tour after the house had been on the market for 2 weeks and we required people to view the 3D before they asked to make an appt for a showing. Our house has a lot of levels which puts some people off so if they still wanted to see it after viewing the 3D then that was fine. We asked people to touch as little as possible and I would disinfect before letting my kids back in the house. From now on I think any house we sell will have a 3D tour, even if I have to pay for it myself. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914733 Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:13:58 +0000 LemonJack 2914733@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@muffinsmuffins: Thanks for the tips!! We definitely would get a storage unit. I really wish we could get rid of things right now. We had our third in November and are finally able to start purging a lot of items.</p> <p>Yeah, the SW paint looks fantastic on our walls, and has held up pretty well on the trim. It’s just the kitchen cabinets. Bathroom ones are all okay. No idea. Ugh! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914732 Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:09:59 +0000 LemonJack 2914732@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bees_knees: We normally have our house cleaned once a month. I’m missing that now! Before we would list, we’d pay to have it deep cleaned. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914731 Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:09:01 +0000 LemonJack 2914731@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@milano14: That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Thinking about repainting them all again makes me want to cry, but I’ve given up on the Sherwin Williams paint and don’t want to touch up only to have it start looking terrible immediately. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914617 Mon, 27 Apr 2020 06:28:40 +0000 muffinsmuffins 2914617@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Definitely second the storage unit. They provided us with a free truck so we just loaded up everything we wouldn’t need and drove it over. Game changer. Then all that stuff went into our basement workshop when we moved and we took our time sorting through it. I would say do a garage sale since it’ll be nice weather but I doubt anyone would come with Covid...we’ve still been selling and giving away on Facebook though. </p> <p>Make sure every room has a ‘purpose’. We had an open concept living/dining room and we just picked crap in the dining area since we always ate in the kitchen. Our realtor had a complimentary staging consult and they suggested clearing the dining set, putting our China cabinet in there instead of kitchen. It looked way better! Plus our extra bedroom that wasn’t used we just put our basement futon up there and did it up like a proper bedroom. </p> <p>Work on your outdoor space as well. We relaid our front walkway brick as it was all wonky. I helped my dad do it in an afternoon and it looked so much better. And really only cost a couple bags of grit/sand to level it off.</p> <p>See if your realtor has a staging service included. There were so many useful little things they suggested including paint colours. We had two really bright rooms that we repainted and they looked awesome after. Also make sure they use a really good professional photographer for your listing. My brother didn’t have one and his place looked like shit even though they put a ton of work in. It didn’t end up selling and they rent it now, vs we sold in 2 weeks even with a small foundation issue found on inspection! </p> <p>Also to your paint question: we’ve had professional painters 3x and they all use Sherwin Williams. However, one company had to do all our trim over some horrible beige thick paint. I know they sanded it and did like 3 coats but 2.5 years later it looks absolutely horrible in the high traffic areas. We never had that issue at our old house and the whole thing was done with SW, and our current house also has SW on all walls with no issues. So my guess is that it’s the surface or the prep that is the culprit for you...can you just touch it up and leave it? I would totally not want to put in the work to do it all again ha. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914616 Mon, 27 Apr 2020 06:20:42 +0000 milano14 2914616@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No selling house prep tips, but we did paint our kitchen cabinets 4 years ago with Benjamin Moore Advanced paint. They have held up fantastic! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914615 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 23:38:52 +0000 bees_knees 2914615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LemonJack: decluttering is great, and make sure it’s CLEAN! Like. Really really clean! It’s annoying to have to keep it so clean as a seller (esp with kids) but a feel like a clean house makes a great impression to the buyer. That the home was well cared for and maintained, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914610 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 16:27:58 +0000 Marfi 2914610@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LemonJack: Thanks! It's just a little stressful! :happy: Doesn't help that I'm currently 6 months pregnant and there are like no houses available where we are moving to. Thankfully, hubs' new job is letting him start remote so we don't need to be moved before he starts in 2 weeks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914606 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 15:47:02 +0000 LemonJack 2914606@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Marfi: Good luck with your move. An out of state move right now has to be extra stressful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914605 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 15:45:59 +0000 LemonJack 2914605@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@crazydoglady: Oh, and I love Young House Love. Have you been following their progress on selling and moving to FL? It’s been fun to watch. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914604 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 15:45:10 +0000 LemonJack 2914604@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HappyBaker: I don’t think I used the Alkyd version, just the regular pro classic. Maybe that’s the reason!</p> <p> @crazydoglady: I definitely would prefer not to move this summer, but want to get the house ready just in case. Definitely not perfect timing!</p> <p>@Marfi: Good call on replacing the photos with something generic. That would be an easy thing to do! And I think I’ve already decided I would want to get a storage unit. With three kids, we have accumulated a lot of stuff. I’d want to get some of that out of here for sure! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914603 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 14:54:37 +0000 Marfi 2914603@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LemonJack: We are currently in the process of finishing selling our house (sales closes 2 weeks from tomorrow) so this is fresh in my mind!</p> <p>One of the best things we did the first time we sold our house to get it ready for going on the market (we couldn't do it this time as we are moving out of state rather than to a different city in the same area) is get a small storage unit. It helped immensely when we were working on decluttering. Things that we knew we would need but weren't going to need before we moved we put in the storage unit. That way we would still have them but they wouldn't be in the way at the house.</p> <p>Another thing is putting away family pictures. It's not something that you have to do but it was recommended by our realtor as it makes it easier for people to see themselves in your house. If there are big spaces that are left from removing pictures we got art from TJ Maxx and other discount stores in the area to put something interesting on the wall.</p> <p>When we listed our house, we had 3 offers in the first 48 hours. Granted we listed while COVID was still super prevalent (hubs new job is essential work so we had no option to wait) so the market was pretty sparse but those are the things that helped us! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914602 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 14:10:05 +0000 HappyBaker 2914602@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LemonJack: weird! Did you definitely use the Alkyd version? I know for me they accidentally gave me the other kind of ProClassic and I had to go back and switch it. Oh and I did two coats of primer and four of paint, but I feel like if it’s still soft it’s some other issue! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914601 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 14:03:34 +0000 crazydoglady 2914601@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LemonJack: We were planning on moving this summer...but then Corona happened so we are holding off.<br /> This has been my favorite resource for getting my house ready. <a href="https://www.younghouselove.com/staging-tips-for-selling-your-house/" rel="nofollow">https://www.younghouselove.com/staging-tips-for-selling-your-house/</a></p> <p>@HappyBaker: We used the Nuvo cabinet kits and were really happy with the results. It's also available on Amazon. <a href="https://gianigranite.com/collections/nuvo-cabinet-paint" rel="nofollow">https://gianigranite.com/collections/nuvo-cabinet-paint</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914600 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 13:56:40 +0000 LemonJack 2914600@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HappyBaker: So weird! We used Sherwin Williams and it’s been terrible. It looks fabulous in the low traffic areas, but the high traffic doors feel soft to the touch and there are areas I can scrape it off. I did four thin coats as well, two of their primer and two with the pro classic. I almost wonder if I should’ve skipped the primer and only used the cabinet paint.</p> <p>Edited to add we’ve painted our entire house - all the trim and cabinets and most of the doors, and the only issue we have with the paint is in the kitchen. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914599 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 13:45:06 +0000 HappyBaker 2914599@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Following as if we move it will be next spring and I feel like there are so many things we should try to do before then! But we did paint our cabinets and they’ve held up great, I used Sherwin Williams ProClassic Acrylic Akyld and did about 4 thin coats. Not sure if that’s the same kind you used! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/house-selling-preparation-tips-please#post-2914598 Sun, 26 Apr 2020 13:32:40 +0000 LemonJack 2914598@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A house in our preferred area will be going on the market in a couple of months, and it’s spurred us to think about what we need to do to get our house ready to sell. We have a few painting projects I’d like to finish, and I also feel like we need to do some major decluttering. I’m already feeling overwhelmed at that thought because my husband has a hard time parting with things.</p> <p>Even if we don’t end up selling this summer, I think we realistically will look at doing it in the next few years, so I wouldn’t mind getting started now.</p> <p>What things did you do to get your house ready to sell? </p> <p>Also, as a side note, for anyone who painted cabinets, what brand paint did you use, and did you like it? We painted all of our cabinets four years ago, and while they look so much better, the paint has not held up well. In certain areas it feels soft. I followed directions carefully and didn’t take any shortcuts with prep or painting, and used Sherwin Williams cabinet paint. I’ve heard good things about Benjamin Moore. I would consider redoing all the fronts if it means it’ll hold up better. </p>