With the housing market being as hot as it is across the Golden State, there’s really no bad time to sell. If you think you ‘missed’ your window of opportunity to sell in the spring or summer, autumn is just a good season as any other to put your home on the market.
As with selling at any other time of the year, you want to make sure your home is prepped for the market so that it’s prime for the picking. When it comes to selling in the fall, consider some of the following ways to get your home ready to sell this season.
Give Your Yard a Clean Up
Improving your home’s curb appeal can’t be done without a thorough cleaning job. Get rid of any debris that may have collected, rake any dead leaves, and trim any bushes or other vegetation that may block your walkway. Cut off any overgrown branches from trees that could reduce the amount of natural light in your home, and plant some flower beds to bring a little color to your outdoor space.
Add a few pots of chrysanthemums (more commonly referred to as ‘mums’) on your front porch or along the walkway or driveway, as this is the most popular type of flower for the autumn season. Accentuate them with a few pumpkins, gourds, and other types of squash.
Polish and Decorate Your Windows
Windows have a tendency to get dirty really quickly, and all that dirt from the summer months can wreak havoc on them. Before you schedule that first showing, give your windows a good cleaning job. You can hire a professional window cleaner to do the job for you, or you can tackle it yourself with a pressure washer or some warm soapy water.
Don’t forget to wash the screens as well, as they tend to be traps for a lot of dirt and grime. Polishing up your windows will make them sparkle and will do wonders at letting all that natural sunlight in your home.
Have Your HVAC System Checked
The beginning of each season is the perfect time to check on your HVAC system and make sure all components are in good condition. At the very least, the filter should be changed, as they can become bogged down with all the debris that becomes trapped over time. A healthy HVAC system will do a much better job at keeping the air in the home fresh and comfortable, so it’s important that it is in proper working order.
The system will be checked by the buyer’s home inspector anyway, so you would be well advised to have it inspected yourself before you even put your home on the market. This will give you the opportunity to identify if there are any issues that you can rectify beforehand.
Make Good Use of Pretty Fall Colors
While California might not necessarily experience all the vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows that accompany the fall season in cooler parts of the country (except perhaps in certain northern areas of the state), there’s no reason why you can’t decorate with them.
Arrange some vibrantly colored flowers in vases on various surfaces in your home. Drape an autumn-hued blanket or throw pillows on your sofa and chairs, and create centerpieces for your kitchen or dining room table with some candles in red, orange or yellow surrounded by nuts and pine cones.
There are literally dozens of ways to add the colors of fall to your home’s decor through a number of different accessories that can be easily swapped out when you’re ready to decorate for the next season.
Keep the Lights On
As we approach the fall and winter months, the days become shorter, which means fewer daylight hours. With the sun setting earlier in the day and taking the light with it, you’ll want to make sure that your home is still filled with light, albeit from artificial sources.
When you’ve got a showing scheduled, be sure to keep all lights on in every room, including closet lights, appliance lights, and outdoor lights. You may even want to invest in some additional table and floor lamps to keep the space even brighter during evening showings.
The Bottom Line
Like any other season of the year, fall is a great time to sell as long as the appropriate measures are taken. In addition to pricing your home competitively and marketing it extensively, a little staging and prepping can attract even more eyes on your property.
