When you’re in the process of getting a divorce, you may consider selling your home; many people do. If you’ve discussed the idea with your ex and your Raleigh divorce lawyer and everyone is on board, selling quickly may make your divorce go more smoothly.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that you can sell quickly. The Raleigh real estate market fluctuates almost daily, and how quickly you’re able to sell your home depends on its location, your price, your Realtor® and, perhaps most importantly, how desirable it is.
Making Your Home More Desirable
It’s not always easy to make your home more appealing to buyers, but it can make a huge difference. In a process called “staging,” you can create better ambience and allow potential buyers to envision themselves living there.
Staged homes spend 73 percent less time on the market, according to the Real Estate Staging Association. The catch? Professional home staging is pretty pricey – and it just might not be in your budget, particularly while you’re getting a divorce.
The answer? Do it yourself.
Staging Your Home to Sell Quickly During Divorce
First things first: get rid of all the clutter. If you’re like most people, you think of stray papers, stacked boxes and a sink full of dishes as clutter… but if you’re a potential buyer, you’ll think too much furniture, overflowing toy boxes and other items are blurring the real picture. Take out recliners and extra seating, remove the leaf from your dining table and clear out as much as you can. When you’re staging your home, less is more.
While you’re at it, give the house a deep cleaning.
You can also:
- Repurpose your rooms. If you have empty rooms, that’s great – but if they’re serving as catch-all spaces for things that don’t have a place, think about adding a desk and a lamp (after decluttering, of course). Voilá – instant office.
- Let there be light. Increase the amount of light your fixtures put out, whether you’re working with LEDs, incandescent bulbs or CFCs. Ultimately, you want to have 100 watts of light shining on each square foot of space.
- Think about repainting. Choose neutral, muted tones that don’t capture too much attention.
- Fix your curb appeal. Make sure the lawn is mown, there are no dead leaves swirling around your gutters, and that your sidewalk and porch are swept.
During your divorce, you’re busy; you’re shuttling kids back and forth as part of your custody agreement, you’re worrying about what will happen when you go to court, and you’re still juggling everyday obligations. While staging your home takes time, the effort will pay off when you hand the keys to its new owner.
