Ready to Sell Your Home? Prep Like a Pro with These 10 Tips!

Once you've decided to sell a home, there are some things you should do to prepare your home before listing it. Don’t just list it without any advance preparation. A few minor touch-ups and attention to detail can go a long way towards making a favorable impression on potential buyers — and perhaps closing a deal. Put your buyer’s hat on and walk through your home like it's the first time. Make notes on what you, as a buyer, would notice, and then make those upgrades or changes. Here are some handy tips to help you through the prep process before listing a home for sale at the Lake of the Ozarks.

1. Pay attention to curb appeal. 

The first impression a buyer gets when they drive up to your home is its curb appeal - so take time to do some much-needed outdoor maintenance. Trim your shrubs, weed your flower beds, fix any peeling paint and keep the walkway clear. Look up at your roof with a buyer's eye. Are there any eyesores you can see? Buyers will catch missing shingles and think potential roof damage.

2. Clean from top to bottom. 

Dust on top of the fireplace mantle and fan blades, polish your appliances and faucets, and give the windows a thorough washing. If you’ve already moved out or if you’re too busy to stay on top of things, consider hiring a cleaning service to stop by every couple of weeks.

3. Get rid of the clutter. 

Potential buyers won't be able to focus on the potential your home has if it's cluttered. Keep the kitchen table and countertops cleared off. Hide away the pile of shoes in the mud room. Get rid of or store away unnecessary pieces of furniture to maximize the space of your home.

4. Repaint with neutral colors. 

While bold accent walls may be the current style, it could turn off a good portion of your buyers. Repaint your rooms in neutral tones like tans and whites that allow buyers to focus on the spaces themselves, not the color of the walls.

5. Pack up the personal items. 

Buyers want to be able to envision themselves in your home, so remove anything overly personal. Take down the majority of the family photos in the hallway or your kids’ artwork on the fridge. Store away the collection of knick-knacks taking up usable space on the fireplace mantle and shelving areas.

6. Keep the decor simple. 

To help buyers imagine themselves in your space, get rid of any art or other decor that might turn off people with different tastes. If a potential buyer walks into your home and can't stop looking at your bold choice of decor, that could take away from their experience of viewing your home. If all they can remember of your home after leaving is your artwork, you may have just lost an offer. 

7. Let in some natural lighting. 

Open up all the windows to let in natural light. Add floor or table lamps to areas that are dim. A bright, cheery room looks bigger and more inviting.

8. Maximize your storage space. 

Storage space is a huge selling point. If your closets are packed tight, buyers may see that as there not being much storage space available. Organize your closets with storage bins, shelving, or boxes to make it look tidy and showcase the storage space your home provides. Remove extra items you don't need.

9. Check off that honey-do list. 

Do you have a list of small maintenance things you've been meaning to tackle around the house? Time to get to it. Buyers will notice them, and they’ll detract from the value of your home. Set aside a weekend to tighten those loose doorknobs, fix that leaky faucet and paint over the scuffs that have occurred over time.

10. Give every room purpose. 

That spare room you’ve been using as a catch-all won’t help sell your home unless you show buyers how they can use it themselves. Pick a use, whether it's an office space, spare bedroom, kid's room, etc., and clearly stage the space to showcase that purpose.


Use these 10 tips to help prep before selling a home at the Lake of the Ozarks. Buyers will be more likely to put in attractive offers, and you'll likely get your home sold more quickly! We just have one final tip for you today: Hire the best real estate agents at the Lake of the Ozarks to list your home. Team Andy Gibson is excited about your decision to sell a home at the Lake of the Ozarks, and we would love to discuss what we can do to help your real estate transaction go as smoothly as possible!


Keller Williams Lake of the Ozarks Realty
858 Hwy 42
Osage Beach, MO 65065 
573-286-5907 Cell
573-348-9898 Office
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