Selling your home is a huge decision, especially if it's a primary residence with sentimental value etched into every scuff mark and chipped paint defect. You've loved, lived, and experienced all of life's facets in your home. 

In life, sometimes circumstances dictate more than we would like. If you need or deeply desire to move on, selling your home may be part of that process. If it is, we've got some awesome ways to help you get more bang for your buck. 

Selling a home may be challenging, but it is doable, even in a down market. Whether or not the housing market is saturated, whether you're in a high-desire area or not, whether you've sold ten homes or this is your first attempt, we've curated a list of our favorite tips for getting more money from your home before you sign on the dotted line. 

1. Stage Your Home

If you've ever gone house hunting, you'll know firsthand that seeing a home that's barren and a clean slate doesn't have the same “welcome home” feel of a home that looks lived in. One key tip to getting more money on your home offers is to create a home out of your house. 

You don't have to use your own things, but staging a home allows people to visualize and see what's possible with your home's layout. It offers a welcoming feel that can turn a curious person or family into home buyers who give you a great offer on your home. 

2. Create a Digital Home History

Think Carfax for your home. By creating a digital history, you can easily keep track of maintenance and repairs you've completed on your home. You can add upgraded appliances, lighting, a new roof, floor plans, and air conditioning and heating units. 

By documenting all these and more, you can give potential buyers a look at how well you've taken care of your home. You can give them access to the warranty so they can read it for themselves. You can also detail other improvements you've made. Say you've installed a new septic system, drilled a deeper well, added a water softener system, or improved home security. All these upgrades and positive changes make your home marketable before a potential buyer even sets foot on your property. 

3. It's All About Curb Appeal

When I was young, I often heard people say, “That house has curb appeal.” At the time, I didn't understand what that phrase meant. Then, my husband and I went house hunting, and curb appeal suddenly made sense. 

If you're looking to sell your home, what it looks like from the outside matters. Do everything you can to clean your yard of debris, mow your lawn, cut your hedgerows down so they look neat and orderly, and powerwash the exterior of your home so it shines. These are easy tasks that elevate what people see when they drive by your property.  

4. Upgrade the Heart of Your Home

Most people will tell you that the kitchen is the heart of a home. It's where we come together and sometimes where we fall apart. All the big family decisions solidify or crumble in the kitchen, and we nourish our bodies and relationships around the food we make there. 

When you invest in kitchen upgrades like new appliances (or at least very nice newer models), research cool and warm color palettes and paint accordingly, add new hardware, or upgrade the natural lighting, you're warming the heart of your home. New countertops are also an excellent investment to add instant attraction to your home. 

5. Splurge on a New Bathroom

When my family moved in with my husband's mother, we lost access to a bathtub. Both bathrooms had stand up showers, and I can confidently say that if you want to pull in potential buyers, spend a bit to upgrade your bathroom. Choose cool colors if you want a relaxing, calm environment with wide appeal. Choose a warm color pattern if you want an inviting space that exudes positive energy. 

Update your sink, vanity, toilet, tub, and shower; if you have the room and budget, put in a standing tub and separate shower. Wet room bathrooms are a big hit for those with children or who like the “no fuss” option that can give a small bathroom the feeling of being much bigger. 

6. Twenty-first Century Hardware, Please

If you plan to do significant remodeling to your home before trying to sell it, don't forget to update the kitchen cupboard and bathroom vanity hardware. If you have a tight budget, choose new hardware for the kitchen cupboards and maybe some new paint options. 

Updating a home's interior doesn't mean that you have to spend thousands on a renovation. You can make beautiful, noticeable changes for a few hundred with just some new paint and good, modern hardware. 

7. Ceiling Fans Are a Go

You haven't lived until you've sat in a cool room with beautiful natural light and a ceiling fan to keep the air moving. Even in air-conditioned homes, ceiling fans contribute to both aesthetic appeal and cooling efficiency. 

When you turn your air conditioner on, you set it at a certain temperature. Ceiling fans allow you to run your A/C at a higher temperature without changing the feel of coolness in your home. This, in turn, saves on your overall electric bill and is a great asset to add to your home for minimal cost.

8. Smart Is as Smart Does

The move to smart technology has been growing over the last twenty years. Smart meters, appliances, security, ring cameras, and other tech can vastly improve your asking price. 

Appliances that can help keep costs lower, security systems that you can run with your phone no matter where you are, and toilets and showers that manage water consumption and save on both your water and electric bills are all wonderful additions that can greatly increase the appeal of your home to potential buyers, therefore adding thousands to your potential profit. 

9. Decks Mean Checks

If there is one outside attraction you can add to your home to make it appealing, it's a new or renovated deck. It doesn't have to be fancy or decked out (no pun intended), but a good, solidly supported space offers an outdoor retreat option that homebuyers love. 

Investing in improving your outdoor space can really add to the overall curb appeal of your home and attract buyers who are willing to meet or even exceed your asking price. 

10. Hire Mr. Fix-it

One of the best investments you can make is to have a handyman on speed dial. Knowing a person who can help you with those hard-to-cover tasks like a leaky faucet, a squeaky floorboard, or a blown fuse can save you hundreds of dollars over hiring it out to a company. 

This two-fold strategy is a great way to take care of small issues with your home and help out someone in your community as well. As self-employed people, men and women who offer handyman services may be working a side gig while fulfilling a regular 9-5 job as well. Offering them routine maintenance and emergency service jobs when you run into a problem is a great way to help them build the life they want and can help you fix issues in your home before they go to a buyer. 

11. Get a Home Inspection

Most people wait until their house has an offer before they get a home inspection. However, getting a preemptive inspection can give you a heads-up on issues that need to be addressed before you decide to sell your home. 

By inspecting your home first, you can tackle major issues and minor annoyances that could cut into your asking price if they aren't taken care of before you put your home up for sale. 

12. Timing is Everything

When deciding to sell your home, a seller's market is best for a quick sale that'll get you your total asking price. However, if you need to sell your home in a buyer's market, when there are more buyers than homes, you'll need to create an environment around your house that attracts as many potential buyers as possible. 

Fixing major and minor issues, installing new windows, a new roof (if needed), a new A/C system, clean ducting, enhancing massive curb appeal, and making other upgrades can make your home more attractive to buyers than your neighbor’s down the street. Marketing plays a huge role in helping sellers offload their homes in a buyer's market without cutting into their profit margins. Timing is everything; a seller's market is your best option, but don't count a buyer's market out. 

13. Pricing is Profit

The optimum time to sell your home is a seller's market when you have a house you've fully paid off. Everything you earn on the sale, minus realtor fees, is pure profit. However, that's not always the case. 

If you're a homeowner needing to sell your home, you'll want to factor in how much you still owe on your mortgage (or equity line of credit), realtor fees, and any other outstanding issues like property taxes you haven't paid. All of these payments will come out of your selling price (if you don't pay them beforehand). So, ensure you include any outstanding payments in your asking price to help mitigate any profit losses when you sell your home. 

14. Market Smart

No matter the market, selling your home is all about drawing attention to your offer. Social media, print ads, and open houses can all help you get the word out that your home is for sale. The more you get people to see your home, the more likely you are to sell your house. 

If you aren't up to date on how to best market your home, a licensed realtor can help you get quality photos to the right places so more eyes see your home and all it has to offer. Market smart when selling your house; you'll have offers before you know it.