Selling your house isn’t going to be an exact science. Anything from square footage to neighborhood to the weather can have an effect on the appeal of your property. But there are some measures you can take to make your desired sale more likely.

Here are a few tips to consider before sticking the “For Sale” sign in the yard.

Selecting the Order

The order of operations when it comes to selling your home can be a major factor in how you approach the sales process. After all, selling a house before you’ve purchased a new one means you’ll need a place to stay in the meantime. (Then again, selling first means you know the exact budget you’ll be working with in the purchase process.) Choose the order that works best for your situation.

Timing the Sale

While houses sell regularly year-round, there are certain benefits to picking particular times of year to launch your home sale. A recent study reported on by the Huffington Post found that the month with the quickest turnaround from listing to sale is May. This may be in part due to the transparency of the snow-free season—particularly in a place like South Dakota where snow cover can make a buyer pause over the hidden condition of the roof or lawn.

Removing the Sentimental

Prepping a home for potential buyer viewings entails a lot of groundwork to get ready. This can include fresh coats of paint, new gardening or landscaping or something as simple as swapping out a flickering light bulb. But it’s also important to remove clutter that could be deemed “personal” or “sentimental.” These types of items can make it difficult for buyers to see themselves in the space—and items that have negative or controversial connotations can polarize your visitors.

Keep Animals Elsewhere

If you’re a pet-owner, there’s more than likely evidence of it that you don’t even notice anymore, whether it’s odor or hair on furniture. Before you open up your home for potential buyers, make sure you’ve removed this evidence by shampooing your carpet, de-linting your furniture and taking efforts to remove smells. Not everyone is a pet-lover, and many buyers will be turned off enough by the smell to not even consider purchasing. During the sales process, consider taking the pets on a holiday to a family member’s or friend’s home.

Getting Financed

You’ve heard about the First-Time Homebuyer Program. (You may have even used it the first time around.) But now that it’s time to sell, how can you get financial assistance to purchase your second home? Don’t fret—there’s a program for that, too. The Repeat Homebuyer Program is meant to assist people reentering the house-buying market in South Dakota in affording their next home.

Any questions about the Repeat Homebuyer Program? Contact Brent Adney at brent@sdhda.org or 605.773.3181.