Tips for Sellers

Getting your home ready to show and sell can make the difference between a quick sale and a long market time.  Setting the stage may or may not get you more money but it can reduce the time it takes your home to sell, which does save you money. Setting the stage to show and sell your home is a two phase project.

First, the things you need to do before you put your home on the market and secondly the things you need to do before EVERY showing.... 

Prior to Marketing Your Home

DE-CLUTTER  Rent a storage unit if you have to.  Try to look at your home through the eyes of a  buyer.  That stack of stuff in the corner that you are so used to looking at  needs to be removed.  If your home is small and or  crowded consider rearranging or removing  furniture . The exercise equipment that you never use - Store It!  Accessories are wonderful and should remain in moderation. Go to some model homes and see how they look.  They have accessories, but nothing is overdone. Closets should be uncluttered also. Remove out of season clothes and give all those things you no longer need to charity.  Stack things neatly on shelves.
OR ADD - if your furnishings are sparse, borrow some pictures for the walls, cover the beat up sofa with a throw and bring in a flower arrangement. Just use common sense, make your home look the best you can.

CLEAN EVERYTHING  Your home should sparkle. Don't overlook light fixtures, a clean fixture can make a huge difference in the lighting in a room. While you are cleaning the fixtures replace dim bulbs with bright ones. Make sure your bathrooms are spotless, faucets should be shiny, counters empty except for a few accessories, fixtures cleaned and fresh (get the rust stains out of the toilet etc), mirrors should be clean and streak free. The same goes for the kitchen - sparkling faucet, clean shiny sink, cabinet fronts should be wiped down or cleaned, replace drip pans on the range.  Wash all light switches, we don't realize how the fingerprints collect on these.  Go through your home room by room and make sure everything has been cleaned, even the utility room and furnace.

MAKE MINOR REPAIRS  That dripping faucet or toilet that won't quit running may just be a quick 10 minute repair but left alone can become a concern for the buyer.  "Maybe there is a plumbing problem" , "we better offer less"  or "there is too much deferred maintenance in this house"  are typical comments from buyers. 
      Touch up paint or paint a whole room if needed.  The drawings your kids made on the wall will not be considered art by potential buyers. Touch up woodwork where needed.  The scratches your dog made on the door (or worse chewed the woodwork) should all be fixed and painted. Re-caulk tubs and showers.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT  Paint your front door. Sweep away leaves, cobwebs etc.  I can't stress this enough, potential buyers are already deciding if they like your home while waiting for the REALTOR®  or homeowner to unlock the door.

Before Every Showing>>>