Home Seller Tips
Getting your home ready to show and sell can make the difference between a quick sale and a long market time. Setting the stage can reduce the time it takes your home to sell, which saves you money. Setting the stage to show and sell your home is a two phase project.
1. Prior to Marketing Your Home
EITHER 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 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. 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 to 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 a room's lighting. While you are cleaning the fixtures, replace dim bulbs with bright ones. Make sure your bathrooms are spotless, faucets shiny, counters empty except for a few accessories, fixtures cleaned (get the rust stains out of the toilet), mirrors clean and streak free. The same goes for the kitchen - sparkling faucet, clean shiny sink, cabinet fronts clean. 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 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" and "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, the woodwork he chewed) should 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 REALTORŪ or homeowner to unlock the door.
2. Before Every Showing
Pick up every room. Straighten or remove newspapers, magazines, mail, toys, clothing, sports gear and dishes. Make the beds, plug in air fresheners and empty all trash cans (make sure empty cans are clean).
Open all blinds and shades. Turn on ALL lights whether is is day or night (closets and utility rooms too).
Maintain a comfortable temperature winter and summer. You want potential buyers to spend time in your home and not hurry through because it is too warm or too cold!
In winter make sure all sidewalks and steps are free of ice and snow (for safety as well as appearance).
In summer keep lawn mowed and sidewalks edged. If you have automatic sprinklers, schedule them for early morning or late evening when there are few showings. That way, potential buyers can walk around the exterior of the home and check out the yard without getting soaked.
Vacuum all carpets. Especially if you have pets! Sweep/dust hard surface floors and dust furniture if needed.
Make sure there are no dirty dishes in the sink or crumbs on the counter. Make the sinks and faucets sparkle.
Last but not least, take the cat, cat litter, and or dog out of the home before the showing. I know this is not easy. I recently moved and had to drive around for hours with two unhappy cats and a hyper dog. It was not fun but it was necessary! The cat litter should be removed if possible. Put it in the garage or at least clean it immediately before the showing. If you have guinea pigs, hamsters or other small pets make sure the cages are cleaned daily.
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