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Some helpful tips on how to improve the overall impression of your home.
Look at your home through the eyes of the buyer.
- Open the draperies, pull up the shades and let in the sunlight.
- Create a positive mood. Turn on all lights - day or night. Open the curtains during the day.
- Install higher wattage light bulbs to show your home brightly -- in its best light. Turn on all lights.
- Remove all clutter from each room to visually enlarge them.
- Create the illusion of spaciousness.
- If you have a fireplace, highlight it in your decorating.
- Keep your home dusted and vacuumed at all times.
- Have a family emergency "game plan" to get the home in order quickly if necessary.
- Air out your home one half hour before the showing if possible.
- Lightly spray the room freshener so that it has a chance to diffuse and air before the buyer arrives.
- Create a master "suite" effect in your decorating.
- Make sure that beds are made and the linens and curtains are fresh and clean.
- Organize your closets, remove unnecessary items and put them in storage.
- Bathrooms should always be kept spotlessly clean.
- Do not leave towels around and wipe down the shower areas after each use.
- Recaulk if the caulking is not sparkling white!
- Put out fresh towels and decorative soap for showings.
- Set the scene by setting the table! Highlight the potential of your dining room by setting a grand dining table!
- The kitchen should always be kept spotlessly clean.
- Expand your counter space by removing small appliances.
- Highlight an eat-in-area in your kitchen with a table set for dinner.
- Shampoo all carpets and vacuum them daily.
- If the carpet does not clean up well you should REPLACE IT!
- Improve traffic flow through every room and create a feeling of spaciousness in every room by removing unnecessary furniture, knick-knacks, hobby items, children's items, etc.
- However, try to avoid creating a "sterile" look environment.
- Remove all grease from range hoods, ovens, stovetops, walls, etc.
- Clean rubbish out of the fireplace and keep it clean in the winter.
- Highlight the fireplace in your decorating.
- Remove all unnecessary items from the attic, basement, garage, tool shed, and especially from the storage area if you have one.
- Rent a storage area for these items or have a yard sale. You're going to move anyway -- start now!
- Straighten, tidy, and remove unnecessary items from all closets. Put unnecessary items in storage.
- FIX THE FRONT DOOR BELL!
- Invest in a new doormat.
- Make sure the front door, storm door, screen door, etc. work wonderfully!
- Create the feeling of a spacious entry area by using decorating accents, mirrors, rugs, etc. and by removing all unnecessary clutter.
- Regardless of the season, tackle spring-cleaning. Clean everything in your home from top to bottom! -- from attic to basement!
- Wash all windows - inside and out!
- Curtains should be fresh, clean and attractive.
- Clean all light bulbs, light fixtures and chandeliers to brighten the home.
- Remove all smoke odors, pet odors, and odors resulting from hobbies.
- Straighten, tidy, and remove unnecessary items from all closets.
Create the feeling of spacious closets. Put all unnecessary items instorage or invest in under-the-bed storage boxes.
- Remove posters and adhesive from walls and doors and putty any holes resulting from nails or other mishaps.
- Depersonalize teenager's rooms and decorate in a neutral temperament.
- Clean or paint the basement walls and floor.
- Paint all inside walls with off-white paint. Use two or more coats to cover bold, bright or dark walls.
- All walls should be painted, not just washed. This will brighten the home and make it look bigger.
- Repair or replace all doors, closet doors, and/or windows and screens so that they open with ease.
- Repair or replace banisters and handrails.
- Repair or replace broken tiles on walls, floors or in showers/tubs.
- Repair or replace loose or dangling wallpaper.
- If the basement shows any signs of water or structural damage, it may be necessary to obtain a structural engineer's report.
- Replace all toilet bowls if you cannot get them spotlessly clean.
- Replace shower curtains and keep them clean.
- Replace the washers in faucets and remove rust stains from basins.
- Water and prune all plants.
- Use plants in transitional areas of your home between inside and out.
- Either get rid of dying plants or keep them out of sight.
- Remove any excess extension cords and exposed wires.
- Open doors to areas you want the potential buyer to see such as walk-in-closets, pantries, attic, basement, etc.
- Close all other closet doors and cabinets.
- Make the most of your attics potential.
- Make the attic as pleasant as possible by airing it out, and decorating if possible.
- Add visual appeal to stairways - especially in unfinished stairways to the basement.
- Keep the yard mowed, raked, fertilized and watered at all times!
- Remove all toys, bicycles, tools, unsightly patio furniture, trash, etc. from the yard.
- Trees and shrubs should be pruned and trimmed.
- Lawns and gardens should be weeded at all times.
- Use flowering plants to dress u the yard, walkways, and patio.
- All hoses and garden equipment should be neatly out of sight.
- Outdoor furniture should be kept clean and/or repainted if necessary.
- Firewood should be neatly stacked or out of sight.
- Mailboxes should be evaluated with a critical eye.
- Paint and repair the mailbox or replace it if necessary.
- Make all those minor repairs to the exterior.
- 7Porches, steps, verandas, balconies, patios and other extensions of the house should be kept uncluttered, swept and in good condition.
- Paint all entrance doors.
- Shades and awnings should be in good condition. Replace if the color has faded. Remove windsocks.
- Create an outside living/dining area with furniture and plants.
- Keep trashcans deodorized, covered and out of sight.
- Highlight your pool area, water garden, etc. with lighting, benches, planters, flowering plants, etc.
- Take nighttime photos of decorative yard lighting systems.
- Take pictures of your flowering mature landscaping now if you are planning to sell your home later in the season.
- Display these photos in your home in the wintertime.
- Clean and shine all accessories (door knobs, knockers, lamps, mail boxes, address numbers, etc.)
- Clean, repair and paint all gutters and downspouts.
- All roof shingles, tiles, etc. should be secured or replaced. If the roof leaks - FIX IT!
- Make sure the garage door opens easily. Fix and paint the garage door if necessary.
- Paint chimney and replace broken bricks or stones.
- An investment in painting your home can really make the difference between "turning on" the buyer and sending up a red flag about the condition of the home.
Some final things you can do to help your home sell quickly!
- Arrive at an equitable asking price using an appraisal.
- Don't be afraid to accept the first offer.
- Never volunteer information!
- Obtain a floor plan of your home if possible.
- Assemble house records for buyer perusal.
- Provide a map of the area and highlight special interest items.
- Only consider written offers by leader-prequalified buyers.
- Enlist the service of a professional marketing agent such as Karen Ingalls to market your home. Together we can develop a marketing plan to get your home sold.
Back to Tips for Sellers
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