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Preparing Your Home For Sale
Maximize Your Home’s Exterior and Curb Appeal
Enhance Interior Appeal
Staging Your Home
Before you put your home up for sale there are some things you can do to differentiate your house from others that are currently on the market. A house that “sparkles” on the surface will appeal to more buyers, therefore sell faster and for more money.
Everyone understands the power of first impressions. If a buyer is struck by how well polished a house looks (both inside and out), they will instantly feel more comfortable about the things they can’t see.
In preparing your home for sale, you needn’t worry that the costs involved will devour any profits you had hoped to enjoy from the sale. It usually takes far more elbow grease and gumption than dollars and cents to maximize your homes selling potential. You will be amazed at how much mileage you can get from a walkway lined with colorful spring blooms, new hardware on the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, or a fresh coat of neutral paint in the living room. Buyers will be impressed by a new roof or a new furnace, but keep in mind a roof and a furnace are things they expect to get with a house. Offer them the unexpected and you will be pleasantly surprised….not to mention money ahead.
Maximize Your Home’s Exterior and Curb Appeal
Many buyers peruse neighborhoods looking at listed properties from the outside before inquiring with the listing agent to show them the inside. A first impression is hard to shake and if the prospective buyer doesn’t like the house from the outside, they probably won’t inquire at all. To get them in the front door, consider the following list:
- Mow lawn, weed lawn and flowerbeds, trim hedges and prune trees
- Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and/or crumbling
- Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint.
- Clean and align gutters.
- Repair and replace loose or damaged roof shingles.
- Repair and repaint loose siding and caulking.
- Keep walks neatly cleared of snow and ice.
- During spring and summer months consider planting some annuals or place a pot of showy blooms on the front porch and back patios/decks
- Make sure your house number is clearly visible from the street
Enhance Interior Appeal
No matter what physical condition the property is in, it should be clean, tidy and un-cluttered. The most important thing to remember is that the way in which we live in our homes is very different from the way in which we market them for sale. Here are ideas on how you can allow prospective buyers to envision themselves living in the home:
- Give every room in the house a thorough cleaning. Dust, remove scuff marks from walls, have the carpets professionally cleaned. If necessary paint with a neutral shade like off white or beige.
- Remove All Clutter!! This alone will make your house appear bigger and brighter. This means right down to the magnets, photos and shopping lists on the refrigerator.
- Consider removing furniture and putting it in storage. Almost every home shows better with less furniture, especially if it is blocking a walkway or hampering the flow. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose, thus creating a sleeker, more spacious look.
- Remove personal photos, knickknacks and other collectables from counters, shelves and dressers. These only serve to distract the prospective buyer away from the task at hand: Considering your home for purchase!
- Pack up any personal items you don’t use on a daily basis and store them in the basement, garage or storage shed. Items that you do use can be placed in small boxes or plastic containers which can be stored in a closet or drawer when not in use and/or during showings.
- Remove the less frequently used (even daily used) items from kitchen counters and closets. Yes, buyers look in closets! Arrange closets in a neat and organized fashion. You don’t want them to open a hall closet and have the kid’s toys, holiday decorations and household cleaners all come tumbling down. You can even go so far as to give your clothes closet an overhaul. Hang shirts buttoned and facing the same direction. Line up your shoes. Neatly fold all sweaters, t-shirts, jeans etc., that are stacked on shelves. As trivial as this may sound, it gives an impression of how you care for your things. It gives a prospective buyer the idea that if you pay this much attention to the smaller details of your life, you have most likely taken care of the rest of the house in the same manner.
- Repair cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint, and tiles. Fix doors that don’t close properly.
- Replace broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork. Inspect and repair the plumbing, heating, cooling, and alarm systems.
- Repair dripping faucets and showerheads, leaky toilets. Consider buying new towels for the bathroom.
- Spruce up a kitchen in need of more major remodeling by investing in new cabinet knobs, new curtains, or a coat of neutral paint.
- Wash windows, inside and out. Clean blinds and/or draperies.
- Replace all burned out light bulbs
Staging Your Home
Staging your home goes beyond decorating and cleaning. It’s about dressing the house for sale, making it look bigger, brighter, cleaner, warmer, and more comfortable. Once we have the opportunity to tour your home we can offer specific advice on staging. We also work with local staging agencies who will stage your home for you for a relatively nominal fee.
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