Tips for Preparing Your Home for Sale
Prepare your property for sale with minimal or no cost improvements:
___Cut the lawn; if you normally cut the lawn every two weeks; cut it every week during the listing period.
___Edge the lawn-up the driveway and along the sidewalks (both front and back) for a finished appearance.
___Fertilize your lawn to make your grass look lush and green.
___Trim all shrubbery and remove low lying tree limbs.
___Replace downed shutters, gutters, and drain spouts and remove debris.
___Paint any trim work which is blistering.
___Plant flowers in the front yard.
___Replace torn screens from windows, front & back doors.
___Repaint or re-stain front door to create a pleasant first impression.
___Remove old lawn equipment, furniture or disabled autos from yard.
___Keep fences, gates and outer buildings in good repair and painted.
___Paint only the rooms that really look fingerprinted, worn or faded.
___Have the wall-to-wall carpeting and/or draperies cleaned.
___Fix any dripping faucets. Perhaps only a washer is needed.
___Replace old caulking around the bathtubs. This can be done with one tube of new caulking and a putty knife.
___Spray lubricant on all squeaking doors, windows, closets, and cabinets.
___Place a solid deodorizer in each room and closet.
___Keep garbage cans deodorized and out of sight or placed inconspicuously.
___Store out-of-season clothes so the closets don’t have a cluttered look.
___Remove items from the floors on walk-in closets so that prospects can have easy access.
___Stack all items in the garage and/or basement against the walls to show maximum floor space.
___Vacuum the garage and/or basement floor and rafters.
___If there are too many appliances on the kitchen counter, put some away to expose maximum counter space.
___Pre-pack items which may clutter your home
___-extra toys in your child’s room and knick-knacks may actually make your rooms appear smaller.
___Clean your home top to bottom. A professional cleaning service can do this for you.
___Wash windows.
___Clean fans and ventilating hoods.
___Clean and polish floors.
___Remove stains from toilets, tubs and sinks.
___Be sure to clean the exterior of the water heater, furnace, stove, refrigerator and dishwasher.
Charges are minimal when you consider how much more appealing your home your home will become.
Look at your home objectively. Pretend you are seeing it for the first time, through a buyer’s eyes. Call or email us for recommendations on how to stage the property for presentation to prospective buyers.
That is part of our expertise. We will be happy to walk through your home with you and help you “set the stage.”
Remember, our goal is to help you sell your home for the most amount of money, in the shortest period of time, with the least amount of inconvenience to you.
We only have one chance to make that good first impression!