Get Your Home Ready To Sell
In preparing your house to sell, ask yourself over and over if your
house looks like someone else's dream house. Houses in move-in condition
tend to be inviting to buyers; houses that are in like-new condition
typically sell fastest and procures the best price because it outshine
the competition. With that in mind, here are a few things to consider
as you look over your house when getting ready to sell:
Exterior
Remember the sixty-second rule: that's all the time you have to create
a good first impression! Mow the lawn, rake leaves, trim trees and shrubs
that keep light out of the house, and remove dead plants. It will probably
be easier to sell your house if the buyer can see it, outside and in.
Pick up tools, garbage cans, hoses, toys, and building materials and
store them neatly in a storage area. Replace broken or missing roof
shingles, and straighten and clean the gutters and downspouts. Clean
all windows and mend torn screens. Paint your house, if necessary. This
can probably help improve curb appeal more than any other fix-up! If
you decide against painting the entire house, at least consider painting
the front door, window frames, and shutters. Seal or resurface the driveway
and repair broken steps and walkways. Paint or replace your mailbox
and post. Dress up the front yard with some simple landscaping.
Clean, Clean, Clean
Step back for a moment and look at your home as if you were seeing it
for the first time. Every room should be neat, spotlessly clean, dusted,
and uncluttered. Steam clean the carpets and wax the floors. Wash the
walls, windows, and light fixtures. Tighten loose stair railings and
clean all woodwork. In the event that you feel a project of this magnitude
is better left to a professional, ask your real estate agent to recommend
a professional cleaning service.
Entryway
Use bright light bulbs in the foyer and throughout the house. Fill the
house with a pleasant aroma, such as berries in the summer or cinnamon
in the winter, or some other fresh scent.
Living Room
Replace the carpet if it's old or worn. It costs money, but you may
find that you will more than recoup that cost when the home sells. Patch
cracks and nail holes in the walls, and repaint walls in neutral colors,
such as white or ivory. Nail down creaking boards and stair treads.
Lubricate any sticking or squeaking doors. Open all curtains, and replace
them if they are getting old. Add lamps and lighting if the house is
dark. Set out fresh flowers.
Furniture
Rearrange or move furniture to make your rooms look more spacious. Discard
worn furniture and move extra furniture to a storage unit. Remember,
too much furniture and too many knickknacks make rooms look cluttered
and small. One or two decorative items per surface is plenty, so pack
the rest away. Visit model homes for decorating ideas.
Kitchen and Baths
These rooms should sparkle! Clear off counters, and clean all appliances
and fixtures. Scrub the floors and walls. Re-caulk tubs and showers.
Clean these rooms thoroughly, and be sure they smell fresh!
Closets
Take those things to Goodwill that you'll have to discard anyway when
you move. Organize shelves and straighten shoes. Be sure that sliding
doors operate smoothly on their tracks and knobs on drawers are secure.
Utility Room
Dust and wash off lint from the washer and dryer. Dust and wash off
the water heater.
Light and Bright
Do everything you can to brighten the interior. Replace wallpaper with
white or off-white paint, and repaint shabby or dark walls. Open the
blinds, and replace broken windows and window seals. Always maintain
a comfortable temperature inside the house, even if you are away for
an extended period of time.
Before you begin showing your home, complete as many of the following
tasks as you can:
- Clean behind your appliances, removing dust bunnies.
- Clean your carpets, either yourself or professionally, if you're
willing to assume the expense.
- Dust and/or clean your light fixtures.
- Clean your windows and window coverings.
- Wash baseboards and walls and touch up scuffs with extra paint.
- Clean your furniture.
- Clean your closets. Unless you bolt them shut, those prospective
buyers will open every door. And besides, you want those closets to
be inspected; extra storage space is what helps sell your home.
- Clean your kitchen pantry and any cabinet space. Buyers and Realtors
open those doors, too.
- Dust and vacuum your home thoroughly before each showing.
- Purchase soap scum and mildew removers for your bathrooms, and
use them liberally to help your bathrooms shine. Don't clean them
right before a showing, however; you don't want your prospective buyers
to be overwhelmed by chemical odors. Put an air freshener in a discreet
place in each bathroom, and add a decorative element to each vanity.
If you don't have presentable towels to drape over the rods in your
bathrooms, purchase some inexpensive but coordinating hand towels.
- Clear as much clutter as you can from every counter surface; for
example, in the bathroom, remove personal items (toothbrushes, combs
and grooming supplies, all of which are turnoffs) from vanities. Store
appliances you typically keep out on the kitchen counter. De-cluttering
creates the illusion of more space (i.e., more counter space).
- If you have excess furniture in any room, either sell it or store
it. Your goal should be to create as much open space as possible,
throughout every room in your house.
- If you'd painted your walls in an "experimental" color
(deep burgundy, for example), paint them white or neutral. Those two
shades not only open up rooms and make them appear larger; they also
appeal to prospective buyers for their versatility.
- Open up drapes and blinds to invite natural light into your home.
If a room tends to be dark, purchase light bulbs with brighter wattage
(not too bright, however).
Give Your Home Curb Appeal
You've heard the expression "Sell the sizzle, not the steak."
Selling a home is just like marketing any other product. The more effort
you put into the marketing, the more results you are likely to see in
terms of activity and offers.
The first thing to realize is that whatever condition your home is
in, it probably is not in "show" condition. There are items
we learn to live with to the point that we forget the little eyesores
and honey-do's that never got done. Over the years, clutter accumulates.
Our eyes adjust to that low light and that fading paint color. We love
the home as it is, and fail to see what the home is like compared to
others. Other homes - your competition - may be in show condition. If
yours isn't, it will look tired by comparison.
Second, your buyer is going to view your home with the opposite attitude
from yours. You are presenting something you are proud of - the buyer
is going to do his/her best to find as much wrong with it as possible.
If they find too much wrong with it, they'll walk. If they like the
house, they will try to find enough wrong with it to make a lower offer.
The reason they do that is to get you to lower the price.
You see - the buyer and the seller are opposites. You are trying to
sell the home for the most money - the buyer is trying to buy it for
the least. Obviously you are going to have to meet in the middle somewhere.
Your best strategy to stick to your goal is to disarm the buyer before
they even get through the door. Make them want the house so much from
the time they drive up in front that they are willing to come up in
price to get it.
That's called curb appeal.
What makes curb appeal? Curb appeal is an intangible, subjective quality
- but it is the one thing that can really sell a house. It is that quality
that makes the buyer start thinking emotionally instead of practically.
It builds desire, the desire to own and to live a certain lifestyle
that the exterior of the home appears to advertise. It can take you
back to your childhood to when you had a home just like this one with
the flowers in the front and the winding walkway to the door, and a
beautiful brass door-knocker on the front door. It is the quality that
makes you want to go inside.
That is why if you have a limited budget to spend on marketing your
home, you want to put the majority of it toward sprucing up the front
entrance to your home. And a lot of improvement you can do with a little
elbow grease.
- Clear away anything dead - dead leaves, dead flowers.
- Trim the trees, lift the canopies.
- Replace flower beds with fresh blooming flowers. If you don't have
time to grow them from seed, just go buy a few plants.
- Paint the front door and anything else that needs painting. Try
to choose a neutral color that goes with the brick, roof or trim of
your home.
- Open the front curtains and shutters.
- Light the lamps.
- Put out a clean, new welcome mat.
- Polish the brass door knocker, the mail box, light fixtures, and
address numbers.
- If you have a front porch, keep it swept clean.
- Clean the furniture and put nice, new pillows on the chairs.
- Keep the garage door closed.
- Put bikes, tricycles and children's toys out of the way.
- Safely lock away pets. If you have a pet who remains in the back
yard, let the showing agent know in advance. If your dog is a barker,
overly protective, or otherwise ill-mannered, arrange to board it
somewhere else during showings.
What your buyer sees from the street is the first impression they will
have of your home. You want it to be a good one, especially if there
is a home down the street for sale that may be a little bit prettier,
a little bit bigger, or a little bit something more. Don't worry, you
aren't out of the running yet.
Remember, your buyer's first impression of the exterior of the home
is important because it sets the tone for the rest of the buyer's walk
through. If our buyer has fallen in love with the exterior, they will
look more favorably on what they find inside.
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