Money Making Tips – Preparing Your Home To Sell

Posted by Shawna Ebersole | Categories: Home Selling Process

What more could you want than to get your home sold for top dollar in short order without any hassles?  If you take a moment and read through the following suggestions before you put your property on the market, you’ll be well on your way to a successful sale.

Our goal is to simplify, depersonalize, and de-clutter your home in order for it to show larger and brighter, giving a more spacious feeling to potential buyers.  These steps will provide you with an advantage over the competition. 

Many items will need to be removed to storage and packed for moving.  This is important and should be considered as merely giving you a head start on the move to your new home.

General Prep Tips:

• Start by airing out the home.  Most people are turned off by even the smallest odor.  Odors must be eliminated, especially if you have dogs, cats, or young children in diapers or if you are a smoker.
• If it has been over a year since the carpets have been cleaned – or if they really need it – now is the time to do it.  Bare floors should be waxed or polished, as well.
• Clean and wipe down all stained woodwork including doors and cabinets with a wood maintenance product such as “Old English” or “Liquid Gold”.
• Replace or clean A/C filters.  Clean all A/C vents and intake grids.
• Kepp A/C set no warmer than 75 degrees and heat no cooler than 70 degrees.
• Use an air freshener in each room (try to avoid floral scents as they can be too strong).

Lighting:

• Upgrade the wattage in all light fixtures to the highest level safety will allow.
• Dust/Wash all light fixtures and fans.

Windows:

• Dust blinds, windowsills and plant ledges.
• Remove any cobwebs inside and outside.
• Clean interior and exterior of all windows and glass doors.
• Take screens off before washing and leave screens off of the front of the house.
• Keep all blinds/shades pulled up/open and draperies removed to allow maximum light.

Carpet:

• Steam clean if not replacing.  If replacing, we can help you make choices that will be most appealing to buyers.

Bathrooms:

• Clean all tubs, toilets and sinks.  Then polish the sinks with lemon or vegetable oil.  Polish all hardware to a shine.
• Stow unused shampoos, soaps, scrubbing implements, razors, etc. under sink.
• Stow laundry hamper in closet.
• Stow wastebasket under sink.
• Rugs/commode lid covers should be removed.
• Store cleansers under sink.
• Streamline counter – only 1 or 2 decorative items on display.
• Linen cabinets should be organized and number of items reduced.
• Use baskets to hold make-up and toiletries so that after use they can be stored under the counter.
• Bathtubs, showers and sinks should be freshly caulked.  the grout and tile should be clean and in good condition.  There should be no leaks in the faucets or traps.

Kitchen:

• Keep all flat surfaces (countertops, appliance tops and furniture) cleared off as much as possible.  Kitchen counters should have very little on them to show that there is plenty of available workspace.  keep appliances stored when not in use.
• Go over the kitchen as if you were a health inspector.  Clean the oven, range (put in new drip pans) and check the seal of the dishwasher door.
• Remove all magnets, notes, pictures, etc. from the front and sides of the refrigerator.
• Stow trashcan in pantry or underneath kitchen sink.

Utility Room:

• Organize shelves and put away non-cleanser items.
• Keep area clear of clothes.

Pantry / Closets:

• Thin all closets dramatically and organize remaining items neatly on shelves and be sure to allow space between hanging items.  at one very visible spot, leave space, so the rear wall of the closet/pantry will show when the door is opened.  Leave a small empty space on each shelf to show potential storage space.

Bedrooms and Living Areas:

• Make sure that there is not too much furniture in a room.  Select pieces that look best and put others in the garage or storage.
• Depersonalize your home by storing personal photos so that potential buyers may visualize their personal items in the home.  this is probably one of the most important things to a potential buyer!

House Exterior:

• Thoroughly sweep down all exterior sides of the house and eaves to clean cobwebs and wasp nests.

Yard:

• Keep lawn mowed, weeded and well-edged.
• Trim trees and shrubs.
• Clean out flowerbeds and invest in a few flats of colorful flowers.

Front Entry Porch:

• Be sure front door area is clean and free of dirt, dust and cobwebs.
• Repaint door and trim if not pristine.
• Add new thick “Welcome” mat and keep it clean.
• Make sure doorbell is working properly.

Garage:

• Drastically clean and re-organize.
• Sweep and clean – remove all cobwebs and any oil or grease from floor.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 2:23 pm and is filed under Home Selling Process. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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