Preparing Your Home For Sale

First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions. The exterior of your home often determines how buyers will view the interior, so:

	Make sure your front entrance is clean and inviting
	Paint or replace your front door if it is faded or worn
	Add some paint to shutters, trim and any other outside features showing signs of wear and tear.

Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep. Buyers often see the surface condition of your home as a sign of what is underneath, so:

	Keep windows and floors clean
	Replace faded wallpaper and glue any areas that have come away from the wall
	Repair worn woodwork
	Repaint scarred or dirty walls in a neutral color
	Steam clean carpeting or replace it if necessary
	Repair loose knobs, sticking doors and windows, warped cabinet drawers, broken light switches, and other minor flaws
	Check and repair caulking in bathtubs and showers

Accentuate the Positive. Try to see your home with a fresh perspective and arrange each room to bring out its best attributes, including:

	"How we live in a home and how we sell a home are often two different things."
	Open draperies and curtains to let the light in during the showing
	Remove all unnecessary clutter from your attic, basement, and closets to better display spacious rooms (consider storage or a garage sale to dispose of extraneous items)
	Arrange all your rooms neatly and remove excess furniture
	Keep fresh, clean towels in the bathroom
	Use candles or air fresheners to make the room smell pleasant

Put Your Home in the Best Possible Light. Strategically lighting your home, even during the daytime showings, can create a cozy mood and highlight positive attributes of each room, so:

	Avoid the use of overhead lighting that make rooms looked washed out and lifeless
	Be creative and arrange lamps to help smaller rooms seem larger, and large rooms more intimate
	Use lighting to highlight the "living areas" of your home, such as a pair of chairs near a fireplace, or a table in a breakfast area.

Inside:

	Clear all unnecessary objects from furniture throughout the house. Keep decorative objects on the furniture restricted to groups of 1, 3, or 5 items.
	Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen countertops. If it hasn't been used for three months...put it away!! Clear refrigerator fronts of messages, pictures, etc. (A sparse kitchen helps the buyer mentally move their own things into your kitchen.
	In the bathroom, remove any unnecessary items from the countertops, tubs, shower stalls and commode tops. Keep only your most needed cosmetics, brushes, perfumes, etc., in one small group on the counter. Coordinate towels to one or two colors only.
	Rearrange or remove some of the furniture if necessary. As owners, many times we have too much furniture in a room. This is wonderful for our personal enjoyment, but when it comes to selling, we need to thin out as much as possible to make rooms appear larger.
	Take down, or rearrange certain pictures or objects on walls. Patch and paint if necessary.
	Review the house inside room by room. Paint any room needing paint, clean carpets or drapes that nee it, clean windows.
	Leave on certain lights during the day. (I'll show you which ones). During "showings" turn on lights and lamps.
	Have stereo FM on during the day for all viewings.
	Lockbox Importance - "If we don't have it, they won't show us"

OUTSIDE:

	Trim landscaping to reveal architectural detail (bottom of windows, etc.) "If they can't see it, we can't sell it."
	Go around the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., into the garage or dispose of it.
	Check gutters and roof for dry rot. Make sure they are swept and cleaned
	Look at all plants...prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. Water plants and trees as needed. Dried up grass, flowers, trees, etc is a awful sight to behold.
	Weed all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized and watered. Remove any dead plants or shrubs.
	Clear patios or decks of all small items, such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys, etc. (Put them in the garage)
	Check paint condition of the house especially the front door and trim. "Curb Appeal Really Works"

IN GENERAL:

Try to look at your house "through the buyer's eyes" as though you've never seen it or been there before. Any time or money spent on these items will bring you back more money in return, and hopefully a faster sale.