Think back to when you were searching for your new home. Do you remember some of the things you were looking for and the feeling you had when you first walked into your home and KNEW this was the one? Take yourself back to those days. Look at your home now as you would if you were the prospective buyer. Follow these tips below to help get your home ready for the market.
* De-Personalize Your Home - Pack up all of your personal photos. Buyers want to be able to see themselves living in that house and it's difficult for them to do when your family pictures are there for them to see. You don't want the buyers saying to themselves, "I wonder what the people who live here are like?" when they should be saying, "I can see myself living here."
* De-Clutter Your Home- We all accumulate a lot of items over the years and when it's time to sell your house, you need to remove as much as possible to allow the buyer to see your house and how much space there is for them to utilize. Remember this - If you haven't used it in over a year, most likely you don't need it and can live without it.
- Pack up all of your knickknacks
- Remove the majority of books from your bookcases and arrange the few remaining books carefully.
- Clear off your kitchen counters. Try to pack away everything you don't use on a daily basis so as to allow the buyer to see just how much space there is to work with.
- Think of this as a head-start on packing and preparing for your impending move.
* Organize Your Closets and Cabinets - Buyers are definitely going to take a peek inside your closets and cabinets. Take time to organize and arrange your bedroom and hall closets. Think about packing up clothing and shoes you won't be using and rearranging what remains so that it's neat and allows your closets to look as roomy as possible. Organize your kitchen cabinets so that they are also as neat as possible. Pack up any pots and pans that you won't be using so when the buyer takes a look, they'll see plenty of room for their items.
* Remove or Replace Items You Are Taking With You- If you want to keep your window treatments, special light fixtures, your porch swing, that heirlooom chandelier, take them down! Now, of course, you will have to replace any light fixtures you remove with something. You can't leave only the wires! Spackle over any holes left where you've removed the porch swing or the flat screen television that was attached to the wall.
* Consider a Storage Unit or Pod - If you have a lot of accent furniture or a ton of 'stuff' in your house, you may want to consider renting a storage unit or an on-site storage pod. You only want a minimal amount of 'necessary' furniture left in your house when buyers walk through. Less furniture in your house gives the buyer the opportunity to visualize their own furniture there.
* Make Minor Repairs - Go through your house and fix anything that's been a slight inconvenience to you for a while but was considered too minor to be much of an issue. For instance:
- Fix any cabinet doors or drawers that don't close properly.
- Replace any burnt-out light bulbs.
- Fix any leaky faucets that constantly drip or won't turn off completely.
- Patch any holes in the drywall, no matter how small.
- Replace or fix any doorknobs that don't quite latch.
- If you have any paint colors that are 'out of the ordinary' consider painting with neutral colors to attract more buyers.
- Replace any missing drawer handles/knobs.
* Thoroughly Clean Your House - Go through your house from top to bottom and clean until it sparkles! Think of it as your Mother-In-Law is coming to visit and you don't want any criticisms!
- Vaccuum your house daily - you never know when a showing will be scheduled and you want your house looking its best.
- Make sure to get all of the cobwebs.
- Clean your windows, inside & out making sure there are no streaks!
- Dust your light fixtures, shelves, ceiling fan and any remaining furniture.
- Consider renting a pressure-washer and clean up the sidewalk, walkway, patio, deck and exterior of the house.
- Get that bathroom to shine! Clean up any dingy grout, re-caulk where needed. Clean out the tub/shower drains. Pay special attention to the toilet area!
- Get your house smelling fresh! You don't want any prospective buyers remembering your house by it's musty or bad odors. By the same token, don't go overboard on scented candles. You don't want the buyer thinking you're trying to cover up something! Use a 'fresh' smelling deoderizer or odor eliminator.
* Re-Evaluate Your House - Once you've done all of these things, go back through your house and view it through the eyes of a prospective buyer. Nit-pick just as you will when you go to buy your next home. Take a look at each room and make sure you haven't missed anything.
* Curb Appeal - The prospective buyer should be drawn into your home by what they see from the outside. If they drive up to your house and are turned-off by how it looks from the outside, how will you ever get them inside to see how great your house is?
- Make sure you keep the lawn manicured. Don't let the grass get overgrown, keep the weeds pulled and the bushes trimmed.
- Water any plants you have, either planted or potted. You don't want any wilted or yellowed plants. Remove any dead plants.
- Make sure the sidewalk or walkway is clean and clear. Leave nothing behind for the buyer to trip over.
- Consider replacing your house number if it's rusted, worn or faded.
- Make sure the trim on your house isn't faded or peeling. If it is, consider painting and refreshing.
If you put these tips to good use, you'll be sure to impress potential buyers.
Odor Eliminator CandlesBridget Atwater
Realtor® / Broker
Cary, NC
Coldwell Banker
Howard Perry & Walston
[http://caryarealiving.com]