Preparing your home to sell
Preparing your home to sell
- De-personalize. Pack up personal photographs. Buyers are easily distracted. You want a buyer to think “I can see my self living here” rather than “I wonder what kind of people live in this home?”
- De-Clutter. Remove excess books from bookshelves. Pack up any knickknacks. Clean off every counter.
- Rearrange Closets and Cabinets. If your closets and cabinets are clean and organized, buyers will think you take care of the rest of your home.
- Remove items that are assumed to stay with the house but you don’t want to leave. Have an antique chandelier that you aren’t leaving with the home? Remove it and replace it now. You don’t want a buyer to have their heart set on it staying, only to find out it isn’t. It could ruin your deal.
- Make minor repairs now, not later.
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- Fix leaky faucets.
- Fix doors that don’t close properly or squeak
- Replace burned out light bulbs
- Replace cracked floors and counters
- Consider repainting your walls in neutral colors
- Patch any holes in the walls
- You home should SHINE!
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- Clean out cobwebs
- Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and any siding on the house
- Polish chrome faucets and mirrors
- Clean windows both inside and out
- Re-caulk tubs, showers, and sinks
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Vacuum daily
- Wax floors
- Replace worn rugs
- Bleach any discolored grout
- Dust furniture, fans, and light fixtures
- Keep the house smelling good. Odors will turn away buyers.
- Make sure window treatments hang level
- Curb Appeal
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- Keep the lawn mowed
- Trim bushes
- Weed gardens
- Make sure your house number can be clearly read from the street
- Paint any faded window and door trim
- Keep sidewalks clear
- Repair and replace loose or damaged roof shingles.
- Repair and repaint loose siding and caulking
- Store RVs or old and beaten up cars elsewhere while the house is on the market.
- Apply a fresh coat of paint to the front door
- Store toys, bicycles, roller-skates, gardening equipment and the like out of sight.
- Sweep the porch and the front walkway.