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Helpful Tips on Preparing Your Home for Sale...
First impressions are lasting impressions. You will want to make sure the buyers looking at your home are left with the best possible impression.
Interior
- Chipped plaster and paint touched-up and replaced
- Doors and cupboards properly closed
- Leaky taps and toilets repaired
- Burned out light bulbs replaced
- Squeaky doors oiled
- Mirrors, fixtures, and taps cleaned and polished
- Seals around tubs and basins in good repair
- Floors cleaned, garbage containers empty
- Air conditioner turned on in warm weather
- Fresh air in house
- Fireplace lit in cooler weather
- Halls and stairs cleaned
- Drapes opened during daylight
- Carpets freshly vacuumed
- Fresh flowers in various rooms
Jewelry and valuables locked safely away or taken with you
- Valuable property, such as objects of art, vases and figurines out of reach, out of sight, or locked away
As a homeowner, you can play an important part in the timely sale of your property. When you take the following steps, you’ll help sell your home faster, at the best possible price.
The easiest and most reliable way to improve the appeal of your home is to enlist a quality home service professional. The right professional can help you get everything in order - from repainting the kitchen to providing a thorough cleaning - so you can stay focused on more important things.
A well-manicured lawn, neatly trimmed shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects. So does a freshly painted – or at least freshly scrubbed – front door. If it’s autumn, rake the leaves. If it’s winter, shovel the walkways. The fewer obstacles between prospects and the true appeal of your home, the better.
Here’s your chance to clean up in real estate. Clean up the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen. If your woodwork is scuffed or the paint is fading, consider some minor redecoration. Fresh wallpaper adds charm and value to your property. If you’re worried about time, hire professionals to get your house ready. Remember, prospects would rather see how great your home really looks than hear how great it could look "with a little work."
Dripping water rattles the nerves, discolors sinks, and suggests faulty or worn-out plumbing. Burned out bulbs or faulty wiring leave prospects in the dark. Don’t let little problems detract from what’s right with your home.
If cabinets or closet doors stick in your home, you can be sure they will also stick in a prospect’s mind. Don’t try to explain away sticky situations when you can easily plane them away. A little effort on your part can smooth the way toward a closing.
Homeowners learn to live with all kinds of self-set booby traps: roller skates on the stairs, festooned extension cords, slippery throw rugs and low hanging overhead lights. Make your residence as non-perilous as possible for uninitiated visitors.
Remember, potential buyers are looking for more than just comfortable living space. They’re looking for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and basement are clean and free of unnecessary items.
The better organized a closet, the larger it appears. Now’s the time to box up those unwanted clothes and donate them to charity.
Bathrooms sell homes, so let them shine. Check and repair damaged or unsightly caulking in the tubs and showers. For added allure, display your best towels, mats, and shower curtains.
Wake up prospects to the cozy comforts of your bedrooms. For a spacious look, get rid of excess furniture. Colorful bedspreads and fresh curtains are a must.
Let the sun shine in! Pull back your curtains and drapes so prospects can see how bright and cheery your home is.
Turn on the excitement by turning on all your lights - both inside and outside - when showing your home in the evening. Lights add color and warmth, and make prospects feel welcome.
Potential buyers often feel like intruders when they enter a home filled with people. Rather than giving your house the attention it deserves, they're likely to hurry through. Keep the company present to a minimum.
Dogs and cats are great companions, but not when you're showing your home. Pets have a talent for getting underfoot. So do everybody a favor: Keep Kitty and Spot outside, or at least out of the way.
Rock-and-roll will never die. But it might kill a real estate transaction. When it's time to show your home, it's time to turn down the stereo or TV.
Be friendly, but don't try to force conversation. Prospects want to view your home with a minimum of distraction.
No matter how humble your abode, never apologize for its shortcomings. If a prospect volunteers a derogatory comment about your home's appearance, let us handle the situation.
Nobody knows your home as well as you do. But we know buyers - what they need and what they want. They will have an easier time articulating the virtues of your home if you stay in the background.
When prospects come to view your home, don't distract them with offers to sell those furnishings you no longer need. You may lose the biggest sale of all.
When prospects want to talk price, terms, or other real estate matters, let them speak to an expert, your professional TEAM Gillette representative.
We will have an easier time selling your home if showings are scheduled through his or her office. You'll appreciate the results!
Exterior
- House in good repair, house number easy to read, litter picked up, garage/carport clean and tidy, door bell and hardware in good repair
- Rake leaves, mow lawn and keep edges neat. Lawns and flowers should be weeded regularly. Trees and shrubs should be pruned and trimmed.
- Remove old lawn mowers, tractors, disabled autos, broken lawn ornaments, topless tables, armless lawn furniture and seatless chairs. They are reasons for a buyer to make a U-turn.
- Hoses should be coiled or placed inconspicuously when not being used, other garden equipment should be stored in some type of shelter when not in use.
- A yard should be free from unnecessary clutter, a place should be provided for children's toys and equipment. All animal litter should be removed daily.
- Fix the garage door so it opens and closes. House and garage doors should be free from finger marks. Wood surfaces should be kept painted, oiled or stained.
- Porches, steps, verandas, balconies, patios and other extensions of the home must be uncluttered, clean and repaired.
- Shades and awnings in good repair with colors unfaded will improve exterior house appearance.
- Keep garbage cans deodorized and out of sight or placed inconspicuously.
- Walks and entrances should be well maintained and free from excess water, ice and snow. Put some crushed stone on walkways and driveways that turn muddy in the rain and fill in any pot holes.
- Keep gates, fences, walls and outer buildings repaired and painted.
- Outdoor furniture should be kept clean. Firewood should be neatly stacked. Barbecue grill should be cleaned.
- Metal accessories (door knobs, door knockers, lamps, etc.) need be cleaned and polished.
- Attach the downspouts to the gutters and paint, if needed. Any loose roof shingles, tiles, etc. should be secured or repaired.
- Paint the front, back and side entrance doors. Nothing looks worse than a peeling door.
- The fence is falling and so is the sale. Get rid of it or replace it.
- Buy a new mailbox without graffiti on it.
- Air coolers should be stored neatly if not in use.
- If you are neither prepared to nor want to spend hundreds of dollars for exterior painting, be ready to make an immediate price adjustment, or listen to everyone who views the home say, "It will cost a fortune to have the house painted!" If you can afford it, the money spent tidying up will be well worth the investment.
- Paint all chimneys and replace broken brick or stone.
- If the roof leaks, fix it! Remove any or all evidence of leakage by whatever means possible.
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