Preparing your home for sale need not be expensive or painful. If you start with a plan, you can organize what needs to be done, and figure out how much time and money you will need to get the job done.

Your plan should be built with advice from your real estate professional, who has the experience to know what improvements will maximize you home's attractiveness to potential buyers.  Your real estate professional will show you how to see your home through the eyes of the buyer.  You must be able to step back and see it as a "home for sale"!

Once you set your plan, put it in writing in the form of a "to do" checklist.  Pay attention to details, inside and outside,  Small touches will pay big dividends at the time of sale.

MAXIMIZE CURB APPEAL:

Be aware of the first impressions your home makes.  Positive first impressions often create immediate sales.  Look at your home critically and catalog all repairs and cleaning  that need to be done before your home is to be shown.

Using your checklist, repair the things that are in need of repair.  Buyers tend to think repairs cost more than they really do.  If you think something is too much trouble to fix,  the buyer will probably feel the same way and may be turned off!

Start on the outside.  After all, that is where the buyer begins and that's where every buyer's first impressions are made...first!  See your home from the street as the prospective buyer will, driving up to your home in the REALTOR'S car.  What do you see?  Does your home look really inviting?  Does it look tidy, neat and clean?

Would you want to get out of that car and run right in because you can "see" yourself...see your family living in this home?

ASK THESE QUESTIONS:

1.  Do my lawn and yard appear to be in good condition, neat and well trimmed?

 

2.  Is there an "evidence" of pets or children's toys in the front yard, bikes or tools on the walk?

 

3.  Are any shrubs, bushes or trees touching the house?

 

4.  Are the driveway, front walk and front porch clean and tidy?

 

5.  Is the front door freshly painted,. doorbell working and brass lockset polished?

 

6.  Are the windows, screens and storms clean?

All of the above influence the buyer's attitude...positively or negatively...before entering your home.  Pay attention to these outside details and you'll help prospective buyers to enter with a desire to buy.

 

NEXT... ASK YOURSELF:

 

7. On entering my home, what will the home buyer see, smell and sense?

          A well lighted, uncluttered entrance foyer?

          Polished wood or clean, carpeted, tile or marble floors?

          A fresh fragrance in the air?

 

8.  Will the buyer have a sense of being immediately welcomed or being intrusive in my home?

 

9.  If I put out flowers or candles to welcome visitors to my home, why not do the same for home buyers, who, if they feel welcome, will want to live in my "welcoming" home?

The objective is to make buyer feel comfortable...as comfortable as they will see themselves living in you home!

GETTING READY TO SHOW:

One sure way to do that is to put on a fresh coat of neutral-color paint on walls, and crisp, flat white paint on ceilings.  Painting or wall papering over freshly painted walls seems less of a chore.

Pay particular attention to kitchen and bathroom walls, ceilings, and floors.  All surfaces should be clean, bright and uncluttered.

Before every showing, make a detailed inspection of your home to "bring it up to snuff" and maximize its appeal to the buyer.

You'll need to be creative to keep your home in tip-top, presentable shape throughout the time REALTORS will be showing it.  Enlist every family member not only to keep their own spaces ready to show but also to help the family coordinator monitor for readiness, one other area per person.

CHECKLIST FOR SELLING

Don't forget, most serious buyers will want to see every room, closet and space in your home.  Make it as easy for them to see everything clearly and with adequate natural light.

And don't forget that many prospective home buyers will want some technical information about the age, size and/or capacity of the heating, cooling and domestic hot water systems, your annual fuel and other utility bills, the "R" factor of ceiling and wall insulation, age and general condition of appliances and roofing, and the degree of moisture in your basement or cellar.  Give the details to your REALTOR to print up a thorough fact sheet for visiting potential buyers (and REALTORS) to take with them.