Getting ready to put your home on the market?
De-cluttered and clean is a must.
But what do you do with all your stuff that you remove from your home but you don’t want to get rid of? Click here for my packing plan. This will allow you to tuck stuff away in your basement, garage or a storage unit to help make your home look more spacious, while at the same time be able to find stuff you will need 1 week after you pack it away.
What else can you do to make your home really shine? There are easy fixes that aren’t big WOW’s, but will make your home show better.
Woodwork with scratches, nicks and general wear and tear scream “I am neglected”! (really what it is saying is I am not new- but a buyer sees neglect) A few hours with a bottle of Old English Scratch Cover will do wonders. It comes in two different colors, light and dark. Check out their website for tips and instructions. (http://www.oldenglishpolish.com/sf2_scratch.shtml )
Cleaning light switch plate covers may sound a little OCD but dirty cover plates make buyers start to think about the overall cleanliness of the house. Buyers often will assist agents turning lights on and off during the showings so they are looking at the plate covers. Your 13 year old armed with a bottle of spray cleaner and a paper towel can make a significant improvement.
Crooked paint lines at the ceiling, smears of wall color on the ceiling and paint on the trim says “I did all the painting myself”. The potential buyer now is questioning the quality of the remodel of the basement. Take the time to fix these items. If you did do the painting yourself and it looks like it, hire a professional.
Clean your gutters and the front entrance to your home. Gutters filled with leaves and small trees cause the buyer to start to look for other items of deferred maintenance. Change furnace filters, replace burnt out light bulbs, clean the cobwebs in the basement and kill the weeds in the sidewalk and driveway.
If you have an unfinished project, finish it. Trim not finished because you put down new flooring, nail holes not filled on trim or woodwork, caulking not completed in bathrooms and kitchens all say to the new buyer “You will have projects as soon as you get the keys”. This does make most buyers excited.
Getting a home ready to sell takes some work. I strongly believe it is worth the effort, time and expense. I have seen homes receive significantly less than they could have if they had only been clean, de-cluttered and spruced up.
Please see the checklist below for a complete list to get your home Market Ready!
