Getting Your Home Ready For Resell
Maximize Profit On Your House With These Simple Tricks
Sep 27, 2009
Imagine Queen Elizabeth were coming to your house for dinner. What would you do to prepare? You'd scour the kitchen, mop the floors, mulch the yard, rearrange the furniture, organize the closets, clean out the attic, arrange fresh flowers, light scented candles and pray for mercy. While it sounds compulsive, that's the meticulous attitude you need to adopt when getting your home ready to sell, because it's often small details, liked chipped bathroom tiles or rusty towel bars, that can make or break a sale.
Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is basically what sells your home. For the potential homebuyer, a home begins at the street. If there's litter in the street in front of your property, your home is guilty by association. Clean it up, and while you're at it, take care of those weeds growing in the sidewalk cracks. If a nearby fire hydrant looks shabby, get permission to repaint it. If your car is a jalopy, park it in the street away from your house. If it's in decent condition, make sure it's clean.
Essentially, do everything you can within your budget to make your home look neat, tidy and welcoming. What gets potential buyers out of the car could be a newly painted front door or flower-filled window boxes. At the very least, make sure your lawn is green, hedges are trimmed and flower beds are mulched.
Interior
Your next challenge is the interior. Anything that can sparkle in your home should. That includes windows, mirrors, sinks, tubs, floors, countertops, appliances, even hot water heaters. When people are looking at a home, they inspect everything, and everything they inspect should be spotless. If you're unable to do some of these things yourself, hire someone else to do it. That's a small investment with big returns. Professional carpet, duct and upholstery cleaners can make things look and smell brand new.
For a homebuyer, a clean home also means an uncluttered home. If your house is full of an army of knickknacks, put them in storage temporarily. In the bathroom, put grooming products in a basket under the sink, and if you have nice wood or tile floors, don't cover them up with a lot of small rugs.
Wall color should be changed only if it is a drastic color. For example, if you have a bright red bathroom, consider toning it down a bit. An intense color might startle and distract a potential buyer from the overall great bones of a space.
As for the closets and cabinets, keep them neat and organized. If it's summertime, put your winter clothes in storage, and vice versa. You should be able to see two-thirds of the baseboard. That gives people a sense of there being plenty of room and storage in the house.
Emotional Impact
Most people want to buy a home where the floor plan works for them, but that is sometimes overshadowed by the home's emotional impact. Homeowners look for light and bright. Before showing your home, open every shad and blind so all available natural light can make its way inside. Next, turn on every light and lamp. Even if you have outdated fixtures, most people notice the pleasing brightness and move on.
Next, consider smell, when often plays on people's emotions. Have someone who is not a regular guest of your home come over for a sniff test. People that live in a home often become immune to its not-so-appealing smells like mold, must or pet odors. Buy good-quality room sprays or deodorizers that plug into an outlet. You could even add fresh-cut flowers or a dab of vanilla in a warm oven to get the smell of baking cookies.
Finally, if your home is not typically a peaceful oasis, it should sound that way when you're showing it. The only sound people should hear is a bit of classical or instrumental music.
Repairs And Replacements
Comb your house for imperfections and fix them. If there's overspill paint on a window, get a razor blade and scrape it off. The same thing goes for the grout and tile around tubs and showers. Look at hinges on the doors and make sure they are tight and clean and that the doors open and shut correctly. People like to test drive a home, and anything that seems flimsy, rusty or poorly functioning should be fixed. When making repairs, focus on the kitchen and master bath. If you can get these two areas in tip-top condition, you're more likely to sell the house.
Finally, if anything is an eyesore, remove it. Some can visualize a home's potential, but others can't. As a seller, it is your job to make sure your home looks cozy and welcoming. Perhaps so welcoming, your just might not want to sell it.
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