How To Sell Your Home Fast
August 17th, 2006
Before you think of putting yur home on the market, call your REALTOR and ask them for a brutally honest discussion of issues that they think should be addressed in your home before listing. Here are a few tips to keep in mind that might help you on an ongoing basis so pre-listing preparationiskept to a minimum.
- Remove all clutter. Visually simplify each room. Let a purchaser imagine their decor in your home. As well, you limit your market if your home is too strongly decorated.
- Check your home for obvious issues like water spots on the ceiling and get them fixed. They will tip off purchasers or inspectors to a problem that may no longer exist.
- Repair everything that needs to be repaired…do not renovate. Try to paint any major areas to brighten your home. Remember that most purchasers will want to see your home during the day and light is an issue. If the homes needs too much work, then don’t “throw good money after bad”.
- Make sure that all your appliances are in good working order. Most offers will ask that all appliances be in good working order. A four-burner stove must have four burners that work.
- Clean the house and keep it that way. Make it sparkle! Most agents and purchasers will move the bath curtain to see whether you have mildew on your bathtub.
- Do everything to make it inviting. Check your lighting. Make sure all your light bulbs are working and make sure their levels are set higher than normal. Remember that you are not preparing for a romantic evening, but a showing.
- If exterior sounds are an issue, leave some music on. However, if you are a buyer and your hear music playing make sure that it is not covering some problem.
- Be careful of dog or cat smells…especially clean the little box everyday and make sure that there are no presents in the back yard for anyone to step in.
- Wash all windows inside and out. Please hire professionals to do it. This is a big job and shoul be done safely with the proper equipment.
- You may want to call a home inspector and depending on square footage, you couldhave your house pre-inspected for as low as $250.00. This may alleviate any offers being conditional on a home inspection and also give you some items that you may be able to address before listing.
- Provide enough areas for people to wipe their shoes. Removing shoes can be an issue for some purchasers. Put a welcome mat in the front, outside and inside.
- Clean your front and back yards. Wash down all decks and outdoor furniture. Set it up as if you were about to have a summer party.
- In the spring, plant container grown bulbs like daffodils (squirrels don’t usually eat them) and they add great color. Fill your front porch containers with hardy plants like pansies.
- Wash your house outside with a strong spray. Window sills have a tendency to collect dirt and debris.
- Please take down your Christmas lights and Christmas tree. Check that all outdoor bulbs are working and provide enough light for agents to open lock boxes. When you list your home, these light must be on every evening.
- If you have a forced air furnace, treat yourself to having the ducts in your house cleaned, your furnace and air conditioner serviced and a new filter put in. It will bring down the dust and show you as a homeowner that performs general maintenance on a regular basis.
- Flowers are a good idea inside and out. Pungent spring flowers like hyacinth are great. Don’t over do it though, as some purchasers are also allergic.
- Keep an eye on your windows and skylights. Lots of homes have very interesting rooflines. Keep debris off skylights and make sure that they and all your windows are caulked on a regular basis and certainly checked every year.
- Go through the whole house, especially the basement and search for cobwebs. Sweep down the walls and the high ceilings and corners for spider webs. They look bad, and send the wrong message, especiallyif a purchaser walks through them.
- Make sure all hallways are well lit and very easy to navigate. You may walk those halls in the dark, but don’t expect buyers and agents to do that.
- Cut back the rose bushes in the garden. Make it easy for people to walk in your back yard and not kill the purchaser or their agent.
- Make sure that the property’s parking spots are clearly visible and useful. Parking is an issue for most purchasers, and you need to have a clearly defined parking area.
- Don’t cover your home with post-it notes. If you have to cover your home with post-it notes to point out its advantages, you are not ready to bring your home to the market. A well-prepared home’s advantages will be self-evident.
If all these issues can be addressed, then you will have a home that will bring you top dollar in today’s market. It will be easier to sell because you will have removed some of the potential concerns of the purchaser. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions about selling your home. I will be happy to assist you.
