"Dress
Your Home For SUCCESS!"
These
40 Free or inexpensive tips can make your home show
better, sell faster, and put more money in your pocket
at closing. Call me today for a FREE "Dress Your
Home For SUCCESS!" consultation, Marketing evaluation,
and written marketing plan. No cost, no obligation.
Outdoors
1.
Be sure your lawn and shrubbery is kept trimmed at all
times. Consider removing overgrown trees and shrubs
that hide the house from the street.
2.
Keep the garage doors down at all times.
3.
For a touch of color, have seasonal flowers growing in
beds and containers.
4.
Make sure your driveway is in good repair. Pressure wash
concrete drives and walks to remove stains and car drippings,
and put a fresh coat of sealer on asphalt drives.
5.
Make sure patios and decks are clean and in good repair.
Replace any rotten wood and nail down loose boards on
decking or steps; pressure wash if needed.
6.
Garage sale time! Clear out everything you don't
intend to keep and tidy up what's staying. Make sure garage
doors and openers are in proper working order.
7.
Check all railings and fencing to make sure it's in good
repair and
freshly painted.
8.
Pay special attention to the area around your front door;
make sure your doorbell works, clean all cobwebs, leaves,
and other debris that may have accumulated there. Give
the front door a fresh coat of paint if needed; paint
is one of the most cost effective fix up items you can
do.
9.
Check for broken windows or leaking seals on thermo pane
windows;
replace if necessary.
10.
Clean all the cobwebs from around the front door. Make
sure all
outdoor lighting (especially front porch) is clean and
shiny; replace if
necessary. It is especially important that the entrance
to your home make a good first impression on prospective
buyers. This sets the tone for the whole showing.
11.
Check your mailbox. Is it straight and upright? Neatly
trimmed around?
12.
Before you start indoors walk across the street in front
of your house and look back (like a buyer will see it).
Does it present an appealing appearance?
Indoors
13.
Start by walking through the house and making a list.
Do your carpets need shampooing? Floors need a fresh coat
of wax? Dust all ceiling fans especially the blades and
wash light fixtures.
14. You're going to have to pack when
you move anyway, so go through all your closets and pack
up everything you don't need for the next couple of months.
A closet with only a few neatly arranged items creates
an impression of abundant storage space.
15.
Thin out overcrowded rooms. Ever notice the model homes
sparse
furnishings? They make the rooms look larger. Consider
renting a storage facility to store excess lamps, tables,
and large items that eat up space in a room.
16.
Go through and pack up most of your family pictures and
collections of model ships, stamps, quilts, or anything
that might cause a buyer to stop and look at your collections
of stuff instead of your house.
17.
Check all light fixtures to make sure all the bulbs burn.
Use the
largest wattage bulb that you safely can to give off more
light.
18.
Wash all your windows and make sure window treatments
are clean and in good repair. Keep the window coverings
open whenever possible to let in more light.
19.
With a good degreaser, wipe down everything in the kitchen
so it feels clean to the touch. Clean your stove and oven;
replace stove eye pans if needed
20.
Go through your kitchen cabinets and pantry to make sure
they're neat and tidy; give any food that you don't plan
to use right away to the local food pantry.
21.
Make sure your sinks are clean at all times and free of
dirty dishes and utensils.
22.
Remove all excess items from your counters to give the
impression of lots of work surface.
23.
Pleasing aromas add to the appealing atmosphere we're
trying to
establish for your buyers; consider keeping a saucepan
of potpourri on the stove to give off an appealing scent.
24.
Clean all light switch places by taking them off and washing
with soap and water; replace if necessary.
25.
Make sure the bathrooms are spotless at all times with
fresh towels, decorative soaps, and all fixtures are shiny,
scrubbed, and in good repair.
26.
Check all faucets and shower heads to make sure they're
spotless and free of leaks and drips.
27.
Repaint interior rooms if needed with neutral colors.
28.
Don't forget your ceilings too; years of living in a home
with cooking, smoking, and other everyday activities can
stain ceilings. Paint ages; repaint if needed.
29.
Don't have large, space eating house plants sitting
around; give them away or ask a neighbor to store them
until you move.
31.
The more light you can get into a room the bigger and
more spacious the room will appear. When you leave for
a showing, turn on lights in rooms that are normally darker
than you would like and make sure the window coverings
are open to admit outside light.
32.
An old decorator trick to bring in more light as well
as make rooms
appear larger are mirrors; either hanging on a wall or
on a stand.
33.
Pack away and store out of season clothes. Get rid of
extra hangars. Straighten up your shoes (consider some
inexpensive shoe racks from a discount store like K-Mart
or Wal-Mart).
34.
When painting don't forget the interiors of closets
and the closets
doors; make sure all closet and interior doors open and
close correctly.
35.
Check where ceilings meet wall and clean all cobwebs,
this is a
commonly overlooked area when cleaning, along with tops
of tall furniture items such as hutches, entertainment
centers, etc.
36.
If you have a pet make sure there are no odors. You may
not notice odors since you live with your pet every day,
have a neutral third party give your home a "sniff"
test for objectionable odors that may turn buyers off.
37.
Also, when buyers come to visit, keep your pet under control,
or better yet, get a friend or neighbor to "pet sit"
for you while the buyers are looking.
38.
It's important that you leave the house for all showings.
Buyers feel less inhibited if you're not around and will
usually take a closer look in closets and in kitchen cabinets,
as well as voice any objections that your agent can then
deal with. If the buyers won't make comments because you're
following them around pointing things out then your agent
can't deal with any potential problems that may hinder
making an offer.
39.
If you have several vehicles make sure the spot closest
to the door buyers enter through is empty for them.
40.
Freshly baked or even store bought cookies & little
snacks along with an appropriate beverage (hot in winter,
cold in summer) along with a sign saying "Please
Sit Down and Enjoy a Treat While You're Here" will
make your home more memorable even if they don't take
anything. Remember little things can go a long way towards
getting your home sold quickly for the best price.
If
you would like, we will be glad to prepare a FREE report
on what you should do to make your home more appealing
to prospective buyers.
We
can also provide you with recent home sales anywhere
in the U.S. as well as neighborhood information, schools,
market analysis, and lots more valuable homeowner information.
And we can also send you our free online newsletter
by e mail filled with valuable real estate information
including buying and selling tips, mortgage information,
and lots more. There is no cost or obligation, just
call us at 615-822-2779 or 800-711-8498 or e-mail us
at billandnancyoakes@wesellnashville.com.
