"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.
