Sellers Time Tested Tips

Ask your family, friends or neighbors to walk through your home as if they were a buyer and give to give you their honest opinion. In general: neutral colors with clean, bright and open spaces are better!

Buyers buy homes based on how a home "feels" to them and other factors that the sellers may not even be aware of - review the list and look at your home in a whole new light.

INSIDE YOUR HOME:

After you've tackled the exterior of your home, head inside. The goal here is to make everything look clean and bright, spacious, organized and very appealing to the buyers eye!

KITCHEN AREA:

The Kitchen many times sells the house. Clean off the kitchen counters and make everything look as spacious as possible.

OVEN & APPLIANCES:

Clean the oven and all appliances. Wash the grease splatters from around the stove. Don't forget to polish the chrome on the sink. Clean out the refrigerator, use a clear wax and polish the floors.

LIVINGROOM FURNITURE:

Arrange the furniture so each room appears as spacious as possible. Too much furniture can make a home "feel wrong." So move out all your excess and outdated furniture to make your rooms look larger and uncluttered.

FURNACE& AIR CONDITIONING DEVISES:

Clean the furnace/air conditioner return filters and vents. Then crank up whichever one is appropriate to make your home as comfortable as possible.

BEDROOMS:

During the Listing period, make sure your Beds are always neatly made, this shows the full space of your bedrooms without clutter on the floors - makes everything look nice and need.

CLOSETS:

Clean every closet to make them look bigger. Store out-of-season clothes in the attic, basement or garage.

OPEN BLINDS & WINDOW DRAPERIES:

Always open drapes and angle blinds to brighten rooms or keep the lights on and buy some higher intensity light bulbs to put in every room. Launder draperies and curtains, if needed. Dust blinds and furniture.

WALL PAPER & CRACKS:

Tack down any loose molding, if you have any holes in the walls cover with puddy and paint, glue down any lifted wallpaper; replace any cracked switch plates on the walls.

CARPETING:

If the carpeting looks dirty, have it cleaned. If it looks worn, or is a loud color, consider replacing it. You will surely recover the cost, and sell your home faster.

BATHROOMS:

Grungy bathrooms kill sales. Make each bath look like a guest bath. Polish the tub, toilet, and bathroom sink. Clean all tile, grout, and caulk, replace cracked tiles, and regrout if necessary.

LEAKY FAUCETS:

Fix leaky faucets and remove water stains and scrub your shower.

TOWELS:

Put out fresh towels and a new bar of matching colored soap when the house is to be shown.

WINDOWS & MIRRORS:

Clean all your window and mirrors so they sparkle.

DOORS & WINDOWS:

Fix sticking doors and windows, tighten loose doorknobs, drawers, cabinet handles, towel racks, switch plates, and outlet covers.

SPRING CLEANING WITH FRESH PAINT:

Brighten things with fresh paint, Repainting the interior walls is fairly inexpensive and and may take only a day - cover spots on the walls, window sashes, trim and shutters.

TOOL KIT REPAIRS AND CLEANING:

Get out your tool kit, and fix all those little things that you've lived with over the days, months or years, and make sure you sweep all access area to your home.

SPRAY FOR BUGS:

If it's time to spray or bomb for bugs, don't wait until the last minute.

OUTSIDE YOUR HOME:

'CURB APPEAL - SIDEWALKS / DRIVEWAYS:

If people don't like your house from the outside, they won't want to come inside. Clean your sidewalk and driveway, it's also good to replace faded house numbers and make them bigger and easier to read.

FRONT DOOR & ENTRY LIGHTS:

Front doors are the first thing buyers see, keep it clean and bright.

BROKEN WINDOWS & SCREENS:

Fix and wash any broken windows or screens, for a bright, sparkling appearance.

CLEAN THE GARAGE & HAVE A SALE:

Clean out the garage. The perfect garage contains only cars and maybe some boxes at best. Have a huge garage sale with all your excess items. Not only will you be reducing clutter, but you will also be reducing your moving costs.

MAILBOX:

Repaint or replace the mailbox, if needed.

LANDSCAPING FRONT & BACK LAWNS:

Spruce up your landscaping and tree trimming, if possible get some fresh new flowers up front. This will make a great impression on the Buyer.

LAWN & OTHER EQUIPMENT:

Put away lawn and other equipment, neatly arrange outdoor furniture, etc., Get rid of any "junk" in walk-way areas.

FENCE LINE:

Walk your fence line. Repair broken areas and paint or stain spots that are in poor condition.

ROOF SHINGLES:

Roof Shingles need to be checked for repairs. Rain gutter debris need to be cleaned, a pain touch up or realign if crooked.

POOL CLEANING:

If you have a pool make sure it is clean for viewing.

WHEN YOUR HOME IS SHOWN:

When it's time to show your home all your preparations will be worth it. But there are a few final tips that can add that little extra magic.

LOCK BOX ACCESS:

Don't limiting the showings, by making your home unavailable at certain times. Most agents will try to give you as much advanced notice, so we advise that their always be an access key to your home available through a lock box.

BE POLITE:

Be polite, but avoid conversations with buyers. Their agent needs their complete attention to increase their interest in your home - while they are in your home please have them sign a guest book with contact information - so we can follow up with them and/or their agent.

MAKE YOURSELF SCARCE:

Make yourself scarce. Many buyers feel like intruders when the owners are present and tend to spend less time and ask fewer questions. Your scarcity will put buyers at ease, allow them to spend more time looking and absorbing your home.

KEEP CONVERSATIONS SHORT:

A lot of perspective buyers try to get privileged information from the selle if possible. Leave the communication up to the Agent - sometimes harmless conversations can turn out to be additional Contractual Obligations for the Seller. Just remember, when it comes to direct communication with buyers LEAST IS BEST.

PERSONAL ITEM - NEGOTIATIONS:

Don't try to complicate the sale of the home by discussing drapes, furniture, appliances, etc. If the buyer wants any of these items, the agent can ask about them later.

SOUND DISTRACTIONS: (TV & RADIO)

Lower the volume on your TV and Radio's. Noise can be a distraction and inable the buyer to truly focus on your home and it's value.

WELCOMING AROMA:

Before a buyers walks through out the door, give your home the welcoming aroma. If you smoke don't do it in the house during the listing period.

PET ORDER:

Supervise the Children, and keep the cats and the dogs away from the buyers during viewings.

VALUABLES:

Put your valuables away, purchase a safe or put them in a safe deposit box. Sometimes Buyers agents may not be supervising their clients at all times - although we keep track of every agent entering - it's always good advise to keep valuables clear from view at all times.

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