Ready to Make Your Move?Last month, I explained some things you should do before your home goes on the market. Here are other tasks to take care of before your home sale.
Deep CLEAN
Your house should be the cleanest it has ever been. Clean everything from top to bottom. (Really – start at the top and work to the bottom, starting with dry cleaning like dusting and moving on to wet cleaning like mopping the floors.) Clean the walls and baseboards, clean windows, steam clean the carpets, dust fan blades and make hardwood floors gleam. Clean tile and grout well. Bathrooms and kitchens, especially, should be immaculate – shower curtains and doors should be clean, tile should be shining and walls clean. Even though your furniture isn’t staying, it should look as clean as possible, so remove stains on fabrics. Be sure there are no odors in your home from smoke, pets or cooking.
Make it EASY
Make everything easy to see, access and understand. People should not have to move anything to walk around. In other words, don’t impede the flow of someone walking or trying to get to anything or see something. Maximize floor space to make rooms feel bigger. If you have too much furniture, see if you can store it at a friend’s house or consider renting storage for a short time. Push chairs in. Your laundry area should be easy to access as should closets and the kitchen pantry.
Curb Appeal
The outside of your house should look great, too, no matter what time of year it is; it will be the first thing buyers see and if it doesn’t look inviting, people will move on. (This includes photos online.) Act like a buyer and stand outside and look at your home with a critical eye. Paint is inexpensive and can really help your home stand out. Consider painting the door, trim or shutters if they look like they could use it. You could add a new mailbox or an inexpensive, colorful welcome mat or modern house numbers. In spring and summer, your yard should have some color, even if it’s only a couple pots, and the yard and bushes should be well-kept. In fall, leaves should be raked. In winter, don’t over-do holiday decor and be sure to shovel snow.
Renovations and Repairs
Most buyers want to move in without lots of work to do, so replace worn carpet, fix broken items and paint anything that needs it. Systems, like the air conditioner, furnace and hot water heater, should work well. However, don’t feel you need to add another room or sink tens of thousands of dollars into a kitchen renovation. If you’re planning to move soon, the biggest payback you can get is to paint and replace carpet. Walking into a home that’s just been painted and that has new carpet feels great and helps buyers see that there won’t be much work to do.
Ready to get moving? Call David now to find out how much your home could sell for – and how long a sale will take – 720-408-7409.