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Checklist for Preparing Your Home

To sell a home or get top dollar…sellers must look at their property through the eyes of a potential buyer. Consider these quick tips tips:

Get rid of clutter and Aunt Mary’s photo

Selling your house is about taking your personality out of it and having people going through it envisioning their own life and personality. If a buyer can’t walk into a space and picture themselves living there…they’re not going to give you top dollar, for one…and they might just
turn and walk away. Yikes!

It’s hard for buyers to imagine themselves in a home decorated wall-to- wall with photographs of people they do not know…and knick-knacks that hold no special meaning. In preparing a home for sale…all the things that personalize a home to the family within should be stored for the next home – including all the pictures and magnets on the refrigerator.

Sometimes even art on the wall should be looked at because people have different tastes. But mirrors…Art is very personal, but mirrors aren’t. Mirrors are great for adding depth and dimension and visual space and light…it’s non-committal art.

Focus on the kitchen and bathrooms

Most buyers who fall in love with a kitchen…fall in love with the house. However…that doesn’t mean sellers should invest in an expensive upgrade. The best kitchen is one that aligns with buyers’ tastes…and that’s not always one with upscale cabinets and granite countertops.

At the least…the expensive of those upgrades may not come back to the owner in a higher selling price. So then Sellers should also focus on lighting. The more light during a showing…the better!

Make your home look like a hotel suite – inviting but neutral

Floors make a big impression because they’re big…it is the first thing that strikes you when you walk in the front door.

Bathrooms should look like a just-cleaned hotel room: New soaps, pretty rugs, clean towels and yes put the toilet seat DOWN during showings!

Bedrooms…Beds should be made with neutral blankets or comforters if possible. Try to avoid lots
of flowers…if you can too.

Price the home based on market value, not your personal opinion

Do you need to recoup the money you spent at the market’s height in 2006? Buyers don’t care. Did you raise three kids in the home? Your fond memories aren’t worth anything to potential buyers.

Sellers have to switch from emotional attachments and see the sale of their home as a business decision. Realtors should give you an unbiased opinion…and some home sellers even have an appraisal done before they list their home.

Focus on curb appeal first

If buyers love the outside of a house – their first impression – there’s a greater chance they’ll love the inside. Sellers can upgrade kitchens and bathrooms all they want…but if a buyer chooses not to enter the home because the outside doesn’t dazzle them…upgrades won’t do any good.

Paint front doors, garage doors, railings & decks. Plant new shrubbery…or pretty flowers on walkways and by the front door…then trim existing greenery. In summer…mow the grass twice per week.

A new-looking exterior doesn’t have to be expensive to make potential buyers look twice.

I’d love to come give you some more advice on your home…just give me a call or text!