Preparing to Show Your Home

The following tips are meant to be suggestions only – use what you feel comfortable with and disregard the rest!

 1.     Take a legal pad and approach your home from the street as if you were a buyer.  Inspect the home carefully (as if you’ve never seen it before) and note anything you think needs attention.  Follow this procedure through the inside of the house, as well, making notes of each room.

2.     If there are any obvious material defects in the home (i.e., leaking basement or roof, faulty electrical wiring, etc) take care of them first.  They are usually the most expensive and will give you a better idea of what you will need out of the sale of your home when we discuss sales price.

3.     If there are any rooms in your home that have bright or contrasting colors, you may want to consider repainting to a neutral color.  This is the hardest to convince homeowners but some prospective buyers enjoy looking at a blank easel and find additional color distracting. 

4.     If you know that the carpets are worn and need replacing or cleaning, do so now.  Often times, getting a professional cleaning service or renting a steam cleaning machine will be sufficient if the carpet is not too old and worn.

5.     You only get one chance to make a first impression!  Curb appeal is very important.  If your house is stunning on the inside, it won’t do any good if we cannot convince the buyer that the home looks “better” inside.  Trim, mulch and water your yard.

6.     Minimize clutter by starting to pack away special things now.  If you have particularly fragile knick-knacks and photos, start boxing them up and storing them in a shed, basement or attic.  This will preserve your momentos while others are previewing your home, as well as, make the home look more spacious.  It also depersonalizes your home to a degree giving the prospective buyers the opportunity to envision their own family photos in the home.

7.     Don’t be overly concerned about keeping the home perfect.  Serious buyers understand this is your home and will respect the fact that you are actually “living” in it. 

8.     Kitchens and bathrooms must be kept as clean and tidy as possible.  These areas of the home will benefit greatly from a thorough cleaning – make it shine and sparkle!

Irene Morales Ward, Realtor