Preparing Your House For Sale
It is not luck that makes a sale happen, it is careful planning and knowing how to
professionally spruce up your home that will send home buyers writing in their checkbooks. The first step in staging is to de-personalize the home.
This means you need to disassociate yourself with your home. Though this may be difficult to let go of all the memories that you have experienced in your home, if you want to sell, you need to let it go.
It may make it easier to do this when you picture yourself and your family in the new house and all that you are going to do in the future at your new location. To start the de-personalization process you should take down any photographs of family and friends.
Though you may disagree, buyers who walk through your abode get distracted if they see pictures or heirlooms. You want them to be able to picture themselves living there, not imagining your family living there.
You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they cannot do that if yours are all over the place. You should also de-clutter and go for a minimalist approach.
People collect an amazing quantity of junk and most do not realize it until they have to move it out of their house. Try to send a lot of stuff to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, especially if you have not used an item for over a year.
You should also remove any books from bookshelves and pack up any souvenirs or knick knacks that you have collected over the years. Place essential items that you use daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
Make sure that your closets are neat and organized at all times because buyers will definitely be looking in them when they walk through. This means you need to hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction and your shoes should be lined up.
Rearrange bedroom closets and kitchen cabinets in a way that maximizes space and gives the illusion of more space. It will send a bad message to buyers if items fall out when they open up a closet door.
The kitchen is the most important room in the house when trying to sell. Sellers should clean off everything on kitchen counters, neatly stack dishes in the cabinets, alphabetize spice jars, and make sure that mug handles are facing the same way.
Almost every home shows better with less furniture because it makes the house look bigger and allows the buyer to visualize their own stuff in the house. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage.
Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room's purpose and plenty of room to move around. You do not want buyers scratching their heads and asking what the room's function is.
If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, remove them before you show the house to buyers. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your great grandmother, take it down because if a buyer never sees it, they will not want it.
Once you tell a buyer they cannot have an item in the house, they will want it with the house or they will break the deal off completely. Pack those precious items and replace them, if necessary.
Sellers should also make any minor repairs that need to be taken care of. This includes replacing cracked floor or counter tiles, patching holes in walls, fixing leaky faucets, and fixing doors that do not close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have any vibrant or strong colors on the wall. Easy maintenance that really make a difference is replacing burned-out light bulbs, and giving the house a thorough cleaning.
Wash the windows inside and out, and if necessary, spray down the sidewalk, driveway, and exterior walls. You should also clean out cobwebs, re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks, polish chrome faucets and mirrors, and clean out the refrigerator.
For daily maintenance that should be taken care of in case of last minute showings, vacuum and wax floors. Also, dust furniture, ceiling fan blades, and light fixtures, and hang fresh towels in the bathrooms.
by: Jack Landry
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