Getting Ready to Sell
How not to stage your bathroom
In my opinion, there are some pretty important things that need to be done to every home to make it ready to sell. Not every home is going to be in perfect condition when it goes on the market, but the idea is to make the home look well-maintained and give a great first impression.
Exterior:
Make sure that a buyer’s first impression is a good one…power wash your siding, sidewalks, driveway, patio, and windows. Give the front door a fresh coat of paint, if needed.
Put out fresh mulch, plant colorful flowers in the yard or in containers, and prune shrubs and trees.
Repair any rotten wood or siding, re-point any crumbling mortar, clean out the gutters, and make any other obvious repairs. Buyers want to buy homes that look well-maintained, and lots of little repairs will send them packing (and moving into a different home).
Clean out the garage and attic. The garage should be mostly clear of any “non-garage stuff” and you should be able to park car(s) inside. Boxes should be removed and put in storage. Again, a garage full from top-to-bottom makes the home feel like it has no storage. Home and termite inspectors will need to see the garage walls and access your water heater and electrical panel. The attic should be easy to access and poke around in.
Interior:
Remove all wallpaper and paint rooms a neutral color. I hear the same feedback over and over regarding wallpaper…it’s a pain to remove, but I promise it will make all the difference!
Take down/remove any fixtures in the home that will not convey (chandeliers, flat-screen TV’s, drapes, etc). As soon as you tell a buyer that they can’t have Great Aunt Betsy’s dining room chandelier, it will become a dealbreaker for them and blow the whole transaction.
Take down most or all family photos. You want the buyer to feel like the home could belong to them, not that they are trespassing.
Clear any off-season clothing out of closets and put in storage. Pare down shoes and accessories in closets and put in storage. You want your closets to be about half empty. Any more, and buyers will think the home lacks storage. Overstuffed closets also look a lot smaller. This goes for linen closets too.
Remove as much as possible from all the counter space in the house. Kitchen counters should be relatively free of accessories and clutter to make the work space seem larger. Bathroom counters should be clean as well.
Put any excess furniture in storage. Create open spaces within the house to give the illusion of more space.
Make any obvious repairs, like fixing broken tiles or a leaky faucet. Clean any spots in the carpet, or have all the carpet cleaned if needed.
I’m certainly not advocating that you MUST do all the items on this list or the home will never sell, but what I am saying is that, after almost 8 years of getting feedback, these items can help your home sell faster and for a better price. If the home looks “unloved,” then the buyer won’t see much value in it and make a lower offer. In this market, even the smallest objections become issues with all the other homes to choose from that are on the market. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have about getting ready to put your home on the market!
