Prepare Your Home
Are you ready to sell your home?
You'll want to get the top dollar that the market will bear. Below we provide you with some tips to prepare your home for when it hits the market. If you have any questions regarding the information below or are ready to list your Finger Lakes area home please contact us. We're ready to help you every step of the way!
Front Entrance - Make A Great First Impression!
The front entrance of your home is a key part of the "First Impression." Paint, clean or stain the front door. Remove old screens if they do not fit or operate properly. Make sure entry light and doorbell are in working order. Replace missing house numbers and make sure the number is visible from the street in the early evening. Put out a nice welcome mat and a potted plant if you have room on steps or entrance way.
Lawn & Yard - A Great Yard Implies A Great Home!
A well-kept lawn implies a well maintained home. Cut lawn weekly while showing your home. Rake leaves and sweep sidewalk on weekends when house is to be shown. Remove dead limbs and debris from shrubs and trees. Plant extra flowers for more color or spruce up landscaping with potted flowers. Repair fences and touch-up with paint or stain. Store lawn equipment, toys and other outdoor items away neatly. Board dog or other large pets with
neighbors while showing the house. Repaint or replace the mailbox.
Roof, Windows and Siding
Experienced homeowners often ignore miss-aligned shutters, bent gutters and loose shingles (unless there is a leak). These things jump out at first-time homebuyers as signs to avoid your house. Paint and repair gutters. Repair loose shingles and flashing in roof, especially when visible from the ground. Paint window sashes, trim and shutters. Replace cracked windowpanes, and wash entire window. Clean and paint siding as needed. White or something very close is the best color for aluminum, wood or synthetic siding.
Organize & Hide The Clutter
People buy homes that appear spacious, clean and solid. Clutter and dark colors turn off most buyers. That means getting rid of everything you can live without. If you can't see the baseboard, the room is probably cluttered. Bright lights and white walls make rooms look bigger. If you plan to paint, use white or off-white. Replace lights with higher wattage bulbs. Clear kitchen countertops as much as possible. Reduce number of items in cabinets. Arrange clothing neatly in each closet and reduce number of items stored on shelves and on the floor. Clean and organize your basement, attic and garage.
People collect an amazing quantity of junk. Consider this: if you haven't
used it in over a year, you probably don't need it.
o If you don't need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
o Remove all books from bookcases.
o Pack up those knickknacks.
o Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
o Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored
Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.
The kitchen is a good place to start removing clutter, because it is an
easy place to start.
First, get everything off the counters. Everything. Even the toaster. Put
the toaster in a cabinet and take it out when you use it. Find a place
where you can store everything in cabinets and drawers. Of course, you may
notice that you do not have cabinet space to put everything. Clean them
out. The dishes, pots and pans that rarely get used? Put them in a box and
put that box in storage.
Homebuyers will open all your cabinets and drawers, especially in
the kitchen. They want to be sure there is enough room for their "stuff."
If your kitchen cabinets, pantries, and drawers look jammed full, it sends
a negative message to the buyer and does not promote an image of plentiful
storage space. The best way to do that is to have as much "empty space" as
possible.
For that reason, if you have a "junk drawer," get rid of the junk. If you
have a rarely used crock pot, put it in storage. Do this with every cabinet
and drawer. Create open space.
If you have a large amount of foodstuffs crammed into the shelves or
pantry, begin using them – especially canned goods. Canned goods are heavy and you don’t want to be lugging them to a new house, anyway – or paying a mover to do so. Let what you have on the shelves determine your menus and use up as much as you can.
Beneath the sink is very critical, too. Make sure the area beneath the sink
is as empty as possible, removing all extra cleaning supplies. You should
scrub the area down as well, and determine if there are any tell-tale signs
of water leaks that may cause a homebuyer to hesitate in buying your home.
Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets. Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction & Line up your shoes. Neatly stack dishes in your kitchen cabinets and turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the
message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about
you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care
of the rest of the house as well. This means:
Clean Everything... Everything? Yes, Everything!
Clean everything - carpets included. Wash windows and mirrors. Clean the oven and all appliances. Clean all grease spatters and polish chrome fixtures and surfaces. Clean window treatments and carpets. Replace worn, stained and odorous carpeting. Clean smudges, especially around doorknobs and light switches. Remember, a little paint is a big help & nothing adds value to a home like improvements to kitchens and bathrooms.
Make the House Sparkle!
o Wash windows inside and out.
o Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
o Clean out cobwebs.
o Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
o Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
o Clean out the refrigerator.
o Vacuum daily.
o Wax floors.
o Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
o Bleach dingy grout.
o Replace worn rugs.
o Hang up fresh towels.
o Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
o Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.
De-Personalize It
Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can't see
past personal artifacts, and you don't want them to be distracted. You want
buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can't do that if
yours are there! You don't want to make any buyer ask, "I wonder what kind
of people live in this home?" You want buyers to say, "I can see myself
living here."
Create Curb Appeal!
In the beginning, it always comes down this: How does
the house look from the curb when the person drives up (assuming you aren't
selling a condo in a building). Studies have shown that simply repainting a
house is the best investment you can make when reselling. If your home has
synthetic siding, a good power washing may be able to help it shine like
new again. Dirty or weathered decks can benefit from the same treatment.
Next, compare your landscaping to others in your neighborhood. You don't
have to have the cutest house on the block, but if your yard looks barren,
plant some flowers (people love them) and a few bushes. Finally, new grass
in the front can make an old yard look brand new (a fast and often cheap
fix). Add new house numbers, a nice doorbell or knocker, and a plush new
entry mat -- they all help to make a great first impression. Oh, and make
sure the front door looks great and functions perfectly.
Clean out the garage, and remove children's toys from the yard. That goes
for that creaky, rusty, long-abandoned swing set, too.
Most people buy a home on first impressions. The emotional impact they
receive in the first few moments can be critical to the way they bargain
when it comes down to the sale
Remember, If you have any questions regarding the information above or are ready to list your Finger Lakes area home please contact us. We're ready to help you every step of the way!
