Quick Tips to Get Your Home Ready for the Market:

Before you show your home to any potential buyer, be sure to go through your entire house with your agent to finish the staging process. Meanwhile, here are some quick tips to help you start. Follow these general tips and your home will look better than the competition. Staged Homes sell faster and/or for more money!

INSIDE

• Clear all unnecessary objects from furniture throughout the house. Keep decorative objects on
  the furniture restricted to groups of 1, 3, or 5 items. In general, a sparsely decorated home helps
  the buyer mentally "move in" with their own things.
  
• Rearrange or remove some of the furniture in your home, if necessary. Many times home owners
  have too much furniture in a room. When it comes to selling your home, thin out overcrowded
  rooms to make them appear larger.
  
• Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen countertops. If it hasn’t been used for three
  months…put it away! Clear refrigerator fronts of messages, magnets, pictures, etc.
  
• In the bathroom, remove any unnecessary items from the countertops, tub, shower stall and
  commode top. Keep only the most necessary cosmetics, brushes, perfumes, etc., in one small
  group on the counter. Coordinate towels in one or two colors only.
  
• Take down, reduce, or rearrange pictures and objects on walls. Patch and paint all walls, if
  necessary.
  
• Review the house interior, room by room, and:
  1. Paint any room needing paint.
  2. Clean carpet and draperies that need it.
  3. Clean windows.
  
• If you need room to store extra possessions, use the garage or rent a storage unit.
  
• Leave on certain lights during the day (your agent will show you which ones). During showings
  turn on ALL lights and lamps.
  

• Play light FM music every day in the house, for all viewings.

OUTSIDE

• Go around the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., to the garage or, if applicable, take them to the dump.
  
• Check gutters and roof for dry rot and moss. Make sure they are swept and cleaned.
  

• Look at all plants. Plants are like children…they grow so fast. Prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows: “You can’t sell a house if you can’t see it!”
  

• Remove any dead plants, weed all planting areas and put down fresh mulching material.
  

• Keep your lawn freshly cut, edged and fertilized during the growing season.
  

• Clear patios or decks of all small items, such as little planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbeques, toys, etc.
  

• Check the condition of the paint on your home, especially the trim and the front door. The first
  impression, or "curb appeal" is very important.
  

IN GENERAL
Try to look at your house “through a buyer’s eyes,” as though you’ve never seen it before. This exercise
will help you see what needs to be done. Any time and money invested on these items will usually bring you the return of more money and a quicker sale.

“What to Expect” Booklet for Sellers

I have created a helpful booklet describing the process of marketing your home with information such as: How to prepare for showings; What to expect when buyers look at your home; How to respond to offers, and much more.

To find out more about the process CONTACT ME and I will email you my guide, the What To Expect Booklet for Sellers.