Getting Your Home Ready To Sell

  • Have a yard sale! You want your home to be neat and presentable. Getting rid of clutter will also make your home seem larger and not closed in. Sell items you haven't used in a long while and will probably never use again. Get ready for the move by packing clothes that are off season and make your closets appear roomier. Throw out all those old newspapers you've been stacking up and make sure you can actually get a car into the garage.
  • If you're ready to put your home on the market then now is the time for spring cleaning no matter what time of year it is. This includes cleaning your windows. This makes a huge difference and really makes a room sparkle.
  • Clean, clean, clean. Keep your floors mopped and waxed and carpets vacuumed. Wipe down everything to include light switches. People are going to look into your stove and refrigerator. They just do. Keep them wiped down constantly. If your home makes a good impression when the buyers first walk in then they will get a comfortable feeling about the whole house and it gives them the positive impression that you have maintained the whole house properly.
  • Smells are the number one problem that turn buyers off when viewing a home. If the home smells of smoke when you first walk in the door, many, many buyers will just turn around and walk away these days. Clean your carpets, put on a fresh coat of paint or do anything to eliminate the smells. Cooking odors through the years and pet smells accumulate also. It's not always just the smoking odors. Ventilate with fresh air whenever possible.
  • Brighten up your home. Replace your light bulbs with high wattage bulbs that will lighten up the room especially darker areas such as basements and garages.
  • Fix it! Do a walk through of your home as if you were a prospective buyer. Look for little items that may turn off a buyer such a tear in the screens, a door that "creeks", missing caulking around windows and doors, rust stains or water stains. You must disclose problems to the buyers, but little items can also give the impression that there may be larger problems that don't really exist and you lose a good buyer.
  • A buyer's first impression starts when they pull up into your driveway. It's extra work, but your yard has to look it's best everyday. Leaves raked, bushes trimmed and lawn manicured. Buy a couple of bright flower pots to display by the front door to welcome your new buyers.
  • How's the driveway looking these days? Check for cracks and repair if necessary.
  • Check to see if your gutters are cleaned out and don't have any leaves backed up and clogging the downspouts.
  • Clean, polish or replace your front doorknob. That will be their first contact with your home. Make a good first impression.

 

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RUTH BETHEM, ABR, CRS, GRI, Realtor®
Premier Sotheby's International Realty
4001 Tamiami Trail N, Suite #102
Naples, Florida 34103

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