Preparing Your Home For Sale

With Serveral Years of my Successful Selling experience, I can determine what a potential buyer will be looking for and know which

important details will add value when preparing your home for sale. Buyers place a great deal of emphasis on a property’s presentation

and although cosmetic issues may not represent a poorly maintained home, positive first impressions are very important. 

Steps to Prepare your Home to Sell Successfully: 

Step 1: Curb Appeal

Landscaping-Weed and mow the lawn, trim strubs and remove dead tree limbs or other yard debris, Remove clutter such as toys gardening equipment and consider brightening up the garden with fresh flowers. 

House Exterior-Ensure outside lights and doorbells are working, touch up any peeling paint on doors, slidin, or trim, and clean the outside of windows and repair torn screens. Fix damaged roof shingles and flashing and clear gutters and downsprouts. 

Surrounding Areas- Repair and paint your fences, porches or decks. Declutter and tidy your garage and shed. Make sure the driveway and sidewalk are clear of debris and, if icy, apply salt.  

Step 2: Interior Changes

Ambience-Overall, every room should look spacious, bright, and inviting. Arrange the furniture to make the rooms appear as large as possible, turn on all the lights and open all drapes and blinds to let in natural light. Turn off the TV and play soft music. In addition, the smell of fresh bread or cookies can invoke a "homey feeling" in people who are viewing your home. 

Throughout- Odour is very inportant: air out fabrics and ensure surfaces are freshly cleaned (not just sprayed), shampoo the carpets, and polish the floors, wash the walls, ceilings, and trims. Tighten any loose doorknobs and stair bannisters, repair squeaky floorboards, and loosen tight doors and windows. Purchasing new vent and outlet covers can be worth the minor investment. 

Washrooms- Clean and repairs caulking around tubs and sinks, fix leaky faucets and remove water stains. Make sure your toilet bowls are spotless and mirror sparkling. Tighten towel rods and hang decorative towels on them. Consider purchasing new shower curtains and bath mats. 

Basements and Attics- Large Storage areas are always desirable to potential buyers, so make sure they are cleaned, decluttered and organized as best as possible. 

Kitchens- Remove grease from the oven, stove top, and range hood, and replace burner pans on the stove. Clean out kitchen cabinets and remove clutter from countertops to increase the counter top space. 

Closets- Declutter and organize your closets and place on air freshener inside. Limit number of items stored overhead or on the floor to make the spaces seem larger. 

Step 3: Declutter

If you have accumulated a lot clutter over the years, consider renting storage space in which you can store some of your belongings during the sale of your

home. You could also have yard sales or donate items. 

Step 4: Renovations

Along with Cosmetic changes, renovation will increase your property's value. The top three renovations that provide the most return are Kitchens, Washrooms and Painting. Do keep in mind some buyers are looking to renovate to their own taste and are looking for homes that are in need of updates. 

Step 5: Staging 

Should you stage your home? A staged home is one that is filled with things to make it more appealing to potenital buyers.

I recommmend a home to be staged when the home and furniture is dated, when there are oddly shaped rooms or when the home is empty. 

A staged home tends to attract more buyers right away which leads to getting top dollar for your home!