Getting Your Home Ready to Sell: Part 1

Getting a home ready to sell can seem overwhelming and endless.  Ways to defeat these feelings are to start preparing your home immediately when you decide on selling.  The entire process of selling, buying, packing, and moving is stressful enough so let my blog series guide you.  It’s my little stress-reducing gift to you!  This section is a general guide to your entire house. More specific details will be broken down in each of my following blog posts.  Remember: some of the simplest changes to your home can be the most dramatic.

Painting or at least touch-up painting is a great cost effective way to update your home and give it a fresh look.  If you have a room that appears to have a box of neon Crayons explode everywhere, you probably should repaint.  On the flip side, your house shouldn’t have the look of a hospital with white walls that blend with the ceiling.  Believe it or not but stark white walls make your house appear smaller!  The human eye needs breaking points that white everything doesn’t rovide.  I’m not recommending off colors but natural, soft colors that show architectural details and give the buyers’ eyes guidance.  If you home currently has natural tones, way to go and you are one step closer to selling your place.  A word of caution: pink or even light pink is not neutral.  Some paints look tan and neutral on a swatch or in the store but make sure it does not show pinkish when the sunlight or lamps hit it.  A light shade of pink can really date your home even though it was built last year and you just finished painting.  Go around with a small brush and touch up any areas of paint that have been dinged or scraped off.

Here’s another novel idea for you: clean, clean, clean and then clean some more.  A messy home can emit the perception of an unkempt, careless homeowner.  You really do not want that.  Having your carpets initially steam cleaned and then vacuum from that point is on typically the best way to go.  Mop the floors to give them a nice shine.  Don’t forget to get in the corners, along the baseboards, and behind furniture.   It’s amazing where those dust bunnies can live and breed.  A thorough dusting of all the furniture, shelves, and cabinets is a necessity.  If you are having a difficult time dusting your shelves because they are loaded with picture frames, action figures, and/or knick knacks; maybe the staging gods are telling you to pack the items for your move now!  Other areas where many homeowners forget but buyers notice are the baseboards, bathroom vent grates, and air vent covers. Make sure they aren’t missed and give them a good cleaning.  This next task only a small fraction of people enjoys
and that is washing windows.  If you hate this task so much, either hire it out or trick a family member to do it.  A clean window allows more sunlight in and an unobstructed view of your lovely yard.  Sunny sells!

Speaking of yard......that is the topic of my next blog.  Stay tuned for more in "part 2" and please feel free to comment!