Selling Tips
Buying a home is an emotional experience. How people feel about the house you're selling can be as important as its location, size and features. This is one of life's most important purchases and how the house looks and feels are very important.
In order to maximize the eventual sale price, make an effort to view your house through the eyes of a prospective purchaser. Virtually every home can benefit from a pre-sale makeover and a Sellers Inspection. Presentation is enormously important.
Seller's Home Inspections
Cleaning
- Clean everything, in and out of sight.
- Shampoo rugs and wax floors.
- Wash or brush walls.
- Wash windows and clean blinds or draperies.
- Your home should be immaculate, beds made, floors cleaned or vacuumed, windows spotless, shelves dusted and trash taken out.
- Any repairs should be done, leaky faucets, missing tiles, broken screens, etc.
- Freshly clean all linens, draperies and shower curtains.
- If you are a smoker, clean any nicotine stained items thoroughly and refrain from smoking in the home during the period you have your home on the market.
- Clean the basement and garage.
Lighting
- Lighting and space are two things that can make or break a home's appeal. When the house is being shown, turn on the lights when you leave, open all curtains and shutters to let in as much light as possible but screen out unappealing views.
- Replace any burned out light bulbs making sure the right wattage bulbs are used.
Space
- Space is important, take a look around your home. Create space by storing some of the extra furniture you've found useful (bureaus, bookcases, storage chests, oversized chairs) but which makes a crowded impression.
- Place the remaining furniture so that traffic can flow easily from room to room.
- Take 50% of your closet contents and put them away.
- Take everything off the kitchen counters.
- Clean out your garage. Buyers want to envision themselves they are in clean and uncluttered open space.
- Weed out clutter in cabinets
- Unless you're a skilled artist, scale down your personal art work (portraits, landscapes), posters, signs, and family photos, especially in teenagers' rooms.
- Create a feeling of spaciousness.
- Keep normal walkways throughout the house clear so buyers don't have to walk around items in the way.
Often the key to preparing your home for sale is to align it with modern tastes and lifestyles. Modern buyers want clean, modern interiors in neutral colors. Space, storage and low-maintenance are important features.
Modernizing
- Use mirrors, glass-topped tables and compact furniture to make small homes appear larger.
- Remove window coverings to emphasize views.
- Cushions, throw rugs and ornaments create ambience.
- Store excess furniture. Rent new furniture in neutral tones to create a modern, clean look.
- If selling a family home, focus on features that appeal to children. Rent a cubby house, play equipment or children's furniture to create a positive family environment.
Kitchens
- Stove, refrigerator, sink should be spotless and workspace clear.
- Clear counters, drawers and cabinets of unnecessary items.
- Put away all dishes. Don't leave dishes drying by the sink.
- Be conscious of odors caused by dampness, hampers, garbage and various foods.
Bathrooms
- Re-caulk around tub, if you can do it yourself properly. If not hire someone who can do it right.
- Clean tiles to sparkling shine.
- Clean soap dishes, mirrors, faucets and appliances (inside and out).
- Store cleaning supplies and hang freshly washed towels.
Bedrooms and Living Areas
- Keep living areas clean and inviting.
- Arrange furniture to allow a spacious atmosphere.
- Make beds, arrange couch cushions, dust shelves, vacuum carpets and touch-up walls with paint as necessary.
- Wallpaper should be clean and adhere smoothly to the walls.
- Finishing touches such as flowers or candles add to the home's house warming appeal
Garage or Workshop
- Remove all cars for showings.
- Items should be neatly stored in shelving or wall units.
- Allow appropriate space for the home buyer to visualize their vehicle or workbench.
- Consider moving excess or over-sized items to mini-storage.
- Clean floor and if necessary repaint.
Windows and Doors
- Ensure that all doors and windows are in proper operating condition, including replacing any broken glass or fogged window panes.
- If your windows fall down, repair the control mechanisms or install new ones.
- If your doors do not latch properly, repair them. Usually a simple adjustment is all that is needed.
Odors
Eliminate offensive odors. Many people are sensitive to odors and allergens. If your home smells like cigarettes, pet urine or musty mold, you will immediately rule out a significant number of potential buyers. You may not even realize your house has an odor if you have become accustomed to it. Ask several non-smoking people if they sense any odors in your home. If so, find the sources and eliminate them; do not attempt to cover them up. Masking odors is rarely successful and may cause problems for you later. Odors from mold, sewer gasses or pet urine will likely be reported as potential health and safety defects.
Curb Appeal
Un-cluttering the house is the hardest thing for most people to do because they are emotionally attached to everything in the house. After years of living in the same home, clutter collects in such a way that may not be evident to the homeowner. However, it does affect the way buyers see the home, even if you do not realize it. Clutter collects on shelves, counter tops, drawers, closets, garages, attics, and basements.
Take a step back and pretend you are a buyer. Let a friend help point out areas of clutter, as long as you can accept their views without getting defensive. Let your agent help you, too.
Kitchens
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, too.
You see, 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.
Closet
Closets are great for accumulating clutter, though you may not think of it as clutter. We are talking about extra clothes and shoes – things you rarely wear but cannot bear to be without. Do without these items for a couple of months by putting them in a box, because these items can make your closets look "crammed full." Sometimes there are shoeboxes full of "stuff" or other accumulated personal items, too.
Furniture
Many people have too much furniture in certain rooms – not too much for your own personal living needs – but too much to give the illusion of space that a homebuyer would like to see. You may want to tour some builders' models to see how they place furniture in the model homes so you get some ideas on what to remove and what to leave in your house.
Storage Areas
Basements, garages, attics, and sheds accumulate not only clutter, but junk. These areas should be as empty as possible so that buyers can imagine what they would do with the space. Remove anything that is not essential and take it to the storage area, or have a garage sale. If you are unable to take on the clutter problem effectively, the next best way to avoid the problem (or at least delay it) is to put things into storage until you are ready to sort through them or move. On rare occasions, people get carried away with clutter reduction. If rooms are so barren that they feel cold, sterile or unlived in, prospective buyers will not be able to relate emotionally to them. Ironically, getting rid of clutter, while time consuming and emotionally difficult, is usually the only preparation that leaves you with more money than you started with! Whether you have a yard sale, have someone else conduct a sale at your home, or even donate it all to charity and take the tax deduction, you'll be surprised at how much money it's all worth. The most organized and disciplined home sellers often realize enough money from their yard sale to pay for many of the other improvements and spruceups necessary to get the home ready for sale.
De-Personalize the Property
You want buyers to view your home as their potential home. Therefore, put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Put them in a box or a rented storage area for a few months.
Design Ideas
Often the key to preparing your home for sale is to align it with modern tastes and lifestyles. Modern buyers want clean, modern interiors in neutral colors. Space, storage and low-maintenance are important features.
- Use mirrors, glass-topped tables and compact furniture to make small homes appear larger.
- Remove window coverings to emphasize views.
- Cushions, throw rugs and ornaments create ambience.
- Store excess furniture. Rent new furniture in neutral tones to create a modern, clean look.
- If selling a family home, focus on features that appeal to children. Rent a cubby house, play equipment or children's furniture to create a positive family environment.
Have a "Seller's Home Inspection"
There are two reasons why we recommend that sellers get their home inspected prior to putting it on the market for sale.
- In a competitive market, you want your home to "stand out in the crowd." By having a home inspection before you put your home on the market, defects can be identified and corrected.
- A seller's inspection can help in marketing your home to potential buyers.
Create an attractive "HOME MANUAL"
Purchase an attractive 3-ring binder (at least 2") and a set of clear tabs, to create a "HOME MANUAL". The following are suggested sections in which you can provide information, manuals, instructions, warranties on appliances, schedules of maintenance, and those professionals who have serviced the property in the past. You could also include helpful sections regarding schools, libraries, neighborhood information and community items. Let Real Estate professionals know where your home manual will be left for viewing (not removal from the home). When your house is sold, this is something you could give to the buyers at closing as a gift from you.
- Deed and Plot Plan
- Copy of Current Property Listing
- Tax Bill
- Lawn and Garden - (include types of flowers, plantings, trees, pruning specialists you have used, names and phone numbers of lawn-care specialists).
- Exterior - (include information on location of utility entrance cables, contractors (painting, etc.) that you've used in the past.
- Well and Pump - list any information regarding location, size, depth and service records, as well as service companies that have knowledge of, and have serviced these components.
- Septic System - If you have a private septic system, it is always helpful to provide the exact location of the tank and leach/drain fields, as well as the exact location of clean out covers, the name of the company that has periodically maintained or cleaned the septic tank.
- Appliances - Instruction Manuals, Warranty information, as well as dates of installation and service contracts or companies that you have used.
- Water Softeners - manuals, warranty and service information.
- Heating, Plumbing and Electrical - manuals, warranty and service information. Names and phone numbers of reliable professionals that you've used for service and repair.
- Exterior & Interior Paints and Stains - The colors you have used on the exterior and interior and where purchased, can be helpful for the next owners to perform touch-up painting.
- Insect/Pest contracts or reports - If your home has been inspected for insects, include these reports. If the home has been treated for termites or carpenter ants, provide this information, as well as any contracts that can be maintained by future owners.
- Utility Information - Names and phone numbers of current utility providers, such as cable, electric, phone, gas or oil companies.
- Neighborhood Information - any "Neighborhood Watch" activities or social things the neighbors do together such as play groups for children.
- Town/City Information - emergency telephone numbers, location of schools, libraries, town offices, registry, hospitals, etc.
