Getting Ready to Sell Your Home

Eliminate your personal feelings

When conversing with real estate agents, you will often find that when they talk to you about buying real estate, they will refer to your purchase as a home. Yet if you are selling property, they will often refer to it as a house. There is a rational for this. Buying real estate is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to remove emotion from the process.

You need to think of your house as a marketable commodity. Real estate. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can unconsciously create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property.

The first step in getting your home ready to sell is to impersonalize it.

Make Your Home Impersonal

If there is a new home sales tract near your home, go visit. It doesn't matter what size the homes are. What you will find are some wonderfully (but sparsely) furnished homes that anyone could live in -- with the emphasis on anyone. They are anonymous. There may be a basketball in the boy's room, but no family portraits on the walls. There may be "personality" - but no person.

The reason you want to make your home "anonymous" is because you want buyers to view it as their potential home. When a potential homebuyer sees your family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about living in the house themselves.

Put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Put them in a box. Rent a storage area for a few months and put the box in the storage unit. Do not just put the box in the attic, basement, garage or a closet. Part of preparing a house for sale is to remove "clutter," and that is the next step in preparing your house for sale.

Minimize family memorabilia in the Home

This 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. You want as much open clear space as possible, so every extra little thing needs to be cleared away.

Take a step back and analize yourself as the buyer. Allow 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.

Begin in the Kitchen

The kitchen is a good place to start removing clutter, because it is an easy place to start.

First, get everything off the counters, even the blender. 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. Items you rarely use should be placed in a box and put to storage, along with the other clutter.

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.

Check under the sink. Make sure that area is as empty as possible, removing all extra cleaning supplies. You should scrub the area down as well, and determine if there are any hints of water leaks that may cause a homebuyer to hesitate in buying your home.

Closet Cleanout Clues

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 stuffed full. Sometimes there are shoeboxes full of "stuff" or other accumulated personal items, too.

Excessive 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' model homes to see how they place furniture. You get some ideas on what to remove and what to leave in your house.

Miscellaneous 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. A moving sale gets rid of "stuff", and puts cash in your wallet.

Fixtures and Plumbing In Working Order

When looking at a house, prospective buyers often do not really know what to do. So they play with things. They flick light switches. They open everything with a handle. They turn on all the faucets and flush all the toilets. Working and nice shiny fixtures make a good impression.

All your sink fixtures should look shiny and new. If this cannot be accomplished by cleaning, buy new ones. If you don't buy something fancy, this can be accomplished inexpensively. Make sure all the hot and cold knobs are easy to turn and that the faucets do not leak. If they do, fix them.

It sounds like hard work, but it's pretty easy, even if you are a novice. Check to make sure you have good water pressure and that there are no stains on any of the porcelain. If you have a difficult stain to remove, one trick is to hire a cleaning crew to go through and clean your home on a one-time basis. They seem to be wonderful at making stains go away.

Examine Ceilings, Walls and Painting

Check all the ceilings for water stains, whether the leak is caused by plumbing or a faulty roof. Find the leak and repair it and make sure a proper job is done. Nothing irritates a buyer more than finding out - after the fact - about plumbing or roofing leaks. They will be talking about calling a lawyer faster than your car engine starts when you turn the ignition key.

If a water stain is left after something you have already repaired, do the cosmetic work necessary to improve the desirability of your home. That means painting.

You may have to paint anyway, especially if dirt has accumulated in spots or you have an outdated color scheme. Painting makes a home look fresh and new on the inside and never fails to impress.

Painting can be your best investment when selling your home. It is not a very expensive operation and often you can do it yourself. Do not choose colors based on your own preferences, but based on what would appeal to the widest possible number of buyers. You should almost always choose an off-white color because white helps your rooms appear bright and spacious.

Carpeting and Floors

Unless your carpet appears old and worn, or it is definitely an outdated style or color, you probably should do nothing more than have a good carpet cleaning. If you do choose to replace it, do so with something inexpensive and choose earthtones.

Repair or replace broken floor tiles, but do not spend a lot of money on anything. Remember, you are not fixing up the place for yourself. You want to move. Your goal is simply not to have negative impressions upon those who may want to purchase your property.

Making an Entrance - Doors and Windows

It is important to make sure doors open and close properly, without creaking. If they do, a shot of WD40 on the hinges usually makes the creak go away. Be sure the doorknobs turn easily, and that they are cleaned and polished to look sharp. As buyers go from room to room, someone opens each door and you want to do everything necessary to create a positive impression.

This goes for windows also. Check all of your windows to make sure they open and close easily. If not, a spray of WD40 often helps. Make sure there are no cracked or broken windowpanes. If there are, replace them before you begin showing your home.

Passing the "Sniff Test"

For those who smoke, you might want to minimize smoking indoors while trying to sell your home. Actually, it is best to move smoking outside. You could also purchase an ozone spray that helps to remove odors without creating a masking odor.

Apologies to pet owners, but pets come with odors. You may have become used to them, but they are immediately noticeable to those with more finely tuned olfactory senses.

For those with cats, be sure to empty kitty litter boxes daily and use plenty of baking soda. For dog owners, keep the dog outdoors as much as possible, even those adorable lovable little dogs. You should also sprinkling carpet freshener on the carpet on a periodic basis.

Love that Landscaping

Is your landscaping at least average for the neighborhood? If it is not, buy a few bushes and plant them. Do not put in trees. Mature trees are expensive, and you will not get back your investment. Also, immature trees do not really add much to the appearance value of the home.

If you have an area for flowers, buy mature colorful flowers and plant them. They add a splash of vibrancy and color, creating a favorable first impression. Do not buy bulbs or seeds and plant them. They will not mature fast enough to create the desired effect and you certainly don't want a patch of brown earth for homebuyers to view.

Your lawn should be evenly cut, freshly edged, well watered, and free of brown spots. If there are problems with your lawn, you should probably take care of them before working on the inside of your home. This is because certain areas may need to be re-sod, and you want to give it a chance to grow so that re-sod areas are not immediately apparent. Plus, you might want to give fertilizer enough time to be effective. Always rake loose leaves and grass cuttings.

Examine the Exterior of the Home

Most real estate advice tells you to work on the outside of the house first, but unless there is a major project involved, it is probably best to save it for last. There are two main reasons for this. First, the first steps in preparing the interior of the house are easier. They also help develop the proper mind set required for selling - beginning to think of your "home" as a marketable commodity. Second, the exterior is the most important.

A homebuyer's first impression is based on his or her view of the house from the real estate agent's car. They call that first impression "curb appeal."

So take a walk across the street and take a good look at your house. Look at nearby houses, too, and see how yours compares. Then it may be time to go to work.

House Exterior - Painting

"To paint or not to paint" - that is a major decision. When you look at your house from across the street, does it look tired and faded? If so, a paint job may be in order. It is often a very good investment and really sharpens the appearance of a house, adding dollars to offers from potential homebuyers.

When choosing a color, it should not be something garish and unusual, but a color that fits well in your neighborhood. Of course, the color also depends on the style of your house, too. For some reason, different shades of yellow seem to illicit the best response in homebuyers, whether it is in the trim or the basic color of the house.

As for the roof, if you know your roof leaks, repair it. If you do not repair a leaky roof, you are going to have to disclose it and the buyer will want an entire new roof. If you know your roof leaks and you don't repair it and don't disclose it, look forward to hearing from lawyers at some point in the future.

Otherwise, wait and see what the home inspector says. Why spend money unnecessarily?

The Back Yard

The back yard should be tidy. If you have a pool or spa, keep it freshly maintained and constantly cleaned. For those that have dogs, be sure to constantly keep the area clear of "debris." If you have swing sets or anything elaborate for your kids, it probably makes more sense to remove them than to leave them in place. They take up room, and you want your back yard to appear as spacious as possible, especially in newer homes where the yards are not as large.

Eyeing Up The Entrance

If you have a cute little plaque or shingle with your family name on it, take it down. You can always put it up again once you move. Get a new plush door mat, too. This is something else you can take with you once you move.

The front door is a big eye catcher and should be sharp and clean. Make sure the lock works easily and the key fits properly. When a homebuyer comes to visit your home, the agent uses the key from the lock box to unlock the door. If there is trouble working the lock while everyone else stands around waiting, this can send a negative first impression to prospective homebuyers.