Preparing to Sell Your House

When it's time to make the big move, you want your present home to sell. You want it to sell quickly and at a good price. Buyers do look for flaws and generally find them. Those flaws can knock thousands of dollars off your asking price. Even the nicest house on the block will have a problem or two, so your job is to have as few of those problems as possible. Here are some key things to consider when you take the plunge and put your house up for sale.

1. Curb Appeal
   

   Nothing's worse than an unattractive outside appearance. Potential buyers may not want to get out of their cars. It's important to make the front of your house look welcoming and to do that, you need to spruce it up. Cut the lawn. Fill some planters with "living" flowers. Give the front door a fresh coat of paint in a color that stands out. Garage doors should blend into the neutral bricks and trim work. Patch the driveway, where needed. Tidy the garden in general. A nice helping of cedar mulch over the flower beds gives them uniformity. Here's a trick. Take a mirror across the road to view your house backwards. This will give you fresh perspective because it won't look like your house. You'll notice things that need attention.

2. Neutral
   

   If money allows, repaint any brightly-colored walls to allow for an even flow throughout the house. Consider neutral colors. Not everyone can visualize a home beyond the paint color. A buyer may not be able to see beyond it. And not everyone can paint or is willing to paint their new home, so neutral is always best.

3. Walls
   

   Wallpaper isn't for everyone. Neither are borders and it's best to remove them. Plain walls may not be to your own taste, but if you want your house to sell, you need to consider what the general public want and don't want.

4. Kitchen
   

   The kitchen is important to buyers. They don't want to make a huge investment in kitchen renovation, so you may have to spend a bit of money yourself with some simple updates. Consider painting, new hardware on the cupboard doors and new counter tops. If the floor needs attention, you may want to replace it yourself. Buyers can easily be turned off the whole house, simply based on the condition of the kitchen. A $5000. investment on your part, could mean an extra $10,000 on your asking price. It's really the first room you need to look at.

   Everything in the kitchen should be bright and shiny. Remove coffee-makers, toasters, blenders etc. from the the counters. Buyers want to see how roomy the kitchen is and the less clutter, the better.

5. Bathroom
   

   Just as important as the kitchen. If the tub and sink have rust spots, try to remove them. Otherwise, you could try a do-it-yourself enamelling kit. They do work. Have a look at the floor and decide whether or not the tiles need replacing.

   As with the kitchen, everything should be bright and shiny. Remove all the shampoo bottles, moisturizers, soaps, hair curlers, etc. and put them away on viewing days.

6. Closets
   

   This may be a tough one, but while you're hiding all your stuff, your closets may be overflowing. People do open closets and cupboards to see how roomy they are. It may be time to think about a garage sale. Or you could rent a storage unit until the sale and your own move.

7. Floors
   

   Wood floors may need a wax and polish. If you have ceramic floors, have a look for cracks. You may be able to replace just one or two pieces. It might be wise to re-grout, just to brighten it up.

8. Clutter
   

   Time to remove the vacation souvenirs, the trophies, and the over-abundance of family photos. A few photos is fine, but think minimal. You may want to tone down the number of ornaments as well. Remember, everyone has different taste. You have a mixed audience and the only way to suit the majority in keep everything simple.

9. Repair Work
   

   Loose floorboards, loose hinges on cupboard doors, switches that don't work are all little annoyances that add up to one big pain in the neck for potential home buyers. You may want to go from room to room and fix all those little annoyances. You always meant to anyway.

10. Windows
    

    People don't want to see windows with scratches or cracks. It's important to make sure the trim work is in good shape inside and out. A fresh coat of paint may be all that's needed in most cases. You may also want to wash the windows inside and out and remove to screens for cleaning. This is likely something you do regularily, but for viewing days, you want them to sparkle.

The key to preparing your house to sell is to make it shine. Cleaning, fixing, painting and generally freshening up the house inside and out is all most people need to think about. Your goal is to make the house appear flawless to the potential buyers. If they see one flaw, it's like a house of cards. They'll want to know what other problems are lurking. All those little things can accumulate and result in a very low offer.