Below is a list of items as you prepare to list your home for sale. If you can tend to most of these items, you will likely increase your selling price, and shorten your days on the market.
Curb Appeal
- Keep your front entrance well-maintained
- Repaint your front door
- Repaint or replace door hardware
- Make sure the doorbell works
- Add a few showy annuals, in pots near the front entrance and rear patio
- Create visual impact, plant flowers according to the season in the flower beds
- Keep the lawn edged, cut, free of weeds and watered regularly
- Trim hedges, weed lawns and flowerbeds, and prune trees
- Take care of exterior features
- Check the foundation, steps, walkways, walls and patios for cracks and crumbling
- Inspect doors and windows for peeling paint; keep the windows clean and free of spider webs and vines
- Keep the home free of pests, consider hiring a bug service
- Inspect and clean the chimney
- Keep shutters in good condition, freshly painted and hung straight
- Repair or replace loose or damaged roof tiles
- Repair or repaint loose siding and caulking
- Keep the garage door closed
Walk into Something Wonderful
- Give every room in the house a thorough cleaning. Wash the windows inside and out, clean the carpets and wash the walls.
- If the walls and carpet are especially dingy or brightly colored, repaint or re-carpet with a neutral shade, such as off-white or beige.
- Get rid of the clutter and make your house appear bigger and brighter.
- Rent a storage unit
- Have a garage sale!
- Donate your excess “stuff” to charity
- Repair cracks, holes or damage to plaster, wallboard, wallpaper, paint and tiles
- Replace broken or cracked windowpanes, moldings, and other woodwork
- Inspect and repair the plumbing, heating , cooling, and alarm systems
- Repair dripping faucets and showerheads
- Re-caulk bathroom shower or tub if necessary
- Spruce up a kitchen or bathroom with new towels, use air fresheners
- Repair any leaks
- Consider hiring a house cleaner
- Make sure every electrical outlet and light switch is in working order
- Replace all light bulbs with the maximum wattage bulb permissible. Light sells!
If you would like Gracie & Greg to view your home and offer suggestions on how to make your home more appealing to buyers, call us 760-285-1783.
If you prefer to view a DVD on Preparing your home to Sell, we have one available so you can view at your own leisure.