Help
Street presence can make or break a sale. Buyers often make up their mind before they even walk through your front door. Enough cannot be said about a mowed, trimmed, weed free flower bed yard. A nice fresh , healthy potted plant by the front door, fresh paint on the front door and maybe even some new knobs and locks are worth every penny. Knock down the cob-webs, throw out the old ugly welcome mat and get a new one !
Once the buyer is in the house you want two things. LIGHT and FRESH SMELLS ! Turn every possible light on. Even if your open house or showing is in the middle of the day. Light and bright sells. Don't over due the smelly stuff. A few fresh lemons on the counter and one thrown in the disposal for a sec is enough ! Lemon smell sells. In the fall I even heat up some apple cider once in a while and just let the smell fill the house. Either is great.
Declutter. Get a box in the cupboard to throw the mail in. Put your magazines under your bed. Keep an empty laundry basket around for quick clean ups. You can throw shoes in it, coats, toys, anything just laying around. Stick it in a closet and throw a towel over it, and put in in your car and take it with you when you leave. If it is summer, pack up your winter clothes. Winter ? Pack up your summer clothes. Get rid of your coat tree for now. Put coats, boots etc in the closet or even in a space in the garage. Not by the front door. Less is better. I am a big fan of getting rid of coffee tables. In my opinion they are great for two things, putting your feet up on , and catching clutter. Also taking it out opens up the room and makes it look more spacious. If you can find some place to move a piece to, even to another room to make the room look larger do it.
CLEAN. DO the dishes. Load the dishwasher. Clean the refrigerator. Scrub the tub. Do your best. I know it is hard, but all your hard work can really pay off in a better offer. Kitchens and bathrooms HAVE to be clean. Vacuum. You know the drill. For goodness sakes do something with your cat litter boxes. If your kitty is strictly indoor, just clean it ( not in front of the cat though-for some reason they watch you clean it, wait for the realtor to arrive and you to leave and then they go do their business. It is a built in intinct-clean box- lets stink it up for the realtor lady)
PETS- Take them with you if you can. Two reasons, some buyers will just not like animals, others love them so much they play with the animal so much they hardly notice the house. Fish tanks same thing. I love a nice fish tank, but move it somewhere out of the way. Don't let it be a focus point when someone enters the room.
KIDS- Take them with you ( sorry had to ) . Kids art work is great for Mom and Dad. But pack it up ( helps declutter). If you have teens it is really great to sit down with them and discuss some things they can do to their own bedroom. This will meet with some protest I am sure, so remind them how great the new room in the new house will be and make them take that picture of Usher/Jessica Simpson down and pack it up. Less is better. Bribery is ok.
I hope this helps some. Have a great showing or Open House ! Heather
NEXT - declutter. Nothing on the kitchen counters, put away the small appliances you are not using. Put away the papers, get all the stuff off the fridge.
This post has been edited by camry1029: 18 January 2006 - 09:12 AM
