Tips for Selling Your Home

It is most important to attract as many qualified buyers as possible. In preparing your home for sale it is important to look at your home through a "buyer's eyes." People buy what they see, so look at your home as if you were looking to buy it.        Here are ways you can improve the market value of your house:

Outside

• Mow the lawn, trim trees and shrubs away from the house. You can't sell a house if you can't see it. Rake leaves, remove dead plants of flowers.
• Put away tools, garbage cans, hoses, toys and building materials neatly is the garage.
• Check for broken roof shingles, straight lines on the gutters, shutters, windows, and siding.
• Clean windows and front door. Paint if needed.
• Seal or resurface driveway.
• Clear patios or decks of planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues.
• In the front yard, dress up around shrubs and lamp post with large stones, railroad ties, pine bark mulch, etc.

Foyer

• Use bright light bulb in foyer light fixture.
• Turn on all lights in home in the evening to welcome potential buyers.
• Fill the house with the pleasant aroma of cinnamon, or other fresh scent.
• Spotlessly clean woodwork, carpeting, and windows throughout house.
• Clear window ledges of all objects to give a nice glimpse inside and out.
• Repaint walls if necessary, in neutral colour.
  

Living Room

• Discard worn furniture and move extra to storage area.
• Too much furniture makes rooms look small.
• Clear away all magazines, books, and unnecessary objects from furniture throughout the house.
• Take down pictures that hide walls. Patch nail holes and paint.
• Add lamps and lighting if dark, open curtains.
  

Kitchen

• Professionally clean oven and stove.
• Replace broken appliances, and repair squeaks, drips, or binds in cabinet drawers.
• Clean all appliances inside and out until they are spotless.
• Wax and polish floors.
• Discard old food and leftovers from refrigerator, clean doors of messages, pictures and magnets.
• Clear all magazines, appliances, and cookware from counter tops
  

Bathrooms

• Remove any unnecessary items from counter tops, tubs, and commode.
• Put as much away as possible, and make each bathroom look like a guest bathroom.
• Sink, commode, bathtub, tile and shower curtain should look immaculate, no soap film or hair.
• Fix leaky faucets, rust stains and faulty plumbing that may squeak or bind.
• Coordinate towels to one or two colours only.
• Place softer bulbs in bathroom fixtures and scented flowers on vanity top.
  

Family Room

• Create an easy-going, relaxed atmosphere in your family room. This is where most families spend their time, so make it look good
• Clean fireplace.
• Remove all magazines, books, toys, and worn furnishings that might somehow influence a buyer's feeling about the room
  

Basement

• A finished basement is great! Just treat it as a second family room.
• If unfinished, ensure concrete floor is well-swept.
• Clean water heater, change filters, put strong bulbs in all light fixtures.
  

Master Bedroom

• Define separate areas; sleeping, dressing and sitting by furniture arrangement.
• Be sure all clothes are hanging up, not lying out.
• Make closets more appealing by storing off-season clothes elsewhere.
• Go ahead and pack them to move.
  

Children's Bedrooms

• Here's a challenge: ask children and teenagers to help by thoroughly cleaning up their rooms, removing all posters, questionable photographs.
• Low lighting and clutter make bedrooms look smaller or darker than they really are.
• Patch and paint walls if necessary.
• Open curtains.
  

Garage

• The perfect garage contains only cars.
• But if this is not possible, clean up, fix, sell or toss out unneeded items. (This may be your only chance.)
• Otherwise, organize and tidy up tools or storage areas.
  

Remember

If your house is in need of paint or carpeting, it's better to invest the money ahead of time, rather than to hope a buyer has a vivid imagination, make everything look its best when they see it.

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!