Selling a Home
Once you have decided to sell your home, make sure it is ready to be sold. Buyers pay a premium for
a home that is in top-notch, move-in condition.
First, you have to figure out what needs to be done to your home. A thorough property
inspection up front will help to identify problem areas. Having the property inspection done and all the corrections
taken care of before you get offers also shows the buyers that you are conscientious homeowners. This will relieve some
of their anxiety about buying a home.
Also, any buyer will have a property inspection done before closing the sale. Often, this
is when they will re-negotiate the price because of any problems that may turn up in the inspection. Having your own
inspection done and making all necessary repairs first removes this opportunity for the buyer to try and re-negotiate.
Properties in prime condition are a pleasure for real estate agents to show, so they get
shown more often. The more exposure a property gets, the better the chance of selling it quicker and for a higher price.
Use the following checklist as your guide to preparing your home for sale.
Paint: Few things you will enhance the salability of your house quite as much as painting the
outside. Before painting, scrape or water-blast any blistered or peeling paint; repair gutters and down spouts; and
replace wood showing dry rot. Pay special attention to wood, trim, gutters, and wrought iron.
Front Entry: Give special care to this area. First impressions do make a difference! All
woodwork should be freshly and neatly painted, including the door if necessary. Replace badly worn or broken doorbells.
Polish any door brass. Paint or replace an unsightly mailbox. Put out a new or clean doormat.
Yard: Mow and trim the lawn. Weed flower beds; remove or replace dead plants or trees. Water
regularly during the growing season. With desert landscaping, make sure that no underlying plastic is exposed, that
rocks and sand are tidy, and that weeds and unwanted grass are removed.
Driveway, garage/carport: Clean up grease or oil spots; remove the soil at least, if not the stains. See
that the garage door opens freely, and if you have an automatic door opener, make sure it's in good working order.
Air Conditioners: Paint or replace any rusted exposed metal. Correct improper draining.
Patio: A nice spread of outdoor furniture looks very appealing. If necessary, borrow some from a friend to
enhance the "showability" of your property.
Swimming pool: Adjust chemicals until the pool sparkles. Hose dust and cobwebs from filtration equipment. Store
chemicals and tools neatly. Keep pool area tidy and secure.
Windows: Repair or replace torn or bent screens. As a last resort, remove them entirely; it's
better to have no screens than to have unsightly ones. Replace any cracked or broken panes.
Also, notice unsightly foliage near windows. A window framed in ivy can give a warm, homey
feeling, but cut it back if the foliage is restricting the light coming into the rooms. Drapery rods should be affixed
firmly to walls and work smoothly; draperies should be clean and hang properly.
Doors: Check to see that all doors open and close freely, including closet doors and patio or
sliding glass doors. Oil any squeaky doors. Tighten the hardware, particularly doorknobs. And while you're at it,
tighten hardware on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, too.
Walls: As with the exterior, painting indoors will pay dividends out of all proportion to the
time and effort spent. Wallpaper should be clean and adhere smoothly to walls.
Floors: Repair or replace missing or damaged pieces of tile; polish if needed. Repair of a loose stair
tread plate or loose carpeting on a stairway is a top priority.
Carpet: Steam cleaning is the best answer for soiled carpets, especially when shampooing isn't enough. If pet odors
are present, clean the carpet some time before your home is placed on the market to be sure the odors have been
eliminated.
Lights: Every light socket in and around the house should have a good bulb of adequate
wattage. Don't overlook those outside and in the garage. Also remember the utility room, halls, closets, over the
kitchen sink, and in the oven and exhaust hood.
Switches and fixtures: Repair or replace wall switches, outlets, and light fixtures that don't
work. Replace any broken switch plates.
Appliances: Those that will be sold with the home should be in good working condition. If
specific equipment doesn't work and you don't intend to repair it, point this out.
Plumbing: Badly chipped or irreversibly stained sinks and tubs should be re-enameled, patched, or replaced.
Leaky or noisy toilets should be fixed, as well as any dripping faucets.
Sprinkler systems: These should be working properly with no defective heads.
One of the best and least expensive ways to improve the "showability" of your home is to open up as much
space as possible. Openness stimulates positive feelings in buyers. Overstuffed rooms or closets give the impression of
being smaller than they really are. You can't change the size of what you have, but you can try to present it in a
pleasing way.
Closets and storage areas: One of the most frequently voiced requirements of buyers is for more
closet and storage space. Open up your storage areas by removing items you aren't using.
Counters and cabinets: The same principle used for closets applies here: overcrowding gives the
impression of inadequacy. This applies to bathrooms and kitchens with the kitchen being most important. Store
infrequently used appliances.
Garage: Buyers will pay a premium for a garage if they can visualize it being of value to them,
but it's hard to sell when the garage is filled to overflowing. If your garage has become a two-car attic, move the
excess to a mini-warehouse.
Bathrooms: Few places in the home can get so dirty so fast, and yet few things will "unsell"
a house as fast as dirty bathrooms. Vanity, sink, faucet hardware, and mirror are the focal points. But don't forget
other potential problems: soap residue in a shower, a moldy shower curtain, accumulated dirt in the track of a sliding
shower door, soiled or missing grout, soiled toilet bowls, and dirty or battered bath mats.
Kitchen: Most buyers will inspect the kitchen carefully, so time invested here is well spent.
Clean the stove inside and out. Replace badly stained or corroded reflector plates under the heating elements on
electronic range tops. Don't neglect the kitchen exhaust hood; buyers frequently check this area as a clue to general
housekeeping.
Windows: Clean windows are an absolute necessity if a house is to look its best. Weather
permitting, open windows to let in fresh air.
Water heater and softener: Perhaps because it's so unusual, a sparkling clean water heater or
water softener really impresses buyers: and it takes so little time and effort.
All this may seem like a lot of work, and it is, but it means a quicker sale with less hassle and more money in your
pocket. Not to mention the pleasure you and your family will receive from living in a well-kept home.
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