38 tips to get your home ready to sell

Here are free or inexpensive items you can do to get your home ready to show.  Some of these items may not apply if you don’t live here full-time or are in a condo.  Do what you can to get the common areas  neat and clean too as it will help your sale.  Even if you have to do it yourself, it will be worth it.

Outdoors

1. Keep the lawn and shrubs trimmed and neat.  Keep the driveway and sidewalks plowed and free of snow and ice.
2. Keep the garage doors down at all times.
3. For a touch of color, have flowers growing in pots or flowerbeds in the summer time.
4. Keep the driveway swept and free of oil stains and drips; tidy up walkways.  Check decks for rotten or loose boards.  Consider powerwashing and restaining.
5. Clean off your outdoor furniture; remove any rust (or throw away the rusted item).
6. Clear out the garage of everything but cars.  Have a garage sale, it will help clear clutter from the house too!
7. Straighten gutters, fences,  decks, hot tub covers, deck railings and anything else that needs it.
8. Fix doorbells, tighten loose doorknobs, repaint the front door and oil squeaking hinges.
9. Repair broken windows and decide what to do about windows with broken seals.  They always come up on inspection and are very noticeable if you have a view.
10. Clean all the cobwebs from around the front door, Make sure all outdoor lighting (especially front porch) is clean and shiny, replace if necessary. It is especially important that the entrance to your home make a good first impression on prospective buyers; this sets the tone for the whole showing.
11. Keep any outdoor pet areas cleaned up and free of odors and debris.
12. Before you start indoors walk across the street in front of your house and look back (as a buyer will see it).  Does it present an appealing appearance?   Do this with a critical eye, as the buyer certainly will!

Indoors

1. Clean everything until it sparkles! Shampoo rugs and wax floors. Wash walls or repaint if needed. Wash windows and clean blinds.  Consider discarding heavy draperies and outdated curtains.  It is better to have just blinds on the windows, kept open, and let the sunshine in!
2. Weed clutter out of closets and cupboards. Neatly arranged closets and cupboards give the impression of ample storage, jam packed and overflowing ones give the impression of not enough room.  Take unused coats and clothing to the thrift store.
3. Create space by storing some of the furniture you’ve found useful (bureaus, bookcases, storage chests, oversized chairs) but which makes a crowded impression.
4. Place the remaining furniture so that traffic can flow easily from room to room.
5. Scale down your personal art work (portraits, landscapes), posters, signs, and family photos, especially in teenagers’ rooms. Create a feeling of spaciousness. Often, buyers are distracted looking at family photographs.
6. Keep shades and draperies open, even when you are not there, to admit as much light as possible, but screen out unappealing views.  Consider investing in top-down, bottom-up shades if you have rooftops or parking lots between you and your view.
7. Let your kitchen look warm and welcoming, not a hectic workplace. Keep your sink shining and free of dirty dishes at all times.
8. Organize cupboards and if they are wood, wipe them down with Scotts Liquid Gold.
9. Clean all appliances including any you don’t intend to leave with the house.
10. Keep counter tops clear and free from clutter including appliances like toasters, blenders, can openers etc.
11. Completely degrease your oven.   Replace the drip pans if necessary.  Make sure the kitchen smells fresh and fragrant (with cinnamon or vanilla warming in the clean oven, if you have time).
12. Remove debris (dust, flies, moths, etc.) from all light fixtures and put the highest wattage light bulbs you can safely use in them.
13. Keep bathrooms scrubbed, tidy and equipped with fresh soap and neatly hung matching towels. Remove all clutter (toothbrushes, shampoo, etc) from countertops.
14. Get rid of all stains in sinks and bathtubs and install new washers on dripping faucets.
15. Feature (with lighting or furniture arrangement) your home’s best characteristics (a fireplace, a picture window, a balcony, ceiling beams, a kitchen eating area, etc.)
16. If you’ve repainted (preferably in safe neutral tones; white, cream or light beige), add splashes of color (with your throw pillows, crockery, pictures, etc), but keep the knick-knacks under control.
17. Place plants or fresh flowers in strategic spots in any room if space (and your being there) permits.
18. Light the whole house, especially dark corners and hallways.  Buyers today want light and bright, and many places built in the 70’s are not!
19. Hang mirrors where they will reflect outdoor light–as well as make a room look larger.
20. Clean out ALL your closets and organize them.  Give away or store unused or out of season clothes. Get rid of extra hangers. Straighten up your shoes (consider some inexpensive shoe racks from a discount store like K-Mart or Wal-Mart.)
21. Consider hiring a professional house cleaner to clean for you if you are an absentee owner.  We can help stage the property for you, and Mountain Comfort furniture will add accessories and rearrange furniture if needed, at a reasonable price.
22. Check where ceilings meet wall and clean all cobwebs, this is commonly overlooked area when cleaning along with tops of tall furniture items such as hutches, entertainment centers, etc. 36.
23. If you have a pet make sure there are no odors. You may not notice odors since you live with you pet every day, have a neutral third part give your home a “sniff” test for objectionable odors that may turn buyers off.
24. Also, when buyers come to visit, keep your pet under control, or better yet, take it for a walk.
25. Make sure there is a sign telling people to watch for the cats, if you have them. Keep litter boxes clean and out of sight.
26. Add some mountain touches to the décor if you don’t already have them.  People like those touches and it makes them feel as if it could be their mountain home.