A short while ago I wrote a post about getting your home ready for the market, "You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression" . Spring is right around the corner and many of you will be offering your homes for sale soon, so there's no better time than the present to offer a few tips to get your house ready for the market! Now is the time to start the "spruce up" process.
Here are 10 reasonably priced things you can do to get your home "market ready" and maybe even increase your chances of getting it sold in a reasonable amount of time.
- Remove dated wallpaper. Yes, this will take time and effort and patience but it need not cost you a lot of money. There are wonderful products out there designed to help get that paper and glue off your walls. And don't paint until that glue is off or all your hard work might be for naught. When the walls are finally ready to paint, do spend a little extra, if possible, for a higher quality paint. A light satin or eggshell finish are particularly nice. And the paint colors? No, every wall does not have to be off white but neither should they be eggplant or chartreusse! You may want to try a light coffee color or a splash of color on one wall only.
- No wallpaper to remove? Great, then how about a fresh coat of
paint in the rooms that need it the most, possibly the kitchen and baths? - We've all heard this one before but remove your clutter..seriously! Remove it from the kitchen counters (including the desk you may have there), from your vanities in all your bathrooms, the tops of your cabinets in the kitchen, the top of your t.v. and the tops of all your dressers and night tables.
- Kitchen cabinets look tired? Clean them well and then add some new hardware, pewter, or perhaps an aged copper. This does wonders for upadating your kitchen and baths.
- Make sure all doors and windows close and lock properly. These items may only require a small adjustment but do take the time to correct this if it is a problem.
- Over the years I've been in so many dimly lit homes that would
have shown much better had the owners invested in some brighter light bulbs. So do this, it's definitely inexpensive and a worthwhile investment. - If on the market in the winter, please make sure the driveway and walkway to your front door are clean and de-iced. The last thing you need is for a prospective buyer to slip and fall on your property. It's a headache you just don't need. You also don't want a potential buyer to skip viewing your home because the driveway was not plowed. And yes, this really does happen. If on the market in the summer make sure the lawn is mowed and get rid of some of those bushes that flank the front door that should be 4 feet tall but are now 12 feet tall. It's not a lot of fun for a buyer (or their agent) to have to squeeze in between 2 "trees" just to get in the front door. So grab some friends with muscles (who owe you a favor) and pull out those overgrown bushes and plants and put some newer and younger ones in their place. Think of it as a mini facelift.
- Have some artwork that's been on your walls for the last twenty years? Well, if it's not a Picasso or a Van Gogh it may be time to change it. When you make this small change, the difference can be quite astonishing.
- A ceramic tile floor is attractive and durable but so much less attractive when the grout is dirty or chipped. Fill in the chips of course and do your best to clean the grout. Many times the grout simply can't be cleaned, or no longer matches the repairs, so here's where you may want to try some grout paint. It's reputed to last a very long time and this might just be your chance to get rid of the grout color you always hated.
- Clean, clean, clean. Did I mention clean? Yes, especially in places
that don't get enough attention like the ceiling fan blades, the foyer chandelier, the tops of doors and casings, and my personal favorite, the heating vents and cold air returns. And do whatever it takes to get rid of pet and smoke odors. Buyers love a clean home and this is your least expensive task that may just reap huge rewards.
BONUS TIP: Hire an experienced agent who will give you an accurate price on your home.
For tons more tips be sure to visit my website and download your free E-book, "450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster." It's comes complete with worksheets so you can organize your efforts room by room.
Have fun and don't forget to put on some great music while you work. It really does make it a little less painful!
If you would like to buy or sell a home in the southern communities of Cleveland Ohio, please call me at 440-263-7496, or you may want to visit my website for more specific information on the communities I service: Brecksville Ohio Real Estate, Broadview Heights Ohio Real Estate, North Royalton Ohio Real Estate Independence Ohio Real Estate, Seven Hills Ohio Real Estate, Parma Ohio Real Estate, Parma Heights Ohio Real Estate and Middleburg Heights Ohio Real Estate. Information is obtained from Neohrex (Northeast Ohio Real Estate Exchange) and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties subject to prior sale, rental, or other status changes. All properties that are advertised as being listed or sold by Barb Szabo are in conjuntion with ReMax Trinity.
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Barb, these ar great tips. As an inspector, I see alot of these that aren't followed. I wonder why it was on the market for 15 months? Very true, a mini facelift will do wonders for these homes.
Ian, Thanks for your comments. One only has to look at some of the before and after staging pictures on AR to see the benefit of some new pics and extensive cleaning...and that usually leads to a successful sale.
Great and easy tips.
Hi Barb - Great post. You have a great list of things sellers need to keep in mind when preparing their home for the market. You're absolutely right when you say you only have one chance to make a first impression.
Walter, Thanks for stopping by.
Jon, So true. And I think clean really tops the list. I once sold a home that had both blue and purple commodes and tubs, along with green shag carpeting but you could eat off the floors. It was easy because the home was so well care for.
Hi Barb~ Your posts are looking so great and so colorful!! Tell me your secrets, please! I just love it that you offer the 450 tips on your website complete with worksheets.
Hi Barb, This has been my mantra for years. I'm known as the tweaking queen. Maybe that's why they all sell!!! BTW, I totally agree w/ Vickie! Very nice. Oh, what clipart program do you use?
Vickie, Thanks so much! I start my posts with kompozer (you have to download it), write what I want, then I change the font size, add color ahd highlights and then copy and paste to my blog. Then I add pics and links. I got all this right from a blog here written by Brian and Rita Burke. I love the 450 tips books too, but to be clear I did not write it. I purchased it as anyone can for use in my marketing. When I bought it, it was $99.00 for the personalized version. Slowly but surely people are starting to request it from my website. You can e-mail Wendy the author at wendy@getyourhousesold.com and she will get you the info you need or send you an order form.
Marian, Glad your sales back up my post LOL. I have a subscription to iclipart.com for the clipart. They also offer actual photos and objects. I paid $29.99 for a year's subscription.