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Selling Your Home
Listing Your Home with Kristi | Getting Your House Ready to Sell | A Sellers Guide to Home Inspection
You researched realty firms, talked with friends about good agents, and finally chose the person to represent you in selling your home. She will come to your house, walk through it with you and take extensive notes about features, mechanicals, room uses, etc. She might bring with her comparable sales reports for your neighborhood and other information about how she will market your home. Together you will decide on a price for your house and the particulars about listing with her.
At this time, it is a good idea to have some information ready to aid her in marketing the house. She will ask you to sign disclosure forms as part of the routine listing and you might want to also provide her with:
- Recent property tax bill
- Recent utility bills
- A plat or survey of your property
- Any architectural drawings of the property if renovation or additions have been done
- A list of features and specifications about your house, including any upgraded mechanicals, remodeling dates, special brands of appliances or fixtures and general information about the house
- Names of your children and their schedules; names of your pets and their demeanor
- If applicable, names and phone numbers of any tenants in your building and their leases
A good realtor will have floor plans of your house drawn, exterior and interior pictures taken and possibly exterior illustration drawn. She will use all these documents and materials to successfully market your house.
So you are going to put your home on the market. You've talked it over with family and friends. You are ready to call a real estate agent. You might think your job is done...that she'll take over from here.
Not so. There are many things you can do to make your house sell as quickly as possible. Besides the big projects such as painting the walls and refinishing the floors, here are just a few low cost, quick fixes:
DECLUTTER YOUR ENTIRE HOUSE! The potential buyers walking through your house do not really want to see your house. They want to envision themselves at home here. Papers, knickknacks and other personal items get in the way of their vision. Keep these personal pieces to an absolute minimum and hidden if possible.
THE ENTRY of your home gives the buyer the first impression of what the rest of your house will be like. If dirty boots or strewn coats are there, that's what they'll see, not the beauty of the foyer. Walk outside and come in the front door as a stranger. Look at everything. In our day to day lives, we don't really SEE what's there.
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Is there grime around the front doorknob? Get out the spray cleaner and shine it up. |
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Is the mailbox hung straight? Is it dusty or dirty? |
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Is the porch floor clean? Do you need a new welcome mat? |
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Are there toys, brooms, garden implements there? |
Open the front door and look around. Does the foyer, hallway or living area look inviting? This is an area that needs to be warm and welcoming but not overly personal.
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Remove family photos and replace with artwork or decorative objects. |
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Remove coats, shoes, boots to a nearby closet if possible. Otherwise, use a hall tree or wall pegs to hold outerwear and invest in an inexpensive chest or box to store shoes and boots. |
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If there's room for a hall table or chest, place one there. If the area is too small, maybe a small wall shelf would hold a vase of flowers or piece of interesting art. |
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By all means, use this area for fresh flowers, specifically ones that smell good. |
THE KITCHEN is one of the worst collectors of clutter. Stand in your kitchen and imagine what it would look like on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens...then get busy.
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Remove most if not all pictures, drawings, magnets, etc. from the fridge. |
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If you use the kitchen as an area to pay bills, collect mail, or do correspondence, clean out the junk drawer and use it to store what normally is piled on the counter. |
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Clear off the counters as much as possible, put away things that you don't use often, leaving the coffee machine, the canisters, maybe a jug of utensils and a decorative object or two. |
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Scour the sink and make it shine....and then store the sponges, the detergent and the dish drainer under the sink. |
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If the wastebasket can be put under the sink or counter, do so. If not, make sure it is empty and clean. |
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Hang a couple of clean dishtowels and add a pot of blooming plants to match your decor. |
THE LIVING/DINING AREAS of a home should reflect your personality so leave out your art objects, framed photographs and neat magazines.
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Discard newspapers and store any personal clutter such as reading materials or mail. |
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Remove pillows or blankets that have a "lived in" look from couches and chairs. |
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Clean the fireplace if you have one and stack with clean wood, so it looks just ready for a match. In summer, fill the fireplace grate with a flowering plant or silks. |
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If the TV and/or stereo is located here, put away the remotes, the CDs and videos. You want to make the equipment recede into the background of the room as much as possible. |
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Make sure the dining room table sparkles or glows and if it is not a good piece of furniture, invest in a tablecloth to match the room's decor. |
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Add a fresh flower arrangement or bowl of fruit and maybe a pair of candlesticks. |
THE BATHROOM is an area of the house that most buyers view as the standard by which you keep house. Ceramic tiles should shine, grout lines should be clean and the mirrors should sparkle. This is one room in which it would behoove you to clean the light fixtures.
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If there is mildew (black, pink or red spots) on the tile, grout or caulk around the tub or sink, KILL IT!!! Buy a bottle of Tilex Mildew Remover or other similar product and spray, spray, spray. It may take four or five applications to remove all of the mildew, but these products work so well, there's really no need to scour or scrub. |
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Once the mildew is gone, check to see if the caulking at the edges of the tub is cracked or loose. A tube (much like toothpaste) of kitchen and bath caulk can be purchased at the hardware or home store and you don't need to do a complete repair job. Just put a little on your finger and fill the cracks or holes and wipe clean with a wet rag. |
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Store all personal items out of sight. If you don't have a vanity or medicine cabinets, purchase decorative boxes or baskets and use them to hold your toothbrushes, combs, hairspray, etc. Likewise, children's bath toys and equipment should be put away. If need be, put this stuff in an under the bed box for the time being. |
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Hang a couple of well-folded fluffy clean towels near the sink with a fresh smelling (and clean) candle. |
THE BEDROOMS of your home are intimately personal. Buyers will be already enamored by your house once they get to them. However, personal items here too should be kept to a minimum.
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Clear reading material, cough syrup, lotion, and whatever nightly things you use off the bedside tables. If there are no drawers for storage, use a basket, box or simply hide them under the bed. |
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Make sure the bedside lamps work and have a soft light. |
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Make the bed! Hide any pillows that look slept on and throw a couple of decorative ones near the headboard. Fold a blanket or afghan on the foot of the bed for color. |
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As much as possible, organize and tidy closets. If they are jam-packed, see if you could store some clothing or items in other places....the attic, basement, under the bed, or at a friend's house. |
THE UTILITY AREAS in your house need a little attention.
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Basements should be swept and boxes stacked neatly. |
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Laundry areas should be as clean as possible. |
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If you really need a place to let it all hang out, choose a basement or other small unused room and fill it full of your stuff. Tell your agent that this is your storage room and she will handle the explanations. Better to have one room stored full than clutter throughout the house. |
FINALLY, THE EXTERIOR of your house should be neat.
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If grime has accumulated on the siding under the porch eaves, use a hose or power washer to clean it. Scrub the front porch floor. |
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In summer, add flower pots or boxes to the front porch or back deck for color. Maybe plant a few annual flowers. |
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Tidy up the garage a bit. Discard junk, things you no longer need and make the space look as large as possible. |
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Store children's outdoor toys and equipment as neatly as possible. No one wants to trip over the Big Wheels. |
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In winter, shovel all walks as widely as possible, sweep the front porch and add a decorative wreath to the front door. |
Your house is ready for potential buyers to see it's beauty. Don't be surprised if even you love your home more after it's decluttered. Okay, now call Kristi and let's get started!
The call has come in... the home inspection scheduled for next week. Here are some things you should do to insure this process goes smoothly and surprises do not occur:
- Have all mechanical systems, including heating, plumbing and electrical, safety checked and if need by, serviced by a professional.
- Have easy access to all mechanical sites and building components, such as access panels, attics, garages, sheds, etc.
- Round up copies of receipts for repairs you have had done within the last 6 months. This will allay any fears the buyers might have.
- Obtain estimates in advance of any work that is likely to appear on the inspection report that you are not willing to perform.
- Do not attend the inspection. The buyer and his/her inspector need this time to be able to speak freely and discuss issues.