Showing the House
Your home should always be available to show, even
though it may be at times inconvenient for you. Most
agents call to give you at least a couple hours notice
before showing your property. If you refuse to let them
show at any time, they will just skip your house. Even
if they do come back it will probably be with different
buyers and you may have lost your chance to sell your
house.
Try Not To Be Home
Homebuyers will feel like intruders if you are home
when they visit, and they might not be receptive toward
viewing your home. Visit the local coffee shop, yogurt
shop, or take the kids to the park. If you absolutely
cannot leave, try to remain out of the area of the house
being shown, and do not move from room to room. Do not
volunteer any information, but answer any questions the
agent may ask.
Lighting
When you know someone is coming to tour your home, turn
on all the indoor and outdoor lights—even during the
day. At night, this gives your home a homey impression
when viewed from the street. During the daytime, turning
on lights prevents harsh shadows from sunlight and
brightens up dim areas. Your house looks more homey and
cheerful with the lights on.
Fragrances
Do not use scented sprays to prepare for visitors. It is
too obvious and many people find those sprays offensive,
and some may be allergic. If you want to have a pleasant
aroma in your house, boil a potpourri or use something
natural—or turn on the stove burner or oven for a moment
and put a drop of vanilla extract on it; it will smell
as if you have been cooking.
Pet Control
If you have pets, make sure your listing agent puts a
notice on your listing in the Multiple Listing Service.
You do not want your pet to run out the front door and
get lost. If you know someone is coming, it would be
better to take your pets with you while the homebuyers
tour your home. If you cannot do that, it is best to
keep the dogs penned in an area in the backyard. Try to
keep indoor cats in a specific room when you expect
visitors, and put a sign on the door. Most of the time,
an indoor cat tries to hide when buyers come to view the
property, but they may panic instead and try to escape.
The Kitchen Trash
Especially if your kitchen trash does not have a lid,
make sure you empty it every time someone comes to look
at your home—even if the trash can is kept under the
kitchen sink. Remember, you want to send a positive
image about every aspect of your home. Kitchen trash
does not send a positive message. You may go through
more plastic bags than usual, but it will be worth it
when you sell your home.
Keep the House Tidy
Not everyone makes his or her bed everyday, but when
selling a home it is recommended that you develop the
habit. Pick up papers and do not leave empty glasses in
your living room, and keep everything freshly dusted and
vacuumed. Try your best to have it look like a model
home, a home with furniture but nobody really lives
there.
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Getting the House Ready to Sell
- Make your House “Anonymous”
Is there a new homes sales tract near your home? If
so, go visit. It doesn’t matter what size the homes
are. What you will find are some wonderfully (but
sparsely) furnished homes that anyone could live in
- with the emphasis on “anyone.” They are anonymous.
There may be a baseball glove in the boy’s room, but
there are no family photos on the wall.
There may be “personality,” but no person.
The reason you want to make your home “anonymous” is
because you want the buyers to view it as their
potential home. When a potential buyer sees your
family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your
brand on the home and momentarily shatters their
illusions about living in the house themselves.
Put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible
items, knick-knacks and souvenirs. Put them in a
box. Rent a storage area for a few months and put
the box in the storage unit.
Do not just put the box in the attic, basement,
garage, or a closet. Part of preparing the house for
sale is to remove “clutter,” and that is the next
step in preparing your house to sell.
- Uncluttering the House
This is the hardest task for most people because
they are emotionally attached to everything in the
house. After living in the same home for years,
clutter collects in such a way that it might not be
evident to the homeowner. However, it does affect
the way buyers see the home, even if you do not
realize it.
Clutter collects on shelves and countertops, in
drawers, closets, garages, attics, and basements.
You want as much open, clear space as possible, so
every extra little thing needs to be cleared away.
Take a step back and pretend you are the buyer. Let
a friend help point out areas of clutter, as long as
you can accept their view without getting defensive
or offended.
Kitchen Clutter
The kitchen is a good place to start removing
clutter, because it is the easiest place to start.
First, get everything off the counters. Everything.
Even the toaster. Put the toaster in a cabinet and
take it out when you need to use it. Find a place
where you can store everything in cabinets and
drawers. Of course, you may notice that you do not
have enough cabinet space to put everything. Clean
them out. The dishes, pots, and pans that rarely get
used? Put them in a box and take them to storage.
You see the homebuyer will open all your cabinets
and drawers, especially in the kitchen. They want to
be sure there is enough room for all their stuff. If
your cabinets, pantries, and drawers look jammed
full, it sends a negative message to the buyer and
does not promote the image of plentiful space. The
best way is to have as much “empty space” as
possible.
For that reason, if you have a “junk drawer,” get rid
of the junk. If you have a rarely used crock pot,
put it in storage. Do this with every cabinet and
drawer. Create open space.
If you have a large amount of foodstuffs crammed
into shelves or pantry, begin using them - especially
canned goods. Canned goods are heavy and you don’t
want to be lugging them to the new house anyway - or
paying the mover do so. Let what you have on the
shelves determine your menus and use as much as you
can.
Beneath the sink is very critical, too. Make sure
the area beneath the sink is as empty as possible,
removing all the extra cleaning supplies. You should
scrub the area down well, and determine if there are
any tell-tale signs of water leaks that may cause a
homebuyer to hesitate in buying your home.
Closet Clutter
Closets are great for accumulating clutter, though
you may not think of it as clutter. We are talking
about extra clothes and shoes - things you rarely
wear, but can not bear to be without. Do without
these items for a couple of months by putting them
in a box, because these items can make your closets
look “crammed full.” Sometimes there are shoe boxes
full of “stuff” or other accumulated personal items,
too.
Furniture Clutter
Many people have too much furniture in certain
rooms—not too much for your own personal living
needs—but too much to give the illusion of space
that a homebuyer would want to see. You may want to
tour some builder’s models to see how they place
furniture in the model homes. Observe how they place
furniture in the models so that you get some ideas
on what to remove and what to leave in your house.
Storage Area Clutter
Basements, garages, attics and sheds accumulate not
only clutter, but junk. These areas should be as
empty as possible so that buyers can imagine what
they would do with the space. Remove anything that
is not essential and take it to a storage area or
have a garage sale.
- Cost of Repairs
Do not do anything expensive, such as remodeling. If
possible, use savings to pay for any repairs and
improvements- do not go charging up credit cards or
obtaining new loans. Remember, part of selling a
house is also preparing to buy your next home. You
do not want anything that will affect your credit
scores or hurt your ability to qualify for your next
mortgage.
Plumbing and Fixtures
When looking at a house, prospective home buyers
often do not really know what to do. So they play
with things. They flick light switches. They open
everything with a handle. They turn on all the
facets and flush all the toilets. Having nice shiny
fixtures makes an impression.
All your sink fixtures should look shiny and new. If
this can not be accomplished by cleaning, buy new
ones. If you don’t buy something too fancy, this can
be accomplished inexpensively. Make sure all the hot
and cold water knobs are easy to turn and that the
faucets do not leak. If they do, replace the
washers.
It sounds like hard work, but it’s pretty easy - even
for the inexperienced.
Check to make sure you have good water pressure and
there are no stains on any of the porcelain. If you
have a difficult stain to remove, one trick is to
hire a cleaning crew to go through and clean your
home on a one time basis. They are wonderful
at making stains go away.
Ceilings, Walls and Painting
Check all the ceilings for water stains, whether the
leak is caused by plumbing or a faulty roof. Find
the leak and make sure a proper job is done. Nothing
irritates a buyer more than finding out—after the
fact—about plumbing or roofing leaks. If a water
stain is left after the repair, do the cosmetic work
necessary to improve the desirability of your home.
That means painting.
You may have to paint anyway, especially for dirt
that has accumulated in spots or if you have an
outdated color scheme. Painting makes a home look
fresh and new on the inside and never fails to
impress.
Painting can be your best investment when selling
your home. It is not an expensive operation and you
can often do it yourself. Do not choose colors based
on your own preference, but based on what would
appeal to the widest number of buyers. You should
almost always choose an off-white color because
lighter colors help your room appear bright and
spacious.
Carpet and Flooring
Unless your carpet appears old and worn, or it is
an outdated style or color, you should do
nothing more than hire a good carpet cleaner. If you
choose to replace it, do it with something
inexpensive and of a fairly neutral color.
Repair or replace the broken floor tiles, but do not
spend a lot of money on anything. Remember, you are
not fixing up the place for yourself. You want to
move. Your goal is to simply have few negative
impressions upon those who may want to purchase your
property.
Windows and Doors
Check all of your windows and make sure they open
and close easily. If not spray WD40, it often helps.
Make sure there are no cracked or broken
windowpanes. If there are, replace them before you
begin showing your home.
Do the same thing with the doors. Make sure they open
and close properly, without creaking. If they do, a
shot of WD40 on the hinges usually makes the squeak
go away. Be sure the knobs turn easily, and they are
cleaned and polished and look sharp. As buyers often
go from room to room, someone opens each door, and
you want to do everything necessary to create a
positive impression.
Odor Control
For those of you who smoke, you need to minimize
smoking indoors while trying to sell your home.
It is best to move smoking outside. You
could also purchase an ozone spray that helps remove
odors without creating a masking odor.
Apologies to pet owners, but pets come with odors.
You may have become used to them, but they are
immediately noticeable to those with more finely
tuned olfactory senses.
For those with cats, be sure to empty kitty litter
boxes daily and use plenty of baking soda. For dog
owners, keep the dog outdoors as much as possible,
even those adorable little loveable dogs. You also
might want to try sprinkling the carpet with
freshener on a periodic basis.
- The Exterior of the House
A homebuyer’s first impression is based on his or
her view of the house from the real estate agent's
car. They call that impression “curb appeal.” Take a walk down the street and see how your's
compares. Then it may be time to go to work.
Landscaping
Is your landscaping at least average in the
neighborhood? If it is not, buy a few bushes and
plant them. Do not put in trees. Mature trees are
expensive and you will not get back your investment.
Also, mature trees do not really add much to the
appearance value of the home.
If you have an area for flowers, buy mature colorful
flowers and plant them. They add a splash of
vibrancy and color, creating a favorable first
impression. Do not buy bulbs and seeds and plant
them. They will not mature fast enough to create the
desired effect and you certainly don’t want a patch
of brown dirt for the new homeowner to view.
Your lawn should be evenly cut, freshly edged, well
watered and free of brown spots. If there are
problems with your lawn, you should take care of
them before working in the inside of your home. This
is because certain areas may need to be re-sodded
and you want to give them a chance to grow, so that
it doesn’t appear so apparent. Plus, you might want
to give fertilizer enough time to be effective.
Always rake up leaves and grass clippings.
The Backyard
The backyard should be tidy. If you have a pool or
spa, keep it freshly maintained and consistently
cleaned. For those of you who have dogs, be sure to
constantly keep it the area clear of “debris.” If
you have swing sets or anything elaborate for your
kids, it probably makes more since to remove them
than to leave them in place. They take up room, and
you want your backyard to appear as spacious as
possible, especially where the yards are not as
large.
The Front Door and Entry Way
The front door should be especially sharp, since it
is the entry way into the house. Polish the door
fixture so it gleams. If the door needs refinishing
or repainting make sure it gets done.
If you have a cute little plaque or shingle with
your family name on it, remove it. Even if it is
just on your mailbox, you can always put it up again
when you move. Get a new plush door mat too. This is
something else you can take with you when you move.
Make sure the lock works easily and the key fits
properly. When a homebuyer comes to visit your home,
the agent uses the key in the lockbox to unlock the
door. If there is trouble working the lock while
everyone stands around twiddling their thumbs, this
sends a negative first impression to the prospective
homebuyers.
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