Sell A Home 

Preparing a Home for Showing

PREPARING TO SHOW YOUR HOME
Never underestimate the first impressions a person gets when entering your home. Prepare your home to give great first impressions. When a REALTOR^® visits your home, he or she may make suggestions about preparing your home for sale. The advice that a REALTOR^® gives is intended to help you get the best possible response from the people who view your home.

Remember that a REALTOR^® is trained to look at your home from a different perspective. Don't be offended if the agent requests that you repaint a room to make it more neutral or remove some of your favorite furniture to make the home appear more spacious.

Here are a few tips to ensure the best possible impressions:

• Keep your home picked up and clutter-free!
• Before you put your home on the market go through old magazines and books. Are there some day care centers, schools, or retirement homes where these magazines and books can find a new life? You'll have the pleasure of donating and your home will be less cluttered.
• Go through your closets and drawers and remove clothing that you no longer wear or that is out of season. If you no longer wear it, give it away or have a garage sale. If it is seasonal, pack it in boxes, label the boxes, and stack them neatly in the basement or garage.
• Go through the attic and basement and be sure that you really need everything you have. If you want to keep it, make sure that it is stacked neatly and is easy to walk around.
• Clean sinks and showers and toilets. Lime-a-way does a great job of removing rust and hard water stains. It also works well in a stained dishwasher. You'll be amazed at the results!
• Wash walls, woodwork and doors with Tri-Sodium Phosphate or another strong cleaner. If a room still looks dreary, or if the color of the walls is very bold, apply a coat of neutral paint. It is not usually worth remodeling a home before you put it on the market, but a few new coats of paint go a long way to spruce up a room. If major redecorating needs to be done, ask your REALTOR^® whether offering a "redecorating allowance" to the purchaser may be a good option. It will save you time and work and it will allow the buyers to decorate according to their own preferences.
• Have carpets cleaned, wash and wax floors.
• Wash windows inside and outside.
• Plant some colorful flowering annuals outside if weather permits.
• Go through the house and take a critical look. Are there loose nails sticking out? Do door hinges need oil? Are doors in need of adjusting? Do drawers slide easily in cupboards, etc.? These are all characteristics of your house that you may have grown accustomed to, but a potential purchaser will notice them right away. Ask a friend to go through the house with you to help you notice the minor problem areas. Small changes can dramatically improve the way your house looks and feels.
• Before each showing turn on all the lights - even in closets. Open drapes and curtains. If your home has air conditioning and it is warm, put the air conditioning on, even if you normally wouldn't use it. In the winter, turn the heat up to a temperature that makes the home feel warm and pleasant.
• If your basement is musty, remove old boxes, newspapers and other clutter. Use diluted bleach water to wash cement walls. Use dehumidifier to reduce the musty smell.
  

We're always looking for great ideas to pass along to our customer/clients. If you've found some good tips for preparing a home for showing, we'd love to add them to our list. Please email us with your suggestions!

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