Quick Tips To Make Your House SHINE for Buyers!
by Kerith Elizabeth Henderson
1. The first impression buyers get is the walk up to your front door. Make sure that all weeds are pulled and bushes and hedges are trimmed. Sweep away leaves that may have fallen, shake out that welcome mat and get ready for potential buyers to come through the door.
2. Do a clean sweep. Here is a quick way to get your house clean in no time! Start with the messiest room. Set your timer for 30 minutes. Hang clothes back on the rack, put books back in the shelves and sweep those dust bunnies up from under your bed . Once those 30 minutes are up, move on to the next room and start the process over. Those with less mess can set the timer at 15 minutes.
2. Throw out the clutter! Okay, you have cleaned up your house...by throwing everything in the closet and garage. Remember, potential buyers will check the closets and garage too! Why not get a bunch of friends together to help you pack up the junk and either donate it to a local charity or have a garage sale.
3. Get in the season! If it is winter, store away the pool and beach toys. Summer? Put away the skis, boots and winter coats. You want each person who walks in your house to be in the moment. If it is summer, then think summer. Put out a fresh vase of tropical flowers, open those blinds to let the sun shine in, pull up dark heavy rugs and put lighter quilts on the beds. For winter, light a fire in the fireplace. Don't have one? Light candles in every room (supervised, of course!), simmer a pot of cloves and cinnamon on the stove, throw an extra wool blanket on the couch for snuggling. Show potential buyers what they could be doing next winter if they purchase your house now!
4. Fix it. Broken window from where Timmy threw a baseball? Hole in the wall from where Jane slammed her door open? Wine stain on the rug? Replace it, repair it, clean it. These types of repairs will just distract buyers from your best features. The key is to enhance the good, diminish the bad and just plain fix the ugly.
5. Shine. Wash all windows, inside and out. Hose down pavement. Dust your ceiling fan. Clean your oven. The things in our house we clean less often needs to be sparkling for potential buyers. Remember, they will open windows, turn on lights and may even peek in that oven. If it seems too overwhelming to do this type of maintenance yourself, hire a cleaning service to come. Sometimes new eyes are better at seeing old dirt!
6. Show off those special features. Gourmet kitchen with center island and granite counter tops? Make sure that they can be seen! Hide away some of the appliances. The coffee machine you can keep out, but does everyone need to see the Kitchenaid mixer, Cuisinart blender, the imported bamboo cutting board and the stainless steel dish drainer? Less is more when it comes to showing off your best features. Buyers want to envision their own appliances, not get envious about yours! Same goes with the steam shower. Tuck away the 15 bottles of shampoo, the 8 bottles of body wash, your body scrubbing pouf and the shower radio. The less stuff in the shower, the more potential buyers can see the imported tile from Italy and the great built in bench!
7. Don't have such special features? Still have the laminated kitchen flooring from 1974? No worries. Cover it with a nice rug to fit the style of the room. A bamboo rug is both economical and durable plus kitchen spills can be easily cleaned from it's surface. Old mangled window blinds? Just get rid of them. Purchase a nice ornate rod from Target and cover with curtains from Ikea. If the blinds are in the kitchen, replace them with a rod and decorative tea towels. If the cabinets in your kitchen and bathroom have seen better days, paint them a fresh white and change the hardware.
8. No onions! The day before an open house or private showing, please refrain from cooking anything with onions, garlic and fish. And please no deep frying, barbecuing or smoking! We want your house smelling fresh and sweet, NOT like last night's gourmet dinner.
9. Have pets? Take Fido and Fluffy over to the neighbors, your sister's house or a kennel for the day. Having strangers in your home might not only upset your pets, but the strangers too! Many people are allergic to pet dander so make sure that you do a good vacuuming the morning of your showing. It might be wise to also spray carpets, quilts, couches and curtains with Febreeze or another air freshening spray. Also tuck away pet food bowls and especially litter boxes; those accessories are better left unseen!
10. Last touches. Have a beautiful rose garden? Clip some buds and place in vases in the bathrooms and living areas. What about that water fountain you got for your birthday? Turn it on to drown out the outside world and bring calm to yours. Have a spectacular view? Keep the windows open to give buyers easy access to it. This is your chance to show your home in it's best light; an opportunity to show potential buyers why YOU fell in love with the home to begin with!
Owning a home is a keystone of wealth...both financial affluence and emotional security. - Suze Orman
Well, real estate is always good, as far as I'm concerned. - Donald Trump
