Prepare your home for the market!

If you are thinking of selling your home, chances are you're caught up in a mass of emotions. You may be looking forward to moving up or downsizing to a new home or facing the uncertainty of a major move across country. You may be reluctant to leave your memories behind or eager to start new and exciting adventures. Remember, I am here to help you with any of your needs. Century 21 Sunbelt realty is a full service real estate company, which can help you through the entire process. We have a wonderful relocation department, which will help make your transition a smooth one. 

To get an idea of what your home's market value is in today's real estate market, click here for a free market analysis. 

Home Selling tip #1: Preparing your home to sell in the real estate market

De-personalize your home. When talking with real estate agents about buying property, they will often refer to the property you are purchasing as a "home". When these same real estate agents are talking to you about selling your home, they will refer to it as a "house". The reason for this distinction is simple. Buying real estate is generally an emotional decision, you don't think about buying real estate, but buying a "home". When you are selling, you need to take the emotion out of the equation. 
Your goal is to de-personalize your home. When a potential buyer walks into your home and sees photos on the wall, or personal items that can be tied to you, it is difficult for them to imagine  the house as their home. Therefore, put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Take them far away where they will not be seen or uncovered. 

Less is Best! 

It is amazing what people can amass in a house over time. Some people move into a home with plenty of room to spare, to find themselves needing "more room" a few years down the line, not for them, but for their collections of items. People collect items and store these items away for years, because people are emotionally attached to these things. You may not even realize all the items you have collected over the years. However, it does affect the way buyers see the home, even if you do not realize it. 

The kitchen is a great place to start removing items. You need to take everything you have not used recently, box it up, and remove it. Clean out the cabinets, pantry and drawers. Get rid of the junk drawer. Your goal is to create as much empty space as possible. The potential buyers will be examining cabinets and drawers to se if there is enough space for their items. If all they see is your stuff, it will send a negative message that there is not enough room. 

Remove the cleaning supplies from underneath the sink and clean it out. Make sure there are no signs of water leakage and to fix them if there are. 

It seems we can never have enough closet space. No matter how much closet space we have, they always seem to get filled up. You need to highlight your closets spacious features by taking as much out of the closets as possible. 

Nothing makes a big room look smaller than an over abundance of furniture. To show a rooms spacious features would include using a few pieces of furniture, so the potential buyer can imagine where their furniture would go. 

All but essentials should be taken out of the garage to show the spaciousness of the garage is. 

 Fixing up the interior of the house

All your sink fixtures should look shiny and new. If this cannot be accomplished by cleaning, buy new ones where needed. 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. 

Check to make sure you have good water pressure and that 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 seem to be wonderful at making stains go away. 
Check all the ceilings for water stains. Sometimes old leaks leave stains, even after you have repaired the leak. Of course, if you do have a leak, you will have to get it repaired, whether it is a plumbing problem or the roof leaks. 

You should do the same for walls, looking for not only stains, but also areas where dirt has accumulated and you just may not have noticed. Plus, you may have an outdated color scheme. 
Painting can be your best investment when selling your home. It is not a very expensive operation and often you can do it yourself. Do not choose colors based on your own preferences, but based on what would appeal to the widest possible number of buyers. You should almost always choose an off-white color because white helps your rooms appear bright and spacious. 

Unless your carpet appears old and worn, or it is definitely an outdated style or color, you probably should do nothing more than hire a good carpet cleaner. If you do choose to replace it, do so with something inexpensive in a fairly neutral color. 

Repair or replace 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 simply to have as few negative impressions upon those who may want to purchase your property. 

Check all of your windows to make sure they open and close easily. If not, a spray of WD40 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 things 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 creak go away. Be sure the doorknobs turn easily, and that they are cleaned and polished to look sharp. As buyers go from room to room, someone opens each door and you want to do everything necessary to create a positive impression. For those who smoke, you might want to minimize smoking indoors while trying to sell your home. You could also purchase an ozone spray that helps to remove odors without creating a masking odor. 

Pets of all kinds create odors that you may have become used to, but are immediately noticeable to those with more finely tuned olfactory senses. For those with cats, be sure to empty kitty litter boxes daily. There are also products that you can sprinkle in a layer below the kitty litter that helps to control odor. For those with dogs, keep the dog outdoors as much as possible. You might also try sprinkling carpet freshener on the carpet on a periodic basis. 

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 that part of selling a house is also preparing to buy your next home. You do not want to do anything that will affect your credit scores or hurt your ability to qualify for your next mortgage. Most real estate advice tells you to work on the outside of the house first, but unless there is a major project involved, we believe it is best to do it last. There are two main reasons for this. First, the first steps in preparing the interior of the house are easier. They also help develop the proper mind set required for selling - beginning to think of your "home" as a marketable commodity. Second, the exterior is the most important. A homebuyer’s first impression is based on his or her view of the house from the real estate agent’s car. So take a walk across the street and take a good look at your house. Look at nearby houses, too, and see how yours compares. 

Is your landscaping at least average for 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, immature 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 or 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 earth for homebuyers 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 probably take care of them before working on the inside of your home. This is because certain areas may need re-soding, and you want to give it a chance to grow so that re-sod areas are not immediately apparent. Plus, you might want to give fertilizer enough time to be effective. Always rake up loose leaves and grass cuttings. 

Working on the exterior of the house

The big decision is whether to paint or not to paint. When you look at your house from across the street, does it look tired and faded? If so, a paint job may be in order. It is often a very good investment and really spruces up the appearance of a house, adding dollars to offers from potential homebuyers. 
When choosing a color, it should not be something garish and unusual, but a color that fits well in your neighborhood. Of course, the color also depends on the style of your house, too. For some reason, different shades of yellow seem to elicit the best response in homebuyers, whether it is in the trim or the basic color of the house. 

As for the roof, if you know your house has an old leaky roof, replace it. If you do not replace a leaky roof, you are going to have to disclose it and the buyer will want a new roof, anyway. Otherwise, wait and see what the home inspector says. Why spend money unnecessarily? 

The back yard should be tidy. If you have a pool or spa, keep it freshly maintained and constantly cleaned. For those that have dogs, be sure to constantly keep the area clear of "debris." If you have swing sets or anything elaborate for your kids, it probably makes more sense to remove them than to leave them in place. They take up room, and you want your back yard to appear as spacious as possible, especially in newer homes where the yards are not as large. 

The front door should be especially sharp, since it is the entryway into the house. Polish the door fixture so it gleams. If the door needs refinishing or repainting, make sure to get that done. 
If you have a cute little plaque or shingle with your family name on it, remove it. Even if it is just on the mailbox. You can always put it up again once you move. Get a new plush door mat, too. This is something else you can take with you once 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 from the lock box to unlock the door. If there is trouble working the lock while everyone else stands around twiddling their thumbs, this sends a negative first impression to prospective homebuyers.