Thursday, November 10, 2005

Home Seller Tip - Preparing your home to sell

Preparing your home to sell is incrediblly important. When you have a nice uncluttered, clean and fixed up home it will sell faster and for more money. Here are some tips to get your home ready to sell:

Firstly, put your home in the best condition possible. That means taking care of any major repairs that could deter a buyer (such as replacing any broken windows or replacing a leaky roof) if you can afford it.

Next, look outside the house itself. Make sure your landscape is pristine. Mow the grass, clean up any debris and weed the garden beds. Plant a few annual flowers near the entrance or in pots to be placed by the door.

Don't spend much money on fixes to your home as a renovation will not likely pay back as much as it costs but be sure to do the following:

Clean the windows and make sure the paint is not chipped or flaking if so do a little painting.

Be sure that the doorbell works if not it is usually pretty easy to fix.

Clean and freshen up rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings. Make sure that bathrooms and kitchens are spotless.

Organize closets.

Make sure the basic appliances and fixtures work. Replace leaky faucets and frayed cords.
Eliminate the source of any bad smells, such as the kitty box. Use air freshener or bake a batch of cookies before your open house to ensure that the house smells inviting.

Invest in a couple of vases of fresh flowers to place around the house and next to any information about the house you have prepared for buyers.

Replace things that people would like to point out before buying leave no excuse. Replace the furnace filter, replace cracked windows, paint or stain the fence if it is time to, and adjust the gates so that they close properly.

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