Disassociate Yourself with Your Home

• Say to yourself, “This is not my home; it’s a house - an item to be sold just like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf.”
• Make the mental decision to “let go” of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
• Envision yourself handing over the keys and appliance warranties to the new owners.
• Say goodbye to each room.
• Don’t look back - look towards the future.

De-Personalize Your Home

Pack up your personal photographs and family heirlooms. Buyers can’t always see past personal artifacts, and you don’t want to distract them. You want buyers to be able to picture their own photos on the walls, and they can’t do that if yours are there!

De-Clutter Your Home

People collect a lot of stuff over time. Consider this: if you haven’t used it in over a year, you probably don’t need it.

• If you don’t need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
• Minimize books on bookshelves.
• Pack up your knickknacks.
• Clean off everything from kitchen counters.
• Put essential items that are used daily in a small box that’s easily stored in a closet when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on all the packing you will eventually be doing anyway.

Rearrange Bedroom Closets and Kitchen Cabinets

Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think about the message it sends if items fall out! Now think about what a buyer believes about you if he/she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:

• Make them look spacious.
• Remove things not being used (de-clutter).
• Straighten up items.

Rent a Storage Unit

Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose and plenty of room to move around.

Remove/Replace Favorite Items

If you want to take window coverings, built-in appliances or fixtures with you, do so now. If the chandelier in the dining room once belonged to your grandmother, take it down. If a buyer never sees it, he/she won’t want it. Once you tell the buyer he/she can’t have an item, she will covet it, and it could blow the deal. Pack up those items and replace them, if necessary.

Make Minor Repairs

• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the house with the orange bathroom.”)
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you’ve considered replacing an old bedspread, do so now.

Make the House Sparkle!

• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.

Scrutinize

• Go outside and open your front door. Stand there. Do you want to go inside? Does the house make you feel welcome?
• Stand in the doorway of every single room and imagine how your house will look to a buyer.
• Make sure window coverings hang level.

Check Curb Appeal

If a buyer won’t get out of his/her agents car because he/she doesn’t like the exterior of your home, you’ll never get him/her inside.

• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.