When you decide to sell your home it’s all about appealing to the buyer. It can be a frustrating experience as a seller because you have built a relationship with the house. It’s not just a house, it’s your home and like most of us, you’re probably attached to it. Unfortunately, the buyer probably isn’t concerned with your sentiment to it. Here and in the video, we outline a few ways to remove the “you” from your home and make it an enticing property for prospective buyers. 

Clean your house

This should be obvious. It isn’t. Some homes need a little extra care when it comes to making it appear tidy and in good order. some things to consider:

• Clean your walls- kids are messier than we think.
• Check your switch plates and baseboards- huge collection point for dust and grimy fingerprints. 
• Get rid of the grease and grime on your appliances- remember that kitchens are a huge selling point and will probably be under scrutiny.
• Bathroom- toothpaste on the mirrors, dirty toilets, soap scum on the tiles; all of these are big turn offs for buyers.
• Laundry room- dryers are notorious for spitting out more dust than we can keep up with. Give it a good once over (maybe twice).

Remove personal things

I know it seems like you’re taking the character and soul out of the home when you remove those personal touches. But I guess that is the point. Buyers aren’t trying to learn about you, they really want to see if the house feels right and gives them a good feeling when they walk through the door. It can even be distracting to see who lived there before because the buyer will be focusing on the house’s past rather than its future. Some ways you can prevent this distraction:

• Take down any family photos, especially ones of any children who live in the house. 
• Remove any personal objects, trophies, family names, or other identifying objects.
• laundry, we all have it but we don’t necessarily want to see yours. Keep clothes in dressers and neatly put away in closets (which will most likely be looked in). 
• Valuables. This is pretty obvious. however, when doing a walk through before a showing, you might have forgot about things like keys, or collectibles or even jewelry. Best not to take any chances and keep it all out of sight.
• Declutter your house. the knickknacks and curio should get put away. Remember: you want the potential buyer to be able to visualize their things in the house. 
• Stage. Stage. Stage.If you have moved your things out already, consider staging. 

Repair

While you are probably like the majority of us and have put off your house repairs, they have never been more important for selling your home. Even the minor repairs are huge. I recommend starting from the front and working your way back. Just imagine that potential buyers are walking through your house and the first thing they see is broken floorboard or a minor piece of trim, they will probably be thinking, ” I wonder what else is broken”. You want them to have a good first impression of your home. 

• Put a fresh coat of paint on your front door. It is one of the biggest aspects of curb appeal and it is so easy to do. 
• roof, insulation and siding can be a big determining factor for buyers. Make sure they’re in good condition.
• A little landscaping goes a long way and a tidy yard will make people excited to see the rest of the house. 

Do a sniff check

I think that everyone’s home has a certain smell or scent. not necessarily bad, just unique to that home. Most likely you don’t realize it either.  Have someone who doesn’t live there do a sniff check for you. Their unbiased nose will pick up what you might not. If it doesn’t smell great, tackle the problem. Get carpet cleaners in there and clean it to high heaven. I don’t recommend covering up any smells with really powerful candles or wax warmer. As someone who has purchased homes and showed many, the strong smelling candles don’t fool anyone. Nothing beats the smell of clean. 

Tidy up garage

Often garages become collection points for the uncategorized stuff that we accumulate. But when preparing a home to be shown to potential buyers, cater to all members of the family. My husband is easy to impress with an organized (mostly) garage. Basic things like a swept floor or painted drywall (discount paint sections in home improvement stores are great for this) make a huge difference. Also, consider that when you open your garage, anyone can see in there. I don’t like people seeing my mess, and it is no different when you’re trying to sell. 

Remember, you want to give the buyer a blank slate so that they can see their future in that house. Help them to see the dream. I hope you found this helpful and if there are things that you found to be helpful in the past, tell us about it. We love hearing from you.Let’s Make Awesome Happen

John & Tracey Tindall