Home Sellers

Prepare to List Your Home with these 5 Little Tips
Nowadays, there is some serious competition when it comes to selling your home.  Buyers have lots of choices, and you need to make your house stand out and shine!  Below are some tips that can give you an edge up on your competitors.

1. Have a home inspection
This is going to cost around $300 dollars, but it is good to have a heads up on what you are inevitably going to face later.  The buyer is going to have a home inspection done, and are going to ask for repairs.  Sometimes, it can make or break the deal; and other times, a laundry list of little fixes can look like a mountain to a buyer.  You will see what needs to be done, repair what you can before you list, and hopefully keep your buyer from bolting.


2. Make minor repairs
Not every repair costs a bundle, and especially if you are handy, you can do a lot yourself. Sticky & squeaky doors, torn screens, loose faucet knobs, cracked caulking, wall stains, old/worn door handles, chipped paint - fix as many of these as you can.  They may seem trivial, but buyers will notice them, and it will give the impression of an ill-maintained home.  They may not necessarily notice that the front door is brand new, but they will definitely notice if it is 20 years old, dirty and worn out.


3. Get a Home Warranty
A Home Warranty is good for a one year, and covers most of the things inside the home.  Most of the plans cover the refrigerator, dishwasher, a/c, plumbing, water heater, microwave, among others.  The warranty company will either fix or replace whatever is broken during that year, for $60 per service call.   This is especially good if your home inspection comes back with lots of big ticket items.  If your water heater is about to die, the buyers will probably want a new one - which is going to cost about $400 dollars.  The home warranty can be a reassurance to the buyers in those situations, and they may not require you to get a new one.  It's about $500 for a one year policy, but it can come out at the end in closing.  This is also a great selling tool as well, in making your home more appealing to buyers.


4. Clear the clutter
Get a storage unit & fill it up.  If you are not moving until after you sell, you need to get as much stuff out of your house as you can.  For one thing, too much of anything in a space can, and usually will, make it look small, cramped, and dark.  Buyers want to see your home, not your stuff.  They want to picture themselves living there, and can't do that with 1,000 pictures of little Tommy everywhere.  One-third of your furniture, especially large pieces, all out of season clothes, and old toys can definitely go into storage.  Take down pictures, refrigerator art, and pack away knickknacks, in order to depersonalize your home.  Minimize, or neutralize your decor.  Buyers will be shocked if they walk into your teenage daughter's room with black, red, blue and zig zags on the wall.  Clear your kitchen counters off, install closet organizers, and clean the garage out.  Always a good thing, a new paint job freshens up the home.


5. Clean throughly (and then clean some more)
Cleaning to show & sell, is not the same thing as normal everyday cleaning.  You are trying to sell a product, and you want it to look fresh, new, and well-maintained.  It is usually the most time/cost efficient to hire a professional cleaning crew for a day.  If you can't, there are some simple things you should do.  Wash the windows, and leave them open to air out rooms.  Steam clean the carpet and drapes to get out cooking, pet, and smoke odors.  Wash light fixtures, clean baseboards, mop and polish the floors, and clean out the refrigerator & stove.  Put a packet of kool-aid lemonade (any other flavor will stain) in your dishwasher, and run it.  This will clean off any water or rust stains that could have accumulated over the years.  Pay attention to detail - clean out the crevices, get the finger prints off the light-switches, and clean inside the cabinets.  If your cabinets are older, simply replacing the knobs with a modern style can add a fresh, new look.

See Also: http://buyandsell.houselogic.com/articles/5-tips-prepare-your-home-sale/