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is your house as ready
for buyers as you think?
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Once your house goes on the market, it needs to transition from "your home" to a "property for sale". The way you present your house to buyers has a great deal of influence on their perception of it.
Fortunately, there are many inexpensive things you can do to ensure your house is showing at it's best. We've put together some of our top tips and quizzes to help you get started. Think your house is ready? Read on to find out just how well it measures up...
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want to earn thousands of dollars an hour?
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Spending a little time and elbow grease can translate into big returns
when selling your house. Instead of thinking of these as “chores”, think
of them as a great hourly rate earning you lots of money on the sale of
your home.
- CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN.
Windows, grout, cobwebs in the corners, baseboards. Dust light bulbs in the bathroom, get those ceiling fans and the top of the fridge. Vacuum curtains and blinds. Sweep off the front porch and wipe down the front door. Clean Everything. Yes, EVERYTHING.
- Neutralize and depersonalize.
Take down your gallery of family photos, pack up your Precious Moments and collectibles. Tone down the country decor. Or the florals. Put away the "Wipe Your Paws" doormat.
Buyers shouldn't be able to tell much about you or your family by looking around your house. Do your belongings give away your age, gender or the makeup of your family within the first 5 minutes of viewing the house?
- Get rid of clutter.
While this may sound obvious, many sellers are surprised to find that even everyday items can make a room feel cluttered. Put away your CD and DVD collections, recycle old magazines and newspapers, clean off bookshelves so they are displaying at least 50% decorative items. We don't want to see your exercise equipment, or your bills and paperwork.
These things may just be everyday life to you, but that needs to change when your house is on the market. Give them the "Show Home" test. Would these items be displayed in a model home?
- When in doubt, take it out.
If you're not sure you've decluttered enough, you probably haven't.
Putting your house on the market is hard work,
but well worth the effort in the long run!
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seller
daily checklist
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Before you leave the house
each day, run through this
checklist to ensure your
house is ready for any
buyers who might stop by.
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Bathrooms:
- Put the toilet seat down
- Put away all personal care items
- Rinse out sink, wipe down faucets, counter and mirror
- Hang towels neatly, or swap them with clean ones
- Empty wastebaskets
- Replace empty toilet paper rolls
Kitchen:
- Put all dirty dishes in the dishwasher
- Rinse out sink and wipe down faucets and counter
- Put away dishrag and drainer
- Put away toaster and coffee maker
- Open curtains or blinds
Bedrooms:
- Make the bed
- Put dirty clothes in hamper
- Open curtains or blinds
Living/Family Rooms:
- Store all toys out of sight
- Put away remote controls
- Close TV armoire doors
- Open curtains or blinds
- Run the vacuum
For a printable copy of this checklist, click here.
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8 quick tips
for better bathrooms
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Can you identify the 8 things that would improve the appearance of this bathroom? Click on the button to reveal the differece these quick tips can make in helping your bathroom look more attractive to buyers!
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- Keep a set of brand new hand towels just for show.
Swap them out each morning with the ones you use
every day.
- A box of Kleenex is not a decorating accessory!
Put it away for a classier look.
- Not only is a plunger unsightly, you don’t want
buyers to even wonder “plumbing problems?”.
- Laugh if you want, but how the toilet paper looks
affects how the bathroom looks. Make sure the roll
is mostly full, and neatly tucked in. And for goodness
sake, put the toilet lid down!
- Even neatly displayed personal items are too
personal to leave out. Put your stuff in a plastic
box, then you can just put the entire box under
the sink when you’re done with it.
- We shouldn’t be able to tell what kind of toothpaste
you use by looking in the sink! Give the sink, counter
and faucets a quick wipe when you’re done.
- The sink may now be spotless, but if you neglected
the inch of dust on the light bulbs, it still doesn’t
feel clean. Make sure all the bulbs are working too.
- Wastebaskets should be unobtrusive and empty. Do
you really want buyers looking at used Kleenex?!
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