Preparing your home for market; Attention to Detail Pays Off
by ellen shaughnessy - as published in the West Werd newsletter, Jan 2010:

If you’re ready to move, you can make improvements that will increase your home’s value and make it more memorable to potential buyers. Once you make the decision to sell your house, start looking at it strictly from a buyers' perspective. You get very used to things that you live with every day in your house. It's time for a detached look now.

First Impressions and curb-appeal count.
Some clients have pulled up to a house, only to shout 'keep going... NEXT !' Sometimes it is the neighborhood (which is out of your control), but more often it is simply a matter of home maintenance which you CAN control. You don't need to spend a ton of money just to make your property tidy and attractive.

• Make sure that your house and yard appear clean and well-maintained. Remove snow & ice. Mow the lawn.
• Does the siding appear dirty? A good power-washing may be in order.
• Make sure the front door is clean and attractive. If the screen door is shabby and hanging off the hinge, it's high time for a replacement.
• Once it's cleaned up, if your house appears a bit plain just a couple of window boxes or container pots with cheerful flowers may be enough to kick it up and make it stand out.
• If your next door neighbor has garbage and junk lurking in their front yard, kindly ask your neighbor to please clean since you are trying to sell your house. If they cannot, volunteer to do it for them. Your neighbor's house is also part of the first impression.

In one recent case where the house next door was screaming so badly for a paint-job, the seller actually hired his contractor to paint that neighbors' house front too! Some things may be out of your control... but for what you can control - a positive, lasting impression is your goal.

Clutter: less is definitely more.
People can very easily get caught up in 'stuff' and not your house. Just say no to nick nacks and personal collections; pack them up and donate or store them... your extensive trekkie memorabilia collection may be worthy of a Starfleet International reward, but displaying this will not help sell the house (maybe quite the opposite). Don't distract your potential buyer. Make sure that the house's best features are what buyers come away with; pick the highlights and make sure that those are obvious.

Don't use it? Lose it. Donate it, or consider renting a storage unit. If your budget doesn't allow rented storage, consider big crates/ boxing and just get it out of site in the basement or attic.

• Kitchen counters should be cleared; appliances you don't use everyday can go in a cabinet - show off ample counterspace.
• Religious or political objects - anything that could be polarizing to a potential buyer should be stored.

People need to be able to visualize their furniture and items in the house; the more of your personal items around, the less they can do this - it still seems like someone else's house. You want the buyer to feel like they can very easily make this their own space. There is a balance here; you certainly want to keep a few attractive items that stage the rooms and show off the house. When in question, your Realtor can help make some of these decisions, or can consult with a professional stager.

Minor repairs; major payback...
Is the caulk on your bath/shower mildewy and gross? Time to get in there with a toothbrush and bleach-cleaner and get it off. You don't want a buyer that is seriously considering your house, to enter the bath only to pull aside the shower curtain and unleash a 'Psycho' scream (Mother would disapprove).

• Fix cracked caulk. If you dont know how to do it, have someone that knows what they are doing re-caulk.
• Bathroom carpet... a good idea to remove this.
• Sidewalk cracks, broken steps should be repaired prior to showing the house. Don't give a buyer more excuses to chop down the price.

House ODORS... the kiss of death.
Your house might be clean as a whistle, but when buyers open a door to an attractive house with very promising features, they recoil when confronted with a sudden wall of odor... worse yet, when there is a very strong wall of odor that is obviously masked with super-sonic air-fresheners (ugh!).

Pets? Gross carpets? Mildew?? Figure out the source of the odor and tackle it... if your basement is musty, invest in a de-humidifiier. If there are some really serious odors that you just cannot remove, its time to call an expert - and they are out there, specializing in professional odor removal. A fresh and clean scent is good... don't overdo scented candles and air fresheners, people begin to wonder if there is a reason.

C L E A N !
Once you have removed all the clutter, are there scuffs on the walls? You may need to touch up some walls that have faded paint or lots of scuffs.

• Carpets... Take a hard objective look - are they worn or badly stained? If a thorough steam-cleaning will not take care of it, consider re-carpeting in a neutral color. Some home improvement stores will actually offer new carpeting with a few months delayed payment; in many situations, this is a good investment for a sale. If there's wood flooring underneath that is in decent shape, get rid of the carpet and expose those nice floors.
• clean the windows, inside and out
• vacuum
• keep the kitchen & baths, and house as sparkly as possible.

If you do get some last-minute showings from people that are in from out of town, it doesn't have to always look completely perfect... just let the agent know that you didn't have the chance to make your bed when you ran out to work that morning, and can he please just give the buyers a heads-up and see whether they can look past this, or would they prefer a later appointment. Be reasonable - if your house is fairly tidy, don't miss out on a potential buyer if an agent calls to see it with short notice.

We're entering a new decade and it appears that the worst is behind us in our local market but it is still very competitive to sell a house - just make the effort to keep it looking as neat as possible for showings. Here's a list of local thrift & charity organizations, for items you dont need any longer and can donate... Good Luck!