The lawn should be mowed and shrubs trimmed. Inexpensive spots of color can be added with flowering hanging plants and potted plants near the entrance. If necessary, the front door should be painted and the house numbers made to shine.
All the clutter should be removed as potential buyers like a sense of spaciousness in your home. Kitchen counters especially should be clutter free and the house should look like Mrs. Clean lives there. After years of living in a house, clutter accumulates in many places such as shelves, counters, garages, basements, closets and drawers. As a homeowner, you become used to it and it will likely take a trained eye to see what needs to be changed. If necessary, a small investment in a professional cleaning service will result in a higher selling price.
Keep blinds and curtains open to let in as much natural light as possible. Turn on lights in bathrooms or areas that do not have windows. All windows should be clean and sparkling. In summer, be sure to keep your air conditioning at a comfortable level. If the weather permits, keep your windows open to allow fresh air to penetrate your home.
Time for a garage sale! Go through your closets and pack up all those old clothes to either sell or donate to your favorite charity. Get rid of the junk in your garage. If necessary, rent a storage space and deposit any items that you cannot throw away or sell.
Attend to your back yard. Sweep and hose down the patio, mow the lawn and trim the shrubs. Roll up the hose and store the garden tools away. As with the front of the house, add some colorful potted plants – geraniums are inexpensive, cheerful and will thrive almost anywhere.
Do not cook any fragrant veggies such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts no matter how much you may love them. Also, you may want to refrain from burning incense. Some people are allergic to incense and you would not want to lose a potential sale because your buyer had an attack of sneezing. If you feel the need to add a fragrance to your home, the aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies pleases almost everyone.
If any of your rooms are painted an exotic color like deep purple, repainting the walls with a neutral color is a good idea. Home buyers need to be able to project themselves into your house and imagine living there. Most people prefer soft, neutral colors so they can move their own furniture right in without having to make any decorating changes. Note the décor in builder’s model homes that features wall and window treatments as well as furniture in colors that most buyers are comfortable with and find appealing.
Marc Rasmussen
Realtor with SKY Sotheby's
International Realty selling
Sarasota, FL real estate