How to REALLY sell your home.

Getting your home ready to sell doesn’t have to be an expensive process assuming there aren’t major problems with the dwelling’s primary systems, i.e., foundation/footing, water control, pest control, electrical/hvac/plumbing systems, exterior siding, the roof, and your home’s flashing details.

The improvements that really help sell your home are inexpensive, cosmetic, and susceptible to the efforts of an amateur, which is to say, you! Think in terms of making your home "POP" out at a first time viewer in such a way as to be understated and persuasive. Compelling good impressions are, for the most part, subliminal. What you’re looking for is to create a good feeling about your home in the mind of a potential purchaser. That good feeling will endure the process of surveying the housing market and your purchaser will be drawn back to you and "feelin’ good" in your home.

• Your landscaping should be attractive. The lawn should be carefully trimmed and edged, it wouldn’t hurt to create some pine straw islands around trees and shrubs, islands of flowers also look good and are easy to create, and a lawn service can come out on a one-time shot and spray nutrients that will get your grass looking healthy and green.
• Repair (resurface if necessary) and clean your driveway and parking slab.
• Dress up your entry. A brass kickplate and new hardware, including hinges, on the front door will draw the eye from other flaws that can’t be readily corrected. Fresh paint and planters will also help make your entry area an appealing one.
• Clean your home THOROUGHLY!!! You’d be amazed how many sales get lost because this obvious detail somehow gets lost in the shuffle.
• Pay special attention to your laundry room, utility room, unfinished basement, or around the carport/garage. Neat and tidy’s the standard. Floors, especially if they’re concrete, in these areas painted black give a feeling of depth and cleanliness. A water sealer painted on masonry walls in an unfinished basement will convey an impression of dry cleanliness. A covering of fresh 6 mil black polyethylene in the crawlspace will serve you well.
• If rooms are cluttered, put some furniture in storage. You want your home to feel roomy.
• Remove half of what you have in closets, your pantry, on your kitchen counter, in your kitchen cabinets, and in your linen closet. Again, your home should convey a roomy feeling.
• Put new brass plate covers on all receptacles and switches.
• Get paint off door and cabinet hardware or put on new, especially the hinges. It ain’t hard, and it’ll give the subliminal impression your home has been carefully maintained.
• Tighten knobs and faucets.
• Drips in showers, sinks, or lavatories will kill a sale.
• Sinks, lavatories, showers, tubs, and toilets should be spotless and function flawlessly. Especially toilets.
• Make sure all lights work. Leave them on and have the curtains open, unless the view is of a car lot.
• Remove ashtrays and any other evidence of tobacco.
• Pets are definitely a negative.
• Children can be also unless they’re unusually quiet and well behaved.
• Purchases will remember your home smelling fresh. Baking odors are terrific. Heavy floral or antiseptic scents convey the impression you’re hiding something and may make the wrong person sneeze.