Ten steps to selling your home quicker
- Get rid of clutter. Throw out your junk. Pack away most of your small ornaments. Store clothing that won’t be used in the near future to make cupboards seem roomier. Clean out the garage. Buyers like to visualize their possessions in the house and that is hard to do when the house is full of clutter.
- Clean your windows.
- Ensure everything is really clean. Wipe dirt from light switch plates. Clean the floors, appliances and dust the furniture. A clean house makes a better first impression and tells buyers that the home has been well cared for.
- Turn on the lights. Put brighter bulbs in light sockets and clean any dirty curtains and blinds to make rooms appear brighter, especially dark rooms. Replace any burnt-out bulbs. Turn all lights on before buyers come to view the home.
- Get a professional home inspection and do the necessary repairs: Make any repairs that you can find. Minor repairs like door adjustments, seal around exterior doors and windows and interior counter tops, baths and showers. Replace broken or missing electrical cover plates. Make sure the taps don’t drip Don’t know what to repair? Why not get a sellers home inspection? This will show you what the buyer,s home inspector would see and give you the opportunity to repair the items before the buyers knows they were ever an issue. You can also market the house as being pre-inspected.
- Tidy up the garden and the pavement. Cut the grass, trim back the shrubs and trees and edge the driveway and pathways. Plant a few colourful seasonal flowers and place a few potted plants around the entrance to liven up the landscaping.
- Check your driveway. Patch holes in your driveway.
- Check your gutters: Clean out any debris in the gutters.
- Polish your brassware: Polish or replace your front door knob and door numbers.
- Make sure your house smells good: Get rid of any odours in the home. Shampoo the carpeting and wash the curtains to make the house smell fresh and clean. If the carpet is worn and won’t come clean, maybe you should replace it. The new carpet will add value to the home. This added value will probably be a lot more than the expense of the new carpet. Also, open the windows to let some fresh air in.