OK, as a home stager, not to mention a real estate buyer, one of my biggest pet peeves is paint that needs to be touched up.

I am in the process of looking for a new home in Saratoga Springs.  I recently viewed an absolutely beautiful home that had not been staged.  The owner had broiled salmon the night before my 8AM viewing of the house.  The house was a mess.  All of the lights were on, but there were dirty dishes in the sink, the house reeked of fish, the pale Berber carpets were filthy, and the house was in general chaos.  And, incidentally, this was a $450K house in a $550K neighborhood.  Small wonder!

Anyway, there were obviously children in the house.  All of the doorways were black and grimy.  All of the trim needed to be touched up, and many of the walls were skuffed.  OK, so touching up trim is not exactly my idea of a fun way to spend the afternoon, but if you are working on selling your biggest investment, bite the bullet and DO IT (or hire me to do it for you)!

The Realtor told the owners of the house my comment about the filthy doorways and the need for touch-up paint.  They actually did it.  I went back to see the house for a second time (even with the total lack of staging, this house was a serious contender), and the doorways were cleaned (presumably with a magic sponge) and the paint touched up.  What a difference!!!  I haven't made an offer on the house yet, but to my professional eye, this small action made a world of difference!

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF A VERY SMALL CAN OF PAINT!!!!