Preparing Your Home for Sale

There are a lot of factors that go into preparing your home for sale. We have highlighted of a few of the major ones below.

Cleanliness

Most people are turned off by even the smallest amount of dirt or odor when buying a home. Sellers lose thousands of dollars because they do not adequately clean. If your house is squeaky clean, you will be able to sell your home faster and net hundreds, if not thousands of dollars more. If you are planning on moving, why not get rid of that old junk now so that your house will appear larger? Make more space. Odors must be eliminated especially if you have dogs, cats, or young children in diapers or if you are a smoker. You may not notice the smell, but the buyers do!

Easy Access

Top selling agents will not show your home if both the key and access are not readily available. They do not have time to run around town all day picking up and dropping off keys. They want to sell homes! The greatest way to show a house is to have a lockbox accessible to real estate agents!

Showtime

When your home is being shown, please do the following:

• Keep all lights on

• Keep all drapes and shutters open

• Keep all doors unlocked

• Leave soft music playing

• Take a short excursion with your children and pets

• Let the buyer be at ease and let the agents do their job

• Make sure that the agent showing the property uses the lock box to enter your home even if you

are still home when they arrive.

Paint & Carpet

Paint is your best improvement investment for getting a greater return on your money. Paint makes the whole house smell clean and neat. If your house has chipped paint, exposed wood, or the paint looks faded, it is time to paint. If your carpet is worn, dirty, outdated, or an unusual color, you may need to seriously consider replacing it. Many houses do not sell because of this problem. Don't think that buyers have more money than you have to replace carpet. They don't. They simply buy elsewhere.

Curb Appeal

Your front yard immediately reflects the inside condition of your house to the buyer. People enjoy their yards. Make certain that the trees are trimmed so the house can be seen from the street. Have the grass mowed, trimmed and edged. Walkways should be swept. Clean away debris. Remove parked cars. This all adds to curb appeal. If a buyer doesn't like the outside, they may not stop to see the inside.

The Landry Team - Orange Park Real Estate Specialists