Continued from Selling my Shepherdsville Home ~ Part 1

Once we decided to sell our Shepherdsville home, we immediately made a list of everything required to prepare it for sale.  To compile this list, we went room by room and tried to see the home as a buyer would.  The biggest areas of focus were the 3 C's of Staging...

1. Clean
2. Clutter-free
3. Color

From dusting the ceiling fans to wiping down baseboards, our first priority was to make sure that buyers wouldn't have any reason to think that this was not a well-kept home.  The carpets had been cleaned over Christmas, so we did not redo this.  Everything else was mopped, wiped, dusted and/or polished.

To make sure potential buyers could focus on the home and not our belongings, we decluttered the whole house.  This included packing all non-essential items including summer clothes, seldom used kitchen accessories, extra linens, toys, pictures, etc.  We also donated many items to Goodwill and threw away all that stuff that was saved 'just-in-case.'  In total, we filled 8 Rubbermaid crates and 10-15 boxes.  When we were done, no closet was more than 1/2 full, the kitchen counter was clear, and everything visible was there intentionally.

The biggest challenge was our basement.  We built this as a playroom for our kids.  When doing so, we chose bold colors for them and a carpet that was 1) cheap and 2) durable.  Not everyone has young children though and we didn't want to turn anyone off.  We removed the slide, painted the room and installed new carpet.  While we still have toys for the kids, I think you'll agree that our efforts made a substantial difference.

The final step was to complete repairs.  Our house is only 3-years old so there was not a lot to do.  However, 5-year olds can certainly leave their mark.  I patched most dings in the wall, touched-up the paint where needed, replaced any burnt-out lights, replaced smoke detector batteries, etc.

Total Time: ~2 weeks 

Only after all of this was done, was I ready to work on the promotional materials. 

Next --- Getting Ready to Promote our Shepherdsville Home

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Erik Hitzelberger is a licensed REALTOR with RE/MAX Alliance in Louisville. If you need a Shepherdsville Real Estate agent please email me or call 502.921.3989.

I specialize in the following areas of the Metro Louisville Area: Prospect, Middletown, Jeffersontown (J-Town), Fern Creek, Okolona, Shepherdsville, Mt Washington, Hillview, Brooks and Pewee Valley.  Click the following links to learn more about Louisville and Bullitt County Real Estate or to Search for Bullitt County Homes 

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