Preparing your Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary and Raleigh home to Sell

In today's competitive real estate environment first impressions are everything. If you're a homeowner who is considering or needs to sell your home, look at it as if you were seeing it for the first time and be as critical as a potential buyer.  Open up space, closets and storage as much as possible because openness creates a positive impression with buyers.  Repair what strikes you as the least bit shoddy.  Check out the competition, visit open houses or builder models in your area to see how they are being presented. Your ideal goal is to show the property in "move-in condition" - without a thing to fix.  From experience we know that property in poor condition incites low offers and take longer to sell.

Exterior

·   Paint the front door and railings, this is the first impression formed by a buyer, and you want it to be the best.

·   Paint siding, windows, shutters, even the mailbox and post if needed.

·   Generally, improve your home's "curb appeal" by adding fresh mulch and flowering potted plants, cutting and edging the lawn and trimming the shrubs.

·   Power wash the walkways, driveways, decks and exterior of the house.

·   Replace stray, warped, or broken roofing shingles.

·   Check under the house... don't be caught unaware of mold, torn barriers, standing water or defective crawl space vents. If you don't have a termite bond in place contact an exterminator to inspect for wood boring insects.

·   Replace a worn doorbell button.  Polish any door brass and exterior lights or replace them.

·   Remove screens from the windows on the front side of the house so they will sparkle.

Indoors

·   Clean the kitchen, including oven, exhaust hood, appliances, and inside of dishwasher.  Remove clutter from counters and cabinets.

·   Few thing increase marketability and give you a better cost return than new paint.

·   Touch up any worn or soiled walls.  You may want to repaint to a lighter color if you have dark colors on your walls.

·   Polish wood floors and stairs and steam clean or replace worn carpeting.

·   Repair dripping faucets, crooked drawers, sticking doors.  Tighten the hardware, especially doorknobs.

·   Repair or replace worn appliances.

·   Clean windows inside and out.

·   Scrub counters bathroom fixtures and tiles.

·   Have your heating and air conditioning units serviced, and be sure to replace the air filters and clean the vents as dirty filters can signal a poorly maintained HVAC system.

·   Minor flaws in your home suggest neglect and deferred maintenance. When the things that a buyer can see have been taken care of, it usually indicates that the things that they can't see have been maintained.

·   The ideal garage holds only cars.  If yours has become a two-car attic, throw out the excess and organize the rest.

Depending on the age and condition of your property there may be additional items that need attention or updating. Consider contacting a licensed home inspector to look over your home prior to putting it on the market. It's much better to know what's going on with your property before the buyer's home inspector uncovers issues that you may be unaware of.

If you're ready to sell your home in the Chapel Hill, Durham, Cary or Raleigh area, contact me. I can help