Selling your house: Paint, paper and presentation

If you are going to put your house on the market, you have probably been thinking about the things you need to do to get it ready.

If  you have lived in the house for any period of time, you have probably made it your own. For many folks, this means painting or hanging wall paper. Preparing your home for sale is the opposite of customizing it. Your objective is to make your house as appealing to as many people as possible. Paint your home in neutral colors and strip the wall paper. It really does help!

Wall paper is the hardest thing to convince sellers to change. They often paid a lot for the paper and the installation--and they chose the paper because the liked the way it looks. Buyers are hesitant to take on someone else's wall paper stripping project.  Honestly, they are not going to keep it when they move in (although many sellers work hard to convince themselves that this is true). Remove the wall-paper objection before it becomes one…strip it off and paint the walls!

Most homes should be painted--at least partially, if not completely--before going on the market (paint is inexpensive!). Select a neutral color. Antique white or a pale beige works well. Stay away from basic/builder white. It is nice to have some warmth on the walls, while having them remain neutral. Molding and trim that is painted a crisp white really 'pops' when the walls are painted with a subtle contrast. Going too white makes the home feel institutional and boring. Your objective is to have the home be neutral while still feeling warm and bright.

As you paint, remove personal pictures and photos and repair the holes that are left. Sellers often worry that their houses will feel too boring without the pictures, but it will allow buyers to focus on your house and not your personal life.

Some of this may be obvious to sellers and some of it might be new information. If you are thinking of selling your home, give yourself every advantage; make sure your home is neutral, warm and welcoming!