Are You Ready to Sell Your Home? Absolute Basics for Indoors

ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? ABSOLUTE BASICS FOR INDOORS Part 3 of a Series

• ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME?  Part One of a Series
• ARE YOU READY TO SELL YOUR HOME? You Need Curb Appeal

You like your house clean for company, so why wouldn’t you have it super-clean when you’re trying to sell it and get top dollar?  We’ve listed several basic steps you can take to get your house ready for showing.  Once it’s clean, make sure to keep it that way.  You never know when someone will want to see it!

Have a spring cleaning.  Clean and organize the home with a “take no prisoners” approach.  You’ll have to tackle it anyway when you move, so go ahead and do it now to reap maximum benefits. 

 Get organized.  De-clutter the home, which will make all the spaces, particularly the storage spaces, look bigger.  Don’t pay a mover to haul all those things to your new home and do a good deed for someone in need by giving your items to charity.

Clear the air.  You probably don’t notice any peculiar odors, though it may be obvious to visitors.  Determine the source of any odors and eliminate their cause.  Be particularly wary of kitty litter boxes, dog beds, and mildew.

Clean the windows.  Wash all the windows in the house – inside and out, cleaning window sills, jambs, and blinds.  Pull down window coverings that are aged and worn.

 

Floor them.  Have carpets cleaned and bare floors cleaned and waxed.  If you have carpet on top of hardwood floors, consider pulling up the carpet and having the hardwood floors exposed.  There are cleaning solutions for hardwood floors and polish compounds that make old wood floors really shine, eliminating the need to refinish in some cases.

  “Unfurnish” it.  Make sure rooms are free of furniture clutter.  Though it will be temporarily inconvenient, keep the best looking pieces out and put excess and shabby furniture in the garage, basement, or in an affordable temporary storage unit. 

 

Lighten up.  Put bright bulbs in every socket.  Keep things bright and cheery by opening up all the drapes, blinds and shades during the day even if you are not in a regular habit of doing so.  Your home will be more appealing to buyers when flooded with natural light.

Get the kitchen “Health Department clean.”  Keep surfaces and appliances spotless.  Clean the oven and range, replacing the drip pans under the burners (line them with fresh aluminum foil in a crunch).  Don’t forget to clean around the door seal to the dishwasher.

Expand your counter space.  De-clutter your countertops, removing toasters, can openers, radios, coffee pots, and any other appliances.  Make it look like you have miles of counter space ready to use.

Clean your closets.  Closets should look as if they have room to hold additional items.  Box up off-season clothes and get rid of anything you’ve been holding on to for too long.

Don’t forget the bathrooms.  Bath tubs, showers, and sinks should be freshly caulked.  Grout should be clean and in good condition.  Repair faucet leaks and running toilets.

Make sure to hang fresh towels in the bathrooms and buy a new shower curtain if yours is stained or mildewed.     

Good luck!

FREE MARKET ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOME – Sally English and The English Team are Atlanta Real Estate agents specializing in homes and neighborhoods convenient to Emory University, Centers for Disease Control and the VA Medical Center. 

If you would like a free market analysis of your home, call Sally English at 404-229-2995. Looking to buy an Atlanta Home? Sally English and The English Team are experts who have great advice for Atlanta home buyers.