Barb Szabo

Attention Sellers: Ten Tips for Getting Your Home "Market Ready!"

A short while ago I wrote a post about getting your home ready for the market, "You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression" . Spring is right around the corner and many of you will be offering your homes for sale soon, so there's no better time than the present to offer a few tips to get your house ready for the market! Now is the time to start the "spruce up" process.

Here are 10 reasonably priced things you can do to get your home "market ready" and maybe even increase your chances of getting it sold in a reasonable amount of time.

1. Remove dated wallpaper. Yes, this will take time and effort and patience but it need not cost you a lot of money. There are wonderful products out there designed to help get that paper and glue off your walls. And don't paint until that glue is off or all your hard work might be for naught. When the walls are finally ready to paint, do spend a little extra, if possible, for a higher quality paint. A light satin or eggshell finish are particularly nice. And the paint colors? No, every wall does not have to be off white but neither should they be eggplant or chartreusse! You may want to try a light coffee color or a splash of color on one wall only.
2. No wallpaper to remove? Great, then how about a fresh coat of paint in the rooms that need it the most, possibly the kitchen and baths?
3. We've all heard this one before but remove your clutter..seriously! Remove it from the kitchen counters (including the desk you may have there), from your vanities in all your bathrooms, the tops of your cabinets in the kitchen, the top of your t.v. and the tops of all your dressers and night tables.
4. Kitchen cabinets look tired? Clean them well and then add some new hardware, pewter, or perhaps an aged copper. This does wonders for upadating your kitchen and baths.
5. Make sure all doors and windows close and lock properly. These items may only require a small adjustment but do take the time to correct this if it is a problem.
6. Over the years I've been in so many dimly lit homes that would have shown much better had the owners invested in some brighter light bulbs. So do this, it's definitely inexpensive and a worthwhile investment.
7. If on the market in the winter, please make sure the driveway and walkway to your front door are clean and de-iced. The last thing you need is for a prospective buyer to slip and fall on your property. It's a headache you just don't need. You also don't want a potential buyer to skip viewing your home because the driveway was not plowed. And yes, this really does happen. If on the market in the summer make sure the lawn is mowed and get rid of some of those bushes that flank the front door that should be 4 feet tall but are now 12 feet tall. It's not a lot of fun for a buyer (or their agent) to have to squeeze in between 2 "trees" just to get in the front door. So grab some friends with muscles (who owe you a favor) and pull out those overgrown bushes and plants and put some newer and younger ones in their place. Think of it as a mini facelift.
8. Have some artwork that's been on your walls for the last twenty years? Well, if it's not a Picasso or a Van Gogh it may be time to change it. When you make this small change, the difference can be quite astonishing.
9. A ceramic tile floor is attractive and durable but so much less attractive when the grout is dirty or chipped. Fill in the chips of course and do your best to clean the grout.  Many times the grout simply can't be cleaned, or no longer matches the repairs,  so here's where you may want to try some grout paint. It's reputed to last a very long time and this might just be your chance to get rid of the grout color you always hated.
10. Clean, clean, clean. Did I mention clean? Yes, especially in places that don't get enough attention like the ceiling fan blades, the foyer chandelier, the tops of doors and casings, and my personal favorite, the heating vents and cold air returns. And do whatever it takes to get rid of pet and smoke odors. Buyers love a clean home and this is your least expensive task that may just reap huge rewards.

BONUS TIP: Hire an experienced agent who will give you an accurate price on your home.

For  tons more tips be sure to visit my website and download your free E-book, "450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster." It's comes complete with worksheets so you can organize your efforts room by room.
Have fun and don't forget to put on some great music while you work.  It really does make it a little less painful!