Preparing your house to sell

0
This vintage book can be purchased at http://www.nannysweb.com.au/book.php?book_id=3630

We finally decided to put our house on the market. It was a long time coming. We built our home 7 years ago when there were no kids to fill these rooms. It was just Will and I. There was room galore.

After 3 kids and one booming home business, a move was inevitable. I think right now the biggest challenge is having the business at home. Well, it’s a blessing but a commercial copier and cutters and thousands of envelopes no longer fit in my office. My dining room table is now room to a 300 pound paper cutter and die cutter. It’s also quickly becoming the shipping center.

So the online research began to find ways to make our home “show-ready”. These were probably some of the best tips we read about and they make vacating a home with 3 small kids in 45 minutes flat easy-peasy.

Pack it up!
No really!. Make room in your garage or rent a small storage unit. Take every photo off the wall and pack it up. If you can live without it for 3 months it should be packed away. This includes photos, decor, blankets, toys, clothes, books, CDs, dishes, stuffed animals, etc. I went through most nooks and crannies in our home and I packed it all up. Potential buyers can’t envision themselves in your house with photos of YOUR family all over the place.

Declutter those countertops!
Your counters should be free. We have everything off our counters at all times. This makes your rooms look bigger and brighter.

Designate “Drop Areas”
I have a small box in the bathrooms so when we get a call that someone wants to view our home, there are designated “drop areas” that allow us to quickly stash those frequently used items and then easily recover them 30 minutes later. For the bigger rooms like living and bedrooms, I use baskets and then just toss everything in there and in the closet. One basket per closet though because they WILL OPEN YOUR CLOSETS while touring your home.

Pay special attention to bathrooms!
Seriously! Clean all the baseboards and clean very well around the toilet.

Baseboards and Walls
Wipe down all baseboards, doors and wall switches and sockets. Dingy dirty walls are unattractive. Touch up areas on walls that need to be touched up. If you can afford it, have all the baseboards repainted.

White, white white
Buyers love light and whites. It gives the feeling if clean and fresh. Take down your colored towels and replace them with white towels.

Get yourself some “end rolls”
Because you will be packing away quite a bit of stuff, you will need boxes and filler paper for those breakable or fragile items. Paper supply stores and liquor stores are a great source for boxes. The BEST filler paper I have found is what is called newspaper “end rolls”.  I use it for my shipping. What is it? Well, the paper for newspapers is actually on a large roll or spool much like toilet paper. At the end of a print run, most rolls have paper left over from the print run. They make this “end paper” available to the public for $1 – $2 a roll. My suggestion is that you call ahead of time. They sell out of it fast so make sure to call and make sure they have it before you make a trip. AND PLEASE LEAVE SOME FOR ME!

Newspaper “end rolls”

What are some tips and tricks you used when selling your home? From a buyers perspective, what did you notice that you wish had been addressed when viewing homes?

 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here