Clean and Clear: Tips for Selling Your Home

The time has come to sell your home. You’ve hired a realtor, and you’re about to place the ‘For Sale’ in your front yard. What you might not realize is that there are many steps you can take to both increase the value of your house and decrease the time it takes to sell it. Spending a few hundred dollars on repairs and cleaning supplies could possibly add thousands of dollars on the value of your house. If you are unsure of what areas need to be cleaned, don’t hesitate to ask your realtor or close friends. Sometimes, when you’ve lived in a place so long you miss the small needed corrections that potential buyers would notice. In simple terms, people are interested in homes that are clean and clear. Listed below are many simple, yet helpful tips that you can use to help sell your home.

Clean

• Be sure to clean the carpets, especially worn down places and places with possible odors.
•  Wash all windows and doors. Clean all the house appliances.Remove grease spatters and polish all fixtures throughout the house.
• Organize all the closets.
• Replace old or stained tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms. Purchase new rugs and mats for the bathrooms.
• Remove all smudges off door knobs and light switches
• Be sure to mow the lawn regularly, and mulch where needed (especially the front yard).
• Repair any leaks, cracks, or rattles that you hear throughout the house.
• Tighten loose fixtures. Repair any cracks that might be in the molding.

Clear

• Have a yard or garage sale to help remove unwanted clothes, furniture, appliances, etc.
• Replace light bulbs with higher wattage bulbs to make rooms seem brighter and bigger.
• Paint rooms that have dark or dull colors with light colors, such as white or off-white.
• Remove any unneeded furniture from every room.
• Take down pictures that you might keep on your refrigerator.
• Organize even rarely used spaces in the house (like the garage, attic, or basement).
• Make sure that shelves don’t have too much piled on them.
• You should be able to see the baseboard in each room.
• Make sure that all curtains are open and window shades are up.
• Remove old or broken screens from windows and doors.