If you are getting ready to place your home up for sale, the first thing you should do is call me so that I can give you the best marketing plan for getting your home sold! But there are other things you need to do as well in order to get your home in show-ready condition.
1. Remove the clutter! We all can get a little bit lazy with letting junk accumulate, but you need to remove yours before potential buyers look at your home. Think about putting as much effort into your home's presentation as you would for yourself on a first date. To give yourself a good idea of what needs to be done, walk into your home from the front door and pretend you are a visitor. What looks like it needs to be neatened up?
2. Regarding your style, you need to be honest about how widely appealing it is. I was recently in a home that was packed with ornate furniture and accessories; I could barely see the house because I was so distracted by what was in it. If you have a particularly ornate, busy or otherwise unusual design perspective, try to tone it down. Your interior design should complement the home's features, not detract or distract from them.
3. Does your home smell? If so, have it professionally cleaned, buy some room fresheners, open the windows and get some fresh flowers. I have been in a number of homes recently that smelled of mold, mildew, urine or just of not having enough fresh air. In particular if a member of your household or a pet is incontinent, that smell needs to be dealt with before the home is listed. It is an absolute turnoff to buyers to tour a home that smells foul.
4. Personal photographs are a distraction. Even if you are the supermodel, put the personal photos away. Photos are a bad idea either because prospective buyers will be curious about the current owners and will stop looking at the room in order to look ay your photos or because the buyers won't be able to envision themselves in the home with reminders of you everywhere. If you have pencil marks or scuff marks on your walls from where photos were hung, you can remove them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. To fill holes, apply spackling paste and wipe it down with a wet sponge when you are done so that it dries smoothly (you'll avoid having to sand later).
5. Do not stay home during showings or an open house. Buyers feel really uncomfortable looking around a home when the owner is there. Trust that your real estate agent will make sure that nothing is broken or stolen.
6. This is simply my opinion, but I think leaving out candies or cookies is a welcoming touch and is another reference point for buyers to remember your home if they are seeing many homes in one day. It is easier for a buyer to say, "Remember the house where we had the cookies? I love that house," rather than "Remember the house with the white kitchen?".
7. Finally, make your home available for showings. Some sellers require 24 hours notice, but I think if you have something for sale, you should be willing to show it whenever an interested party wants to see it. Don't make it hard for buyers to see your home, that is a turnoff. And if you have a dog, either remove her from the property or put her in a crate. Being able to show it on short notice also requires that you keep it in show-ready condition at all times.
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