The Check List for Preparing a House for Sale The most common things identified in this checklist of preparing a house for sale are as follows.
? De-Clutter: One of the first things a buyer looks at in a home is the storage it offers. Remove excess furniture to make rooms seem as spacious as possible. The rule of thumb is if you have not used a thing over a year, you probably do not need it. Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use. Do not forget about basement, attic or garage. Think of this process as a head start on the packing, you will eventually need to do anyway.
? Rearrange Bedrooms and Kitchen: Buyers love to snoop around bedrooms and kitchen, as they are the most important part of the house. Rearrange beds and wardrobes, organize kitchen cupboards and closets. If major appliances are being sold with the home, make sure they are spotless, odor-free and in good working condition.
? Make Minor Repairs: There are some minor repairs, which help in changing the face of the house greatly. ? Replace cracked floor or tiles and fix leaky faucets. Strip outdated wallpaper.
? Repair any cracks or holes in the walls and ceiling and repaint if necessary.
? Fix doors that don't close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
? Check the exterior and interior wall paint, a fresh coat for your house may cost you a bit of time and money but will elevate your home.
? Make sure light fixtures, switches, switch plates and outlet covers are clean and in good working order.
? Check Curb Appeal: One of the most important issues in determining the salability of your house is how inviting potential buyers find it from the street or curb. Curb appeal is made up of three primary components: the front entrance, the rest of the front of the house, and landscaping. To do things-
? Keep the sidewalks cleared. ? Mow the lawn. ? Paint faded window trim. ? Trim your bushes and group flowerpots together. ? Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.
? The Action Plan: You have now identified everything that you will need to do to prepare your home for sale. Look at your overall list and decide which things you want to handle yourself. Grouping things in this manner will save you money and time. Your final step is to lay down the order of projects so that everything happens in logical sequence and not all at the last minute.
The above information will help you to avoid a lot of last minute hassles and expenses. It also assists you to evade the risk of putting yourself in the position to show the house to a potential buyer before it is really ready.
Houses are considered to be easiest to sell when they are clean, tidy, free of clutter, and the walls are neutrally toned - some sites and experts suggest painting your walls white, others suggest that you should paint them with pale, neutral, matching colors. If this isn't possible, it is important to make sure your walls are clean - removing clutter and cleaning woodwork and painted walls, can give your room a much needed lift.
If you're de-cluttering, you can also begin packing whilst doing so, but considering some houses sell up to three months before you're planning on moving OR up to a year after you've moved, its also important not to plan to sell straight away, unless your house is in a highly sought after area, and you've got a good, competitive price. If not, you might be in for quite a wait on selling your house - and you also have to find a new place to move to yourself.
Estate agents, and Realtors do a great job of selling houses, but in an ever increasingly competitive market, you have to do very unique things to sell your house - it has been reported that some people are offering new cars, or paying the tax on your house for the first year of your stay in the new house. The housing market is always expanding, but you can't sell just anything - dilapidated houses can't simply be considered 'fixer uppers' and all houses for sale have to meet ever increasing stringent codes - or have new owners that will fix these to meet those codes.
Painting, and Decorating
Painting, decorating and other ways to make sure your house is in a good condition to sell.
House selling has become a very competitive market, and though people are desperate in some areas to buy a house, its important you take care to ensure that the you've done all you can to make your house as attractive, safe and saleable as possible.
It is said that the average house buyer has no vision which means you need to make their 'envisioning' themselves within the house as easy as possible. Dark paintwork is a definite turn off, as are stained, worn or smelly carpets, both of which need to be taken care of.
On the latter, you could offer an 'allowance' or remove a fraction of the house costs for carpets or, if you can, invest yourself and replace them, to allow a possibly higher sale price. Walls should be painted off white, or antique white or possibly very pale and pastel shades if you're planning on redecorating you may have no option if your walls are stained, marked or damaged.
Its also a good time to ensure that everything that you've been meaning to repair is taken care of is actually done a faulty stair tread, banister or fence in the garden may only be a minor annoyance to you, but can be a danger to anyone looking at the house.
Its hard to sell your house without help, but one of the biggest tips you can take to ensure your house sells is to make sure you've removed your 'imprint'. Looking at the house impartially, remove anything that screams 'my personality' and 'my personal space'.
Things like photos, pieces of unique artwork, and ornaments and more can be removed before people come to view the house. Remember they want to buy the house, not feel how you lived there, so if you haven't finished boxing up your non essentials by the time you start showing them the house, its time to consider whether you really need the clutter still unpacked or whether its time to put it in the bin.
Both Nathan & John Pawlett are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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