Clean - Go through the house and do a very good cleaning job. Give things to charity that should be gone. Throw things away that should be thrown away, and make your adult children take all of their old bikes and stuffed animals out. You will be amazed at the amount of things that accumulate in a house over the years that you really don’t need or want. These are the things to remove.
Paint – If you have been living in your home for a while, your paint may be in need to be brightened up. Over the years, kids have a tendency to make marks or nicks in the paint, and it can make your rooms look more worn out than necessary. Go through and paint rooms that might be less than appealing to a new family. Many rooms might just need a coat of paint to clean up marks and chips that have shown up over the years, so paint them too.
De-clutter – It is important that a prospective home buyer is able to picture themselves living in your house. Make it easier on them by taking out personal photos, vacation knick knacks and excessive decoration. Look at each room objectively and remove anything that is going to distract a prospective home-buyer.
Remove Red Flags – Even if your home has no issues, a potential buyer is going to look at a dehumidifier and think you have a water problem. Don’t let these things get in the way of an offer, and remove them. Put away things that are lying around in the garage like mousetraps or bug killer. Just having these things might deter a sale.
Stage – Staging the house means that you set it up to look the best it possibly can. This might mean that you remove some pieces of furniture, or move them to other rooms. When it comes time to show the house, remove area rugs and put any personal items like shampoo and clothing in drawers, closets and hidden.
Please contact us for assistance with selling your home. We are in the Springfield area, and will be happy to help.