1. Start With Curb Appeal
This is larger and the most important. First impressions matter, so make your home stand out the instant buyers pull up to the curb. Some upgrades can be done in a weekend and will cost more in sweat equity than actual dollars.
2. Rent a pressure washer (if you own one, GREAT!) to remove dirt and grime from your siding, roof, fascia and gutters.
3. Paint the front door and/or shutters a bright color, but make sure it coordinates well with the rest of the home’s colors.
4. Replace old house numbers, lighting, the mailbox and welcome mat.
5. Clean up the edging around flowerbeds and lay down fresh mulch.
6. Fill in empty beds with small shrubs, seasonal flowers and greenery. Even if it’s the dead of winter, get a pair of urns or large planters and fill them with small evergreen shrubs and cold-hardy annuals. If you have window boxes, fill them with fresh greenery too. If your porch or stoop has room for furniture, add a couple of chairs to expand your outdoor living space.
7. Hire a cleaning service to deep clean your entire home.
8. De-Clutter. It’s imperative to de-clutter the inside and outside of your home and use a minimalist mentality when it comes to this. Grab a pack of stickers and walk through your home, putting them on everything that you don’t need on a daily basis. You can have a garage sale or move those select items into storage. Remember, you have to step into a buyers shoes and walking through a tight house full of junk does you no favors!
9. Assess your Fascia and Sofit for signs of moisture damage. Also make sure you don’t have leaky gutters.
10. Have new batteries put in all smoke detectors. Theres nothing more annoying than walking through a house and hearing those awful beeps every 2 minutes!
11. Keep your grass cut. High grass and weeds will dissuade any buyer, as they think the home itself hasn’t been taken care of just like the yard.
12. Eliminate ALL lingering odors. Whether you own pets, or smoke inside your home (hopefully you don’t!), the second a buyer opens the door is absolutely crucial on how they will feel walking through the remainder of the house. I get it! I have dogs too! But if a buyer gets blasted by a wet dog smell or a dirty litter box, that opportunity is lost no matter how beautiful your home is.
13. Remove ALL family photos. You love your family, and you want to display it proudly—as you should! During showings, you want a buyer to envision their family living in their new home. It’s more difficult for them to achieve this when they are surrounded by photos and memories of a different family as they tour your home, so it’s just best to put them safely in a moving box prior to an Active listing. Think of it this way: you’re one step closer to packing up for your move!