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Entry |
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Must
be especially inviting for your guests (your potential buyers). Make certain
it is well lit, clean and has nothing laying around either inside or
outside. Paint the front door if it even remotely needs it. |
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If you normally use a
back or side entrance to your house, pay particular attention to the front
entry. You rarely see it but this is where the buyers will enter! |
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Living Room or Great Room
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If possible, keep
furniture at a bare minimum so that traffic flow is easier and the room does
not appear smaller than it actually is. |
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If bookshelves, curio
cabinets, and the like are overflowing with books and knick-knacks, remove
some of them. |
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Family Room or Den
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If this is the room
you live in the most, make it look inviting but not overly lived in. |
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Keep furniture at a
minimum but make the room look like a comfortable place to spend time. |
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Kitchen |
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Clean the exterior of
all appliances. Clean the oven interior. |
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Clean or replace the
stove hood filter. This is often overlooked, usually dirty and greasy, and
looked at by a lot of buyers. |
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Clean cabinet faces.
Make them shine! |
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Remove all clutter
and unnecessary items from countertops and clean all countertops and
backsplashes thoroughly. |
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Clean vinyl or
ceramic floor. |
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If you have ceramic
tile elsewhere in the kitchen, pay particular attention to the grout--make
sure that it's clean. If it is discolored, there are "grout whitening"
products that are available. |
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Bedrooms |
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Remove all clutter.
If you don't need it, store it or pitch it! |
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Arrange or remove
furniture to maintain good traffic flow through rooms. Remember, there may
be three or four people in each group that walk through your house. |
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Bathrooms |
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Make sure all bulbs
are working and have the highest wattage available and safe for each
fixture. Brighter is better! |
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Clean all ceramic
tile. Check the grout for cleanliness and deterioration. |
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If faucets drip, fix
them. |
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Thoroughly clean
sinks and tubs. If rust spots are on the porcelain, attempt to remove them. |
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Remove any evidence
of mildew from the shower and bathtub. Products are available that spray on
and quickly kill the mildew. |
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Basements |
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If the basement is
damp or musty, consider a dehumidifier. |
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Give prospective
buyers room to move around. Clutter...well, you know the drill! |
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Garages |
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Remove all junk:
broken tools, old car parts, toys from the 1960's, etc. |
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If floor has oil
marks, clean it (cleaning solutions are available at most home improvement
stores and work with a normal garden hose). |
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Miscellaneous
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Replace the furnace
filter. |
If
you get the buyer into the house, it is important to make their visit as
pleasant as possible--and that means having the whole house ready. You want them
to be as comfortable as possible, and to linger in the home. A "turn off" will
send them scurrying quickly to the next house on their list!
