10 Steps to Preparing Your Home “For Sale”

10 Steps to Preparing Your Home “For Sale”

Preparing your home for sale is more than just a quick paint job or new carpet.  You need to prepare you home thru the eyes of the buyer. Buyers look at a property in many ways. While location and their needs are top of the list, they are also looking at what they have to do to the property. Buyers will choose a property that is smaller or more expensive if they feel they can move right in without doing a thing.

1. Clean up the yard – put away the hose, kid’s toys, lawn equipment and spruce up the shrubbery and flower beds.
2. Remove cop webs from the entry way - if you usually enter thru a garage you may not realize that you have cobwebs growing.
3. Replace old hardware on the front door – those brass kick plates, door knobs and door knockers get worn over time. Make the entry inviting by replacing what looks old and worn out.
4. De-junk the foyer- shoes, coats, today’s mail- put the shoes and coats where they belong and trash the junk mail and put the important mail out of sight.
5. Clean or replace flooring – if you have carpets that are worn, out dated or a wild color replace it.  By replacing you up your chances of getting an offer sooner rather than later.
6. Touch up the paint- using the same color paint you can touch up those corners and high traffic area’s giving the entire room the appearance of being painted without all the mess or expense.
7. Deep clean the Kitchen – clean out all those crumbs from cabinet drawers, cabinets, counters, inside the refrigerator and stove. If you use drawer liners get rid of them.
8. Deep clean the Bathrooms – clean out under the cabinets and linen closet. Start by getting rid of all those almost empty bottles of shampoo, conditioners and out of date medicines.
9. Check out your light switches covers – light switch covers in high traffic area tend to get worn over time. If they can’t be cleaned replace.
10. Repair or replace what’s not working – if you know you have a plumbing leak or a cracked window or a broken door replace it. Don’t wait for the buyer to find it.

Susan Jacobs is an Associate Broker with Prudential PenFed Realty in Gainesville. She enjoys helping families achieve their real estate goals, whether buying, selling or renting. Her vast knowledge of Prince William County is a result of having lived in both the eastern and western ends of the county. Contact Susan at 703-330-4423 or for information on real estate in Prince William County, Manassas or Manassas Park go to www.PrinceWilliamCountyHomeInfo.com