Preparing Your Home For Sale

When preparing your home for sale, it's important to pay attention to the inside as well as to the outside. Check out our tips below to get a feel for what, at minimum, you should take care of before listing your home for sale.

From The Outside. . .

  • Check all concrete areas, including the foundation and the sidewalks, for cracks and signs of crumbling – and make the necessary repairs.

  • Clean and inspect the chimney.

  • Store machinery, recreational vehicles and other unwieldy and unattractive items out of sight while your home is on the market.

  • Clean GuttersReplace and/or repair loose or damaged roof shingles or tiles.

  • Look closely at doors and windows for peeling paint and other signs of wear and tear.

  • Make sure that your home's outdoor landscaping is always in tiptop shape while it's on the market; keep the lawn trimmed and edged, and bushes and trees in reasonable shape.  If more extensive work is needed, hire a professional like Outdoor Innovations.

  • Always keep your garage door closed; it makes your home look more put-together and attractive.

  • Align and clean the gutters.

  • Replace and repair caulking and loose siding, as needed.

  • During the winter, make sure that there is no snow and/or ice on the driveway, walkways and sidewalks.

  • During the spring and summer, use potted flowers to enhance the appearance of your home.

  • Reseal an asphalt driveway to make it as new and appealing as possible.

  • If you have children, make sure to keep outdoor toys tucked away whenever possible. Outdoor toys create clutter, which can seriously compromise the appeal of your home for prospective buyers.

. . .To The Inside

  • Hire a professional cleaning service to come through every few weeks or so while your home is listed for sale. They will make sure that everything is spic and span so that your home looks its very best.

  • Interior PaintingPack away less frequently used items so that they don't clutter up the counters in your kitchen, or coffee tables and other places around your home.

  • Make your kitchen more attractive by adding new knobs for its cabinets, new curtains or even a nice, fresh coat of paint.

  • Buy a new set of coordinating towels to use in every bathroom in your home; they will give it a more organized and attractive appearance.

  • Repaint walls that are unusual colors, or walls that are especially dirty and dingy looking.

  • Look your entire home over for cracks and signs of leaking. Make repairs as necessary, since you don't want the people looking at your home to discover them themselves.

  • Consider renting a storage garage to keep unneeded items while showing your home. This will seriously reduce the overall level of clutter in your home and make keeping it tidy a whole lot easier.

  • Inspect and repair the heating, cooling, plumbing and alarm systems of your home thoroughly.  If you don't feel comfortable, hire a professional such as Elite Heating and Air Conditioning.

  • Make sure that any wallpaper in the home is in good repair and not peeling or otherwise falling apart, since it can really reduce the aesthetic appeal of a room. Consider applying a simple coat of paint in its place.