How to Prepare Your Home for Sale

As a top producer with the largest real estate agency in the region, I learned pretty quickly what buyers want to see in their potential future home, and what makes a buyer cross a home off the list and move on to look at the next one. Most often a home is sold or skipped the minute the buyer walks through the front door - either they are 'feeling it', or they aren't. 'Feeling it' has nothing to do with the number of bedrooms or square footage, it's a matter of whether the buyer can see them self in the home as their home.

A clean, clutter free, well cared for and neutrally decorated home will make the best impression. If you want to sell your home, there are several things you can do to make it attractive to more buyers.

Curb appeal is never more important than when you are trying to sell your home. After all, if you can't get the buyer through the threshold, you aren't going to sell them the house. The first thing to do is take a look at your house from the curb, driveway, across the street, or down the street and look at it like a buyer. If it wasn't your house, what would you like about it and what needs a little help? Make sure porches, walkways, and driveways are clean. Trim any bushes and shrubs that are overgrown or are crowding the house. Depending on the season, consider plating some flowers to add color and freshness.

Clear the kitchen countertops. While you might have every small appliance ever made, now is not the time to show them off. Counter space hidden under gadgets and goodies goes unseen. Send anything you can live without to storage.

Clean out the cabinets and closets. If all goes well and your home sells you will be moving soon and have to tackle these anyway. Instead of waiting until the last minute or moving things you don't need, take the time now to go through your closets. A good rule of thumb is to part with anything you haven't used in the last year. Consider donating anything that's usable to a charity.

When it comes to furniture, it's important to find a balance. On one hand, a vacant home leaves many prospective buyers without a frame of reference on what will fit in a room and without a feel for how it could be arranged. On the other hand, a room with too much furniture will make the room appear much smaller and potential buyers won't realize the space that exists. Either extreme can cost you the sale. Try to limit furnishings to the right number and size appropriate for the room. For instance, 2 full size sofas and 3 recliners might be a bit much for an average living room.

Paint colors and wallpaper are a great way to customize your homes décor and make it uniquely yours. But, when offering your home for sale, you want to attract all buyers - not just the ones who share your unique style and taste. To appeal to the greatest number of buyers and increase your chances to sell, neutral colors are always the safest bet. However you may opt to take a little risk and lean toward the current trends, depending on your locale and the style of your home. Ask your real estate agent and reputable paint store for some advice on what works best.

Wallpaper border around the ceiling or chair rail can complete and compliment the theme of a home décor. However, many potential buyers find wallpaper border to be a turn-off, especially when it's in just about every room of the house.

If anything is broken or not functioning properly, fix it now. You may only have one faucet that doesn't work in a bathroom you never use. But to a potential buyer, this may raise questions about what else hasn't been maintained.