Prepping a House to Sell

While repairs and renovations often make a house more saleable, simpler measures can be equally effective, and far less costly. Once your house is clean and fresh, it may not need any further improvements.

A house should be sparkling clean before it is placed on the market. This is not only to make the house more appealing, but also to signal to prospective buyers that the entire house is in excellent order -- no plumbing leaks or furnaces in need of repair are lurking to surprise them unpleasantly after they've moved in.

Sellers often hire a professional cleaning crew to do this deep cleaning. No nook or cranny should be left unscrubbed!

Be sure that cleaning the house has also removed any lingering odors -- and if it hasn't, have them attended to before showing the house. A recent poll revealed that 53 per cent of home buyers said that strong odors, like mold, smoke, or pet smells, had a bigger impact on their impression of the house than even such important factors as dirt, ugly wall colors, or an outdated façade.

Once the house is clean, it should be thoroughly decluttered. Empty the closets, remove half of the furniture, and make sure all surfaces are bare. Hire a storage unit if necessary. Only keep the bare minimum of items in the house. Don't think you can just keep items tucked away during a showing. Buyers tend to look everywhere!

Replace dated or worn elements. Curtains, door hardware, light fixtures, and so on all need to be periodically replaced for a clean look. Rusting faucets or chipped light fixtures are unsightly, and may make potential buyers look suspiciously as the rest of the house.

Paint is the least expensive way to give a fresh look to any room. When painting to prepare for sale, choose light, neutral colors. Stark white may give a slightly institutional air, but neutrals have a wide appeal. This is not the moment to try a highly individual color preference! It's unlikely that your favorite color will appeal equally to all prospective buyers.

Carpets should be professionally cleaned and then vacuumed daily while the house is on the market. If they are dated or shabby, or if hard floors are in poor condition, consider installing inexpensive new carpeting. A fresh, clean carpet makes a wonderful first impression!

Put new light bulbs in all the fixtures, and increase the wattage slightly. Buyers hate shadowy rooms! If window curtains are shabby, replace them with new ones, and be sure they are pulled back neatly to let in outdoor light when the house is being shown. Removing window screens will also increase the available light.

Rearrange the furniture you keep in the house to provide maximum impact and emphasize the most attractive aspects of the house. This may not be the most comfortable furniture arrangement, or the one you'd like to live with, but that's not the point. You're trying to create an impression on prospective buyers.

If you must move before you sell the house, don't leave it entirely empty. Buyers often can't imagine how rooms will look once they are filled with their own furniture. You have to help them imagine the future by providing a beautiful picture.