Sellers Checklist
SELLERS CHECKLIST- Make sure your home is dressed for success !!
1. Dress your home up – your home’s curb appeal will create an instant and irreversible first impression with every buyer.
- Paint the trim and front door
- Buy a new doormat
- Put new doorknobs on your front door
- Buy a new mailbox
- Put a pot of bright flowers (small evergreen in Winter) on your porch
- Plant flowers, trim bushes and pull weeds
- Clean the downspouts and gutter
- Clean the screens and windows
- Power wash the sidewalk and driveway
- Mow the grass, apply new bark mulch, edge the grass around walks and trees
- Keep your garden tools out of site
- Be sure kids put away their toys
- Upgrade outside lighting and replace bulbs
- Wash the house exterior or paint, if needed
- Clean or replace house numbers
- Remove all cobwebs and spray for pests
2. Create a warm environment – every home should offer the potential buyer a warm, friendly experience especially during the first showing. What greets the buyer on the other side of your front door? A clean house makes a better first impression and convinces buyers that the home has been well cared for.
- Consider the smell of your home – eliminate cooking odors, smoke and pet smells
- Scented candles, vanilla or potpourri can help
- Replace light bulbs, have clean drapes, blinds and windows
- Open drapes and blinds so your home looks cheerful
- Buy new pillows for the sofa
- Buy a flowering plant and put it in a window you pass by frequently
- Make a centerpiece for your table with fruit or flowers
- Buy new towels and a new shower curtain
- But a seasonal wreath on the door
- Remove excess furniture out of every room to create a sense of spaciousness
- Put away kitchen appliances and personal bathroom items to give the illusion of more counter space
- Use attractive bedspreads and freshly laundered curtains
- Have the carpets professionally cleaned or replaced if needed
- Paint or wash the walls
- Clean the doors, cabinets and closets
- Dust the home and remove cobwebs
- Clean out the garage
- Clean the appliances
- Paint or clean the baseboards
- Re – caulk the bathtubs and showers
- Replace the cracked or damaged outlet covers
- Make closets look bigger: neat & well organized closets show space is ample
3. Remove barriers from the relationship – buyers need to build an emotional bond with a home before they can make a decision to purchase the home. Help them remove the potential barriers.
- Pack and store seasonal clothing
- Remove unused furniture
- Depersonalize the rooms by putting family photos, mementos and distinctive artwork away
- Secure pets before each showing
- Remove and replace fixtures not included with the sale
4. Tell a story and be interesting – buyers want a home that stands out from the competition. Does each room in your home tell a story? What can you visualize happening in each room as you walk through the home ? This is often referred to as staging the home.
- Set the kitchen table with nice dishes and candles
- Have a smell of freshly baked goodies in your kitchen
- Place a book on the nightstand
- Display an open game in the kid’s room
- Start a fire in the fireplace, if applicable
- Turn on soft music
- Display a family DVD near the entertainment center