Selling Your Home
While we will look after the marketing of your home, you can help by creating a pleasant atmosphere for showing your home. Enlist all family members to help make the experience an easy one. If everyone knows what is expected, a showing on short notice will not send you into a panic.
Before We List Your Home…
Declutter and Clean!
Buyers generally form an opinion within the first fifteen seconds of being in your home. To sell your home’s benefits, prospective buyers need to see what they’re getting.
So, eliminate clutter and organize the rest. This applies to counters and table tops as well as closets and cabinets. Clear all flat surfaces, like the counters in your kitchen and bathrooms. Drawers and closets need to be visible too. By cleaning them out, it gives the buyer the impression of more space. Remember, buyers look everywhere. If you are emotionally attached to your belongings and can’t decide what to eliminate, ask us for help! If you can’t part with any of it, box and label it and put it into storage in preparation for your move.
Once you’ve reduced the clutter, it’s time to make everything sparkle! Pay attention to both the appearance and the odour. Clean every square inch – windows, baseboards, tubs, showers, toilets, sinks, counters, cupboards and more. Look up – don’t forget the cobwebs and dust off the ceiling fans. Wash curtains and steam carpets. If your shower curtain is looking worn or dated, invest in a new one. You can always take it with you!
Repair = Loving Care!
A well maintained home helps the sales process. Prospective buyers are already challenged when looking for the right light switches, so make sure that the lights work. Start by replacing burned out light bulbs. Make sure that cracks and nail holes are repaired, recaulk around the tub and regrout tiles if needed. Align cupboard doors and eliminate squeaks. Fix leaky faucets or toilets that just keep running. Replace cracked ceramic or porcelain tiles or dingy bathroom fixtures. Sand and refinish worn hardwood.
Update cabinet hardware, light fixtures or switches, if needed. If you’re not handy, we can recommend reliable resources. Clean the eaves. If routine upkeep items are not addressed, it can colour a buyer’s perspective.
Keep it Simple!
Make sure that furniture matches the purpose of the room, that it is balanced and that its placement enhances the flow of the room. You should be able to move around furniture easily. Art should also be strategically placed and used as an accent. Scale is important. Limit or eliminate family photo displays and religious art. Remove fridge magnets and fridge art too!
Colour and Continuity!
Light colours keep things airy and add life to your home. Use an inviting neutral that acts as a beautiful backdrop for art and décor accents. Bright accents can be added in small doses, through accessories like throw pillows, etc. Continuity in flooring is also a consideration. Different types of floor coverings in each room can make a house look choppy and smaller. If you have more than two flooring types, consider changing some areas to improve flow, visual appeal and consistency.
Showtime!
Let the sun shine in! Open any drapes, curtains and blinds to let in as much light as possible. And make sure that the windows behind the window coverings are clean. Most buyers like houses that are light and bright.
Keep it clean! Make sure that your kitchen dishes are in the cupboards and that your counters and sinks are clear and clean before each showing. Put clean towels out in the bathroom. Floors throughout the house should be washed and carpets vacuumed.
Pet or cooking odours and smoke may offend prospective buyers. Regular cleaning will minimize odours, as will airing out the house. Make sure that you close your windows before a showing and have the thermostat set at comfortable temperature. If you own a pet, remove it from the house during a showing.
If possible, leave the house during a showing. If not, be as discreet as possible. If weather permits, go out to the garden until the buyers leave.