Checklist: What to do before listing your home.

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Real Estate

Check off these steps to help prepare your house for a quicker, more profitable sale: 


☐ Power wash the driveway and sidewalks.
☐ Refresh potted plants and garden beds.
☐ Consider painting the front door.
☐ Trim overgrowth and rake leaves around the house.
☐ Paint and repair chipped interior and exterior paint.
☐ Caulk and grout kitchen counters and bathroom surfaces.
☐ Clean the windows and open the blinds for showings.
☐ Clean and paint all baseboards, walls and surfaces where grime and dust tends to collect.
☐ Change bulbs and turn on the lights around the home during showings.
☐ Remove clutter and donate unwanted items or move to storage.
☐ Depersonalize the home by removing photographs and any other personal artifacts that may make 
it hard for prospective buyers to visualize themselves living in your home.
☐ Take the smell test - walk through your home and remove any sources of foul odors.
☐ Fix any loose handles, light switches and other appliances that may create a less appealing 
first impression.
☐ Hire a pet sitter for showing days. If possible, hire someone to watch your pet during showings or, 
at the least, vacate the premises before prospective buyers tour the home. 


Take a cue from professional home stagers: 
☐ Point loveseats and couches toward each other to “open up” the house.
☐ Set the dining room table as if preparing for a formal dinner.
☐ Add visual interest to asymmetrical spaces by arranging pillows, chairs, artwork and other accessories 
in odd numbers. Threes, fives and sevens are professional stagers’ “magic numbers” in design.
☐ Purchase new bath towels to refresh the bathrooms.
☐ Add a splash of color to brighten areas of interest, like a breakfast nook.
☐ Open up the space with mirrors that redirect light and can make small rooms feel bigger.
☐ Replace a heavy vanity with a pedestal sink to provide a fresh update in the guest bathroom.

 

Source:  Dotloop.com