Spring has Arrived and with it SELLING SEASON: Tips on How to Prepare Your Home

With the arrival of Spring the selling season is upon us. Many of you now thinking of selling your home and preparing the Home for a quick and successful sale is crucial. Here are a few tips to help you out.

• A marketing plan on WHO your buyer will be is essential as this will help you decide who the target buyer is. This will influence the staging process.
• Boost curb appeal. This is something you always hear, and with very good reason. Many people thinking of touring your home will do a quick drive-by first, often deciding on the spot if it is even worth a look inside. Make sure your home is ready to lure in onlookers with these tips:
  ○ Power wash siding and walkways
  ○ Hang easy-to-read house numbers
  ○ Plant blooming flowers and fresh greenery
  ○ Mow lawn, and reseed or add fresh sod as needed
  ○ Wash front windows
  ○ Repaint or stain the porch floor as needed.

• A clean home is essential! Remove all excess furniture to clothing. Make your home feel as spacious as possible.
• Depersonalize your home. Once a person has stepped into your home, you would like them to feel that it could be theirs. Remove all family photo’s and neutralize the home as much as possible. A clean palette is always good as the buyer can then see their possessions in the home. Neutral colors are best as it is also very soothing.
• Return all rooms to their intended use. If a bedroom is now an home office change it back to the bedroom and stage it as one.
• Style your dining room table. The dining room is often a blind spot in decorating the home. Between dinners, a large dining table can look bare and uninviting, so styling it up with visitors in mind can increase the appeal.
• Create a gender neutral master bedroom. Appeal to everyone with a clean, tailored master bedroom, free of personal items and clutter. You can’t go wrong with clean, crisp linens, tasteful artwork and a blanket folded at the foot of the bed. Bathrooms must be pristine. Look at every detail with a visitor’s eye — bars of soap should be fresh and clean, towels spotless, the garbage always emptied.
• Beware of Pet odors: This can be a big one! If you have pets, get all rugs steam cleaned and be extra vigilant about vacuuming and washing surfaces. Also be sure to keep any extra-loved pet toys and doggie bones hidden when tours are scheduled.
• Finally, if you find this difficult to do there are professional home staging companies that one can hire to help you out. GOOD LUCK