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clothes and use a cedar air freshener if necessary.
the effort is well worth it.
Put every questionable wall hanging or poster into
storage until your house is sold. Anything too
strange will distract your buyers.
Get your kids involved and help create an
emergency house showing plan. That way, when
an unexpected showing happens, everyone will
know what to do.
Bathrooms
Buyers are going to take extra steps while
inspecting your bathrooms. They all need to be
perfectly spotless and clean. Put extra time into
this one. It will pay off.
Replace all of your worn out shower curtains.
Repair bathtub and shower caulking. Repair leaky
faucets and clear away any calcium, lime, or rust
deposits wherever you see them.
Put away your personal products after every use.
They clutter up the bathroom and make it appear
less spacious.
Organize all of your cabinets and storage areas.
Remove old products that you don’t use
anymore.
Use a fresh fragrance. Just a spritz is all you will
need.
Do not hang used towels. It’s worth spending a
little money on new, thick white towels. Imagine
how you would feel going to a hotel and finding
the towels from the previous guest are hanging to
be used.
If you have a dominant bathroom color, consider
toning it down a bit. You want to have massmarket appeal. On the other hand, if your
bathroom is too white or neutral, add a few
colored towels to spice it up a bit.
The Garage
Increase the space in your garage by organizing
everything. Remove unnecessary tools or toys,
and put them into storage.
When possible, remove all cars from the garage
before each showing. A garage without cars
always looks bigger.
Garages tend to be one of the most poorly lit
areas of any home. Add more lighting or higher
watt light bulbs so it appears more spacious.
As part of your emergency plan, systematically go
through your house and turn on the lights. Play
around with your lighting options and find what is
most pleasing.
Keep your home at a comfortable temperature. If
it’s summertime, consider opening a few windows
to let a nice breeze in. This also combats stale air.
Turn off all T.V.s, radios, and computers. Replace
the white noise with soothing background music.
You’ll also want to prepare some important and
relevant information for your buyers. Get a book
together including the neighborhood activities,
distance to the grocery store, and other handy
things to know. Leave this in the kitchen.
Get your yearly and monthly utilities expenses
together and present them in a booklet. Also
include information about cable, electric, garbage
disposal, and any warranty information on the
appliances you are selling with the house.
Take your pets and your children with you or bring
them to a friend’s house. Never leave your pets at
home. They are huge distraction to buyers.
Relax when you present the house, and don’t go
through extra lengths to talk about its features.
You’ve worked very hard to prepare your home.
Allow it to sell itself.
A Final Note
I never said it was easy. Selling your home will take
weeks of hard work. But if you have taken care of
everything on this list, you will be in good shape to
sell your home fast!
Cheers,
Connie Carlson
678-631-1812
How To Handle Showings
Always be willing to show your home whenever
the need arises. It might be on short notice, and
you might have to go out for pizza ]