Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Show Ready Homes From the Inside Out

We often write and talk about what you can do outside your home to improve curb appeal and make your house stand out among all the rest. Curb appeal is important, especially this time of year as we spend more time outside, but what about inside the home? What will buyers notice in your home as they walk through? While the exterior of your home is important to potential buyers, it's what is inside that will really determine whether they could make your house their new home. The interior -- it's overall layout, cleanliness, and condition -- can make or break a potential offer.

We want to help! The Tri-State real estate market is entering into its busy season, so now is the time to make sure your home is show-ready and sell-ready.

That's why this week's post is all about working on the interior of your home so buyers will say "Wow!" when they walk in for their showing. We are sharing our tips for cleaning and preparing your home so it simply shines.



Here are some suggested "chores" for getting your house show ready:

Clean, scrub, and polish: Keep your stove, oven, refrigerator, microwave, and other appliances
clean inside and out. (Potential buyers will open them to check them out!)

Clean and spot-treat: Clean all carpeting. Polish wood floors and vinyl flooring. Clean walls, doors, and woodwork, including baseboards, cabinetry, fans, and windowsills. It's amazing how much fresher your home will appear after this task.



Eliminate odors: Buyers will notice strong smells as soon as they walk through your front door. Treat smoke, mildew, and pet odors. (Regularly “Febreezing” does great for everyday odors.)



Fix drippy faucets and running toilets: If any of your sinks or bathtubs drain slowly, unclog them.



Remove clutter:  Clear off kitchen and bathroom counters. Think light and airy—only the essentials.

Clean out all closets and cabinet drawers: Potential buyers will definitely look in
closets for storage and nosy ones will open drawers! Make sure all valuables, medicines, and private paperwork are removed from storage areas just in case. Better to be safe than sorry.



Test your doors: Make sure hinges and knobs are tightened and doors close properly.



Do a few of these or all of these for major impact before listing. If you're short on time, (busy job and equally busy family schedule!) it might be a good time to have your home professionally cleaned. Bonus if you can get them done before your listing appointment with your ERA agent! Then you can simply focus on staging and get your house on the market much quicker!

Buyers, what do you want to see in a potential new home? Let's help sellers create spaces that you want to move into.

Have a great week and a very Happy Mother's Day weekend!

No comments:

Post a Comment