General Principles of Home Sales

• You only get one chance to make a First Impression.
• Home buyers want the least expensive home in a neighborhood they can afford.
• The well-polished home: draws more buyers > increases demand > sells for a higher price > sells in a shorter time; than its shoddy appearing neighbor. (aka, "The Clampets")
• When home buyers see a well cared for home, they assume what they can't see is well cared for too.
• Even if the home isn't new, most home buyers want it "ready for sale". More and more home buyers want to do less and less to their home after purchase. "Handyman Specials", "As Is" and "Works In Progress" sell for much less, and are on the market longer.
• Remember Fernando's: "Looking Good is Better than Feeling Good." And more profitable for home sellers and their Agents.

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Top Ten Principles To Prepare Your Home For Sale

1. Buyer's Eyes, What they see is what you get: Look at your home through buyer's eyes. If you can't yourself, get an honest friend, a Realtor or a Professional Home Stager. Sellers often are too close to their homes to get an honest buyer perspective. You need to present the picture appealing to the most buyers. Many Realtors won't even offer a home until it's ready for sale. You want buyers to fall in love with your house. House Love produces multiple offers, bidding wars and over-the asking-price-offers; The Holy Grail of home sellers.
2. Clean - Sparkle and Shine: "A Shiny Penny." Good looking things almost always sell better than their not-so-good-looking relatives. Much of the "Cleaning" part of Sparkle and Shine, the Spic and Span part, you can do yourself. Sparkle and Shine can smell good too. You could consider hiring a professional cleaning service while your home is on the market if you are too busy.
3. De-Clutter, Less is More: Remove all clutter. This will make your home look bigger and brighter. You want a "clean", sleek and spacious look. When in doubt, Get it out.
4. Maximize Space: The majority of home buyers are up-sizing, not down-sizing. As opposed to fishing where you can catch a big fish on a small hook, but you can't catch a little fish on a big hook, it's better to have a small house look big, than a big house look small. Your home should have a "clean" look, like the Google Home Page. Put unneeded/unused furniture in the basement garage, or better yet, donate it or put it in temporary storage.
5. Neutral Colors: Neutral colors allow the home buyer to more easily project their furniture and furnishings on your home. Those colors are easier to paint over and they coordinate with more styles of furniture.
6. Depersonalize: It's fine to have a few signs of life around the house, but an overly personalized home appeals to fewer buyers. If your home is poorly maintained, it may not be good for buyers to know who you are.
7. Cosmetics vs Cosmetic Surgery: For your first date, is your strategy Cosmetics or Cosmetic Surgery? If your bait looks the most delicious, then all you do is set the hook, cast the bait, and reel 'em in. As a seller you want to do the least expensive things that have the most visual impact. You won't get back the kitchen renovation, but the upgrade in the cabinet handles may mean thousands. Often, the amount you spend to prepare your house in the months before the sale can be deducted from your capital gains tax. But check with your lawyer and accountant.
8. Exterior Appeal/Curb Appeal 
   1. Lawn: watered, edged, weeded and mowed.
   2. Garden: watered, edged and weeded 
   3. Trees and Hedges: pruned and trimmed 
   4. Driveway: Reseal
   5. Foundation, Walks, Steps, Walls and Patios: check for cracks, crumbling and other damage
   6. Gutters: clean and align 
   7. Chimney: inspect and clean 
   8. Roof: repair or replace damaged roof shingles
   9. Loose Siding: repair, replace and re-caulk
   10. Doors and Windows: inspect for chipped and peeling paint, wash the windows, consider painting the front door
   11. Garage Door: Keep closed
   12. RVs and Old/Beaten Up Cars: Store elsewhere while house is for sale
   13. Plantings: In spring or summer consider adding a few showy annuals
   14. Winter in the North: keep the walks and driveways free of snow and ice.
9. Interior Appeal  (See Clean and De-Clutter above):
   1. Kitchen: counter tops should be cleared of unused/rarely used small appliances (consider a garage sale or a donation) making this area more inviting
   2. Closets, Attics Basement and Garage: cleared and de-cluttered (more for sale and donation), check for cracks, leaks and dampness
   3. Walls, carpets, linoleum: repair, repaint or replace (See Neutral Colors above)
   4. Check Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Alarm Systems: in working order.
   5. Faucets and Shower Heads: Repair or Replace dripping ones
   6. Showy New Towels (only for showings, take the tags off) and a new shower curtain for the bathroom.
10. Get a Pro: If the above 9 Commandments don't work, it may be time to get a pro. Realtors have experience in what homes selling in your community look like. Realtors often have an agent in their office who has a special interest, talent or training in home staging. There is always the Professional Home Stager, if you have a particularly trouble-some problem, or a house that is on the market too long.