FOR SALE BY OWNER GUIDE  
   
Written by Susan Wilcox

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GETTING YOUR HOME READY
Unless you're one of those rare people whose home is always "Better Homes & Gardens" perfect, you'll want to take a little time to get it ready for prospective buyers to see.

This is a two-step process:
• Repairs
• Sprucing up

When a buyer walks through your home, they will be picturing themselves living there. Unless they are specifically looking for a fixer to upgrade to their own taste, they will want a home that is "livable" and comfortable. Your job is to make sure your home comes across that way.

First of all, make as many repairs as make sense – that hole where the kids slammed the bedroom doorknob through the wall, any leaks in the roof, that creaky stair, those loose shutters. These are minor but have a major impact on the impression your home makes on a buyer.

Major repairs, like a new roof, may require some thought. You may be tempted to make the repair and add the cost to the price, but a buyer may not be willing to pay "extra" for something that is really a maintenance issue. You will have to balance the cost and hassle of making the repair against the possible negative impact of the problem on the sales price.

Now, for the sprucing up. Let's start with a walk through to see your home as a prospective buyer would, starting with their first impression as they drive up to your address.

Realtors have a term for this; it's called "curb appeal." A buyer will either be attracted to your home and want to see more, or decide it's "not for me" and drive away. So the front yard and entrance of your home are very important.

Note any clean-up that needs to be done; trim trees and hedges; if the season is right, plant a flower garden, touch up any chipping paint.

Now take a look inside. How do the walls look? The carpeting? Painting and carpet cleaning can go a long way toward making your home look (and smell) attractive to your buyer, and they're relatively inexpensive.

One of the biggest turn-offs to prospective buyers is clutter! You may have learned to look past it, but it will jump out at a new pair of eyes – plus it makes the rooms in your home look smaller. Pack up most of those knick-knacks and family photographs; you're moving anyway. Keep just a few, well-placed pieces. You want your rooms to look large, clean, and inviting. Make every room sparkle, even if it means hiring a cleaning service to get into every crack and crevice

Now the back yard or patio. This is another important area to many buyers; Americans are spending more and more time outdoors; in fact, many prospective buyers think of the patio as another room!

Same notes as the front. Even if you don't have a pool, spa and complete outdoor kitchen, you want the yard and patio to look tempting, full of possibilities for wonderful family parties. You want your buyers to envision their kids playing there, and their friends enjoying themselves. Clean up, spruce up!

Once you've finished getting your home ready for sale, congratulate yourself. This is the most demanding part of the process. It's all downhill from here!




    
     

 


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