Your house was perfect for living, now you have to get it ready for selling

Our favorite room of the house is the three-seasons room.  Our children have turned it into a play area, and my spouse and I like to enjoy sitting out there to watch the sunset.  It is probably our most used room in the house.  I love the bathroom as well.  There is so much open storage, so we are able to store all of the extra shampoo and conditioner we have, because I'm huge into buying on sale and using coupons.  We also have a large back yard that our dog loves to play in.  His toys are all over the yard, because the kids love to go outside and play with him when they get home from school.  It's been a wonderful home to live in, but we have decided to move since we just have different needs as far as a home is concerned.  What do we have to do to get ready to sell our house?

Your house was perfect for living, now you have to get it ready for selling.  What does that mean? Sometimes, it does not cost much at all to get it ready to sell. Ask yourself what attracted you to the home when you first looked at it.  You walked into the three-seasons room, saw the beautiful hardwood floors, the empty space where you could imagine your family there, and the gorgeous view.  What would it take to get that room back to what it looked like when you first saw it?  If it is now a play area, consider getting storage containers to confine what the children are using to a small and tidy space.  If you placed a rug down, remove the rug to show off those nice hardwood floors.  Wipe down the windows to make sure that the view is as beautiful as possible.

The bathroom with all the open storage might be a little more tricky.  Pack up what you know you won't be using between now and your planned move.  Keep your moving boxes confined to one location of the home if possible.  If you have cabinet storage, consider moving items in plan view in the open storage to a cabinet or a drawer.  Even your toothbrush and toothpaste should be moved into a drawer or cabinet.  The idea here is to minimize items in the bathroom that are in plain sight.

Same thing with the large back yard.  Place all of the dog toys in a storage container outside to show off the space of the yard.  Make sure the bushes and the trees are well maintained.  Trimming them once every couple of weeks will not only make it aesthetically pleasing to buyers, but it is also easier to keep the shape of them since not as much time has passed.

The objective is to "declutter."  This is a term real estate agents use often when talking with sellers.  Basically, anything you don't think you will need before the move, pack up and put away.  We are not asking you to live on paper plates and plastic ware (unless you choose to), but instead of having the full set of dishes in your cabinets, only keep what you know you will use on a regular basis.  Any knickknacks around the house will have to be packed up anyway for the move.  They add personality, but it is your personality - which might not be the same as the buyer's.  Family photos are also a hard one to pack, but the objective is to get your house sold.  Some people cannot overlook your family living there, especially if they have a face to go with the house.  Even having items such as your coffee maker, toaster, and bread maker on the kitchen counter can make the kitchen counter space look smaller, so it is important to keep those items out of sight if you plan to use them while your home is on the market.

Just a few tips on how to prepare your home for getting ready to sell!  If you have further questions about what you can do to help prepare your home to list on the market, please feel free to call me at 414-366-3779 or email me at afrankovis@shorewest.com