Nothing pays dividends to sellers of a house quite like elbow grease. Good housekeeping and repair, spaciousness and pleasant aromas increase your property value, bringing top dollar and fast sales. Conversely, the demons to the business of home selling are dirt, lack of light and space, too much deferred maintenance, and bad odors.  If your home has extensive deferred maintenance and time or funds are limited, it may not be practical to cover all the points, but do the best job possible.

Don’t fall into the trap of rationalizing that because many people prefer a casual lifestyle they won’t mind some clutter. For some reason, the poorest housekeepers are usually the fussiest buyers.  So invest the time to make your home sparkle.

This is a partial list that will help you to get started on increasing your property value.  Please contact me for a more extensive checklist.

Tips To Increase Property Value
Paint
Few things will enhance the marketability of a house quite so much as painting the outside. Before painting, scrape or water-blast any blistered or peeling paint, repair gutters and downspouts, and replace wood showing dry rot. Wood, trim work, gutters and wrought iron should receive primary attention.

Front Entry
Give special care to this area. This is where buyers get their first opportunity to make a close inspection, and they will pick it apart looking for flaws, so eliminate them. All woodwork should be freshly and neatly painted, including the door if necessary. Replace a badly worn or broken doorbell button. Polish the door brass. Repaint or replace an unsightly mailbox. Put out a new or clean door mat. Do a thorough weeding and pruning job on any flower beds near the entry, and try to have some flowering plants growing.

Yard
Mow and trim the lawn. Weed flower beds; remove or replace dead plants or trees. Water regularly during the growing season. With desert landscaping, make sure that no underlying plastic is exposed, that rocks and sand are tidy, and that weeds and grass are removed.

Concerning Your Municipality’s Requirements
Each municipality requires specific actions be done by Real Property owners in order to complete a sale. These may include, among other things, obtaining certifications, making repairs and installing smoke detectors. You may wish to work with your REALTOR® to determine what will be required when you list your property.

Look at the Basics Around the House

Doors
Replace or repair doors with holes. One method of repair short of replacement is to cover a hole with a mirror or piece of paneling. Check to see that all doors open and close freely, including closet doors and patio or sliding glass doors. Oil any squeaky doors. Tighten the hardware, particularly doorknobs. And while making this kind of adjustment, tighten hardware on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, too.

Walls
As with the exterior, painting will pay dividends out of all proportion to the time and effort spent. Wallpaper should be clean and adhere smoothly to walls. Patch all major holes in wallboard and plaster. Loose handrails on stairways should be secured to walls. Clean or paint air vent covers.

Switches and Fixtures
Repair or replace wall switches, outlets and light fixtures that don’t work. Replace any broken switch plates. Note: If you are not fully competent to handle these repairs, call in a professional.

Carpet
Steam-cleaning is the best answer for soiled carpet; shampooing seldom does the job. If pet odors are present, be sure to clean the carpet some time before the home is placed on the market to be sure the odors have been eliminated. Loose carpet should be anchored properly.

Check Mechanical and Electrical Features

Arrange for a Spacious Look
One of the best and least expensive ways to improve the appeal of your home is to open up as much space as possible. Openness stimulates positive feelings in buyers. Overstuffed rooms or closets give the impression of being smaller than they really are. You can’t change the size of what you have, so try to present it in a pleasing way. If necessary, rent a mini-warehouse to store your excess belongings while the house is on the market.

Closets and Storage Areas
One of the most frequently voiced requirements of buyers is for closet and storage space. Open up your storage areas by getting rid of items you aren’t using.

Hints on Housekeeping

Bathrooms
Few places in the home can get so dirty so fast, and yet few things will “unsell” a house as fast as dirty baths. Vanity, sink, faucet hardware and mirror are the focal points, but other potential problems might be soap residue in a shower, a moldy shower curtain, accumulated dirt in the track of the sliding shower door, soiled or missing grout, stained toilet bowls, and dirty or battered bathmats.

Kitchen
Like baths, kitchens get dirty all by themselves. Most buyers will inspect this area carefully, so extra time invested here is well spent. Clean the stove inside and out. Replace badly stained or corroded reflector plates under the heating elements on electric range tops. Don’t neglect the kitchen exhaust hood; buyers frequently check this area as a clue to general housekeeping.

Windows
Clean windows are an absolute necessity if a house is to look its best, yet this is very often overlooked.

Water Heater, Softener & Furnace
Perhaps because it is so unusual, a sparkling clean water heater, water softener or furnace really impress buyers - and it takes so little time and effort.

Sniff Out Unpleasant Odors

Wet Towels and Washcloths
Residents of a home frequently aren’t aware of what a potential source of bad odor these are. Replace all used towels with fresh ones before showing.

Soiled Clothes
When the house is being shown, keep dirty laundry out of the living area; move it to the utility room, garage, or storage area. This applies especially to a diaper pail.

Garbage
Take all trash and garbage out of the house, particularly any food-related discards from the kitchen. And make sure no potatoes or onions are going bad under the sink or pantry. After running the garbage through a disposal unit, grind up part of a lemon to add a fresh smell.

Sewer Gas in the House
Do whatever is necessary to correct this problem before the house is placed on the market.

Cats and Dogs
As a first step, move the cat’s litter box out of the house, at the very least clean it out before all showings. And be sure to clean up after the dog before any showings.  Wash dog bedding or clean carpets where your dog sleeps.

Important Reminders

Valuables
You may have valuable possessions that you like to display in your home, but when the house is being shown to strangers is not the time. Never leave small valuable items lying around on the counters or visible in closets or cabinets. Get them out of sight, if not out of the house. Don’t invite a problem.

Exclusions from the Sale
Make a note now of the items you do not intend to include with the sale of the house. Freestanding items generally are not included, but when in doubt spell it out Some items that often cause misunderstandings are light fixtures, draperies and large mirrors.  If possible replace with fixtures you are happy to leave before you begin to show your home.

Keys
As you are readying the house for market, make a note to gather all the keys for the house, including keys for the doors, deadbolts, garage doors and any padlocks around the property.  Make keys accessible to agents for showings for things like back doors, garage doors, sheds, pool house, etc.  This way interested buyers can see everything on their first visit.

Tips for Showing A Home

Light
Open all draperies unless there is an objectionable view. In most rooms you should turn on lights for a bright and cheerful look. Lamps and indirect lighting are preferable, but use overhead lights if that’s all there is in a particular room.  Every light socket in and around the house should have a good bulb of adequate wattage. Don’t overlook those outside, in the garage, utility room, halls, closets, or over the kitchen sink, and in the oven and exhaust hood.

Light Switches
If some wall switches operate wall outlets, plug in a lamp or radio to demonstrate that the switch works. When a buyer flips a switch and nothing happens, he instinctively suspects a problem.

Aromas
Set out some fresh flowers, both for their appearance and fragrance. Bake cookies or bread; don’t cook seafood or strong smelling vegetables like cabbage or cauliflower.

Closets
Keep doors closed except for walk-in closets. Have those doors slightly ajar and turn on the lights to draw attention to this special feature.

Pets
Get them out of the house, if not off the property. Some people don’t like dogs, and nobody likes muddy paw prints on a clean suit or dress. Cats can be just as objectionable to the person who doesn’t like them, and invariably a cat will single out the cat-hater to use as a rubbing post.

Music
Soft background music will help create a relaxed mood that prompts buyers to linger and enjoy. Better no music at all, than loud music. And never have the TV on when the house is being shown.

Your Presence
Most buyers will not relax and closely inspect a home if the owners are present, so try and arrange to turn the home over to the salesperson. if you must remain at home, refrain from talking unless questions are directed to you. All too often, a seller will jump in to point out some special feature, fearful that the salesperson will overlook it. But please bear in mind that some of the most successful salespeople will say little or nothing during the showings, and for two reasons: first, they have made their selling points before entering the house; and second, they want the buyers to discover some things for themselves in order to build excitement. The salesperson also knows the buyers’ temperaments. So trust the salesperson’s professional abilities.