Preparing for Sale
Consider what happens to a used car when it is traded in at a dealership. Almost the minute the deal is made, the car is whisked away for a thorough detail job, mechanical inspection, and repairs so that the dealer can sell it for the maximum price. Somehow, the next buyer ends up believing that the spotless interior means that the car has been immaculately maintained for all of its 93,999 miles.
Just as a few hundred dollars can reap, perhaps, thousands more for a car, your home deserves a detail job in preparation for hitting the open market.
What can you do to show it to best advantage? Start by asking your agent for suggestions or call in a brutally honest friend. You want someone who will view your house with a fresh eye. After all, you may have learned to live with that broken front step, perhaps even having stopped noticing it altogether. But anyone else approaching your home will notice it instantly. You can go over the house and grounds yourself with a checklist:
Show House Checklist
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Exterior
Entrance
Living Rooms
Kitchen
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Bathrooms
Bedrooms
Storage Rooms
Garage
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You should focus on features that can be inexpensively improved and which may be left alone. You can spend little or no money and still enhance your property markedly. Attend first to all those items that require no expense
