“My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors” ~Bette Midler
As a home stager, I regularly tell my clients, “how you live in your house isn’t how you sell your house.” At my house, you can regularly find my son’s disregarded socks on his bedroom floor and my kids’ Wii remote permanently fixed on my family room couch. While that is how we “live in my house”, it is clearly not the way I would market my house if it were listed to sell.
When preparing for a social visit, do you find yourself wiping down your kitchen countertops or throwing away that old newspaper that has been sitting on the couch? What are the things you run to pick up? Whatever it is you do, you should approach showing your house the same way -as if you are about to have company over. Why? Because you are about to have company over!
Among all else, prospective homeowners must be considered guests –important ones at that. Unlike social guests, these guests are coming over specifically to judge your house. Therefore, it must look its best at all times. Because nobody wants to live in someone else’s mess, the first step in making your guests feel comfortable is to make sure your house appears clean. Dirt, dust, and stains could be a big deterrent to a buyer.
When first preparing to sell your house, consider hiring a professional cleaning service to clean windows, blinds, baseboards, and all the hard to reach places we tend to ignore. This is an inexpensive and effective investment toward kicking off your house sale. Once your house sparkles, maintaining it throughout the selling process will project a house that has been cared for, making it far more attractive to potential buyers.