Getting Your Home Ready for the Market

• Leave lights on, screens off windows, and soft music playing during showings. If your electric bill doesn't go up while your house is on the market, you're doing something wrong.
• In every room, stand at the doorway and look at it through the eyes of a buyer. Be tough on yourself: what can you live without while your home is on the market?
• Have carpets professionally cleaned. Badly worn or dated carpets should be replaced — offering a credit is far less effective and always ends up costing you more. Neutral is the safest color.
• Check all light fixtures. Replace all burned-out bulbs and increase wattage in dark hallways and corners.
• Repair and repaint cracks on walls and ceilings. Repair or replace broken light switches and switch plates.
• Keep all curtains and blinds open during the day to let in light and views. The extra heating or cooling cost is a necessary cost of selling.
• Reduce the number of pillows on couches to two or three. Remove all afghans and blankets.
• Pick up all valuable items to protect them. If necessary, take them to a safe deposit box.
• Take a hard look at house plants. Prune them or reduce the number to create more space. Discard anything unhealthy.
• Fireplaces need to be cleaned out. Clean glass doors. Clear mantles and hearths except for a very few items.
• Remove a chair, loveseat, or other furniture to create more space. Think of a model home.
• White glove clean — from the ceiling to the baseboards and floors.
• Pack up all collections — they distract buyers from the desired focal point: your home. Reduce books on shelves. Remove all family pictures. Reduce wall hangings to one large piece or a small group of three.
• Turn on soft music for showings. Easy-listening or light jazz works well.
• Be sensitive to odors, because buyers are. Cooking, smoking, pet, laundry, and mildew odors will turn off buyers. You can't sell it if you can smell it.
• Wash all windows and make sure they operate freely. If the seal is broken on a double-pane window, replace it now.
• Repair items that are broken. Buyers will ask for them to be repaired anyway, so do it now.
• Don't be afraid to move furniture from room to room. That extra chair from the living room may look great elsewhere.
• Dog and cat dishes, pet bedding, and toys should be placed in the garage for showings and photos.
• If you smoke, limit smoking to outdoors only. Remove all signs of smoking from the house.
• In general, pack up the little things. Little things create clutter, and they need to be packed anyway.

Living Areas

• Clear off all coffee tables and end tables to just 2–3 magazines and one nice vase or statuary.
• Remove small throw rugs.
• Make sure there is ample light in the room. You may need to remove solar screens or add a lamp.

Dining Room

• Clear off the dining room table except for one nice centerpiece. Remove tablecloths.
• Remove extra leaves from the table to make the room look bigger.
• Remove extra chairs if they crowd the table or fill up corners. Four to six chairs are plenty.

Kitchen

• Clear off counters, leaving only a very few items you use on a daily basis. Store everything else out of sight.
• Leave out a few large decorative items like a bowl of fruit or a basket of bread.
• Repair any tile or Formica countertops and edges that are damaged or unglued. Clean tile grout with bleach if stained.
• Polish Corian or add a new coat of sealer to granite to enhance shine.
• Remove all magnets, photos, and children's drawings from the front of the refrigerator.
• Clean the stove top and oven. Replace badly stained burner pans. Clean all exhaust fans, filters, and hoods.
• Keep the kitchen sink clean and empty. Make sure the faucet works smoothly without drips.
• Clear everything off the window ledge above the kitchen sink.
• Keep all soaps, towels, scouring pads, and cleaning supplies out of sight under the sink.
• Remove throw rugs from the kitchen for photos. Throw rugs make rooms look smaller.
• Empty the garbage regularly to prevent kitchen odors.

Bedrooms

• Make beds every day. Every bed should have a comforter or bedspread with shams and a few throw pillows.
• Clear off bedside tables and chests of drawers except for a very few necessary items.
• Store extra books and magazines underneath the bed.
• Reduce the number of photos on tables and chests of drawers to a minimum.
• In children's rooms, take down all posters except for one favorite over the bed.
• Repair nail holes and paint walls if scuffed or dirty.

Hallways and Stairways

• Check walls and corners for handprints and clean where needed.
• Remove personal photos, patch holes, and paint if necessary.

Laundry Room

• Put soaps and cleaners in a cabinet or organize them neatly on one shelf.
• Keep counters and sinks clean and empty, just like in the kitchen.
• Get rid of excess hangers and hanging laundry. Replace miscellaneous hangers with one style of white plastic hanger.
• Make sure light bulbs work and have adequate wattage. Many laundry rooms are too dark.
• Put a large bowl of powdered laundry detergent on top of the dryer with a scoop — it provides a clean, fresh smell.

Bathrooms

• Clear off counters. Reduce toiletries to a decorative few consolidated on a tray or basket. Everything else goes in drawers or cabinets.
• Replace used hand soap with a neat bottle of liquid soap.
• Coordinate all towels with one or two colors. Fold in thirds and hang neatly every day.
• For photos, clear everything out of the shower and tub. For showings, reduce to only what you use daily.
• Check shower curtain liners for mildew and replace if necessary. Keep shower curtains drawn at all times.
• Repair any cracking or peeling paint above the tile line in shower-tub areas.
• Get rid of mildew and stains throughout the bathroom. Re-caulk tubs and showers with a fresh bead of silicone.
• Take off all cloth toilet lid covers. Keep toilet lids down. Remove throw rugs in front of the sink, toilet, and shower — they make the room look small.
• Hide all cleaning supplies and the garbage can under the sink or out of the line of sight.
• Check inside all sink cabinets for leaks. Replace any water-stained wood.

Closets

• Make sure you can open the door freely without something falling out on the buyer.
• Keep closet doors closed. In walk-in closets, keep the floor clean and free of laundry and clutter. Avoid oversized boxes on the top shelf — you should have a clear sightline to the ceiling.
• Pre-pack anything you won't use for 90 days, keeping only the clothes and linens you use regularly.
• Don't put oversized items or overcrowd higher shelves. Make sure items fit on the shelves without hanging over.

Garages & Carports

• Carports need to be completely cleaned out — everything.
• Garages should be swept out and organized. Don't block access to sprinkler controls, water heaters, electrical panels, or attic pull-down stairs.
• Always keep garage doors down while your home is on the market. Keep cars in the garage if possible, not the driveway.
• Move boats and RVs to a storage facility or a neighbor's home several houses away until your home sells.
• If the garage floor is very stained, paint it with gray or beige concrete paint.

The first impression when a buyer drives up to your home is critical. Walk across the street and look at it through the eyes of a buyer. Be tough on yourself — what do you see?

Trim & House Paint

• Take a hard look at the front door and trim — this is where buyers get their first close inspection. Repainting doors and trim is one of the least expensive ways to dress up a home.
• Walk around the house and note any damaged or rotted wood trim. Replace and paint as needed.
• Hang a wreath, lay down a new welcome mat, or add greenery to welcome guests.
• Remove cobwebs, wasp nests, and debris from the front porch. Make sure the walk-up is clean.

Decks, Porches & Patios

• Sweep all decks, walks, porches, and patios regularly. Remove any moss or debris.
• Decks should be pressure-washed, stained, or painted if they need it.
• Reduce clutter. Get rid of old flowerpots, barbecues, charcoal, planters, toys, construction materials, and excess furniture.
• Create a simple "room setting" with clean outdoor furniture. Decks and patios should look like you're going to entertain there.

Roof, Driveway & Fences

• Clean all debris and moss from the roof and gutters. Trim trees and shrubs so they don't touch the roof.
• Power-wash the driveway for stains or discoloration of the concrete.
• Replace broken and damaged fence pickets. Apply fresh stain if needed. Correct leaning fence lines.

Landscaping

• Curb appeal is important. Cut back all shrubs to window height that block light or views. You can't sell it if you can't see it.
• Rake, weed, and mulch flower beds. Avoid white rocks and red-stained mulch.
• Remove all dead plants. Replace them if removal leaves a noticeable hole in the landscaping.
• Mow the lawn and keep it mowed on a weekly basis during the growing season.
• Trim your trees — best done by a professional. Remove low-hanging branches and lift the canopy to maximize the view of the house.

Front Yard, Backyard & Sprinklers

• Move all children's toys to the backyard, grouped in one area.
• Clean and sweep paved driveways. Rake, weed, or re-gravel gravel driveways.
• Remove any extra items from the yard, such as tools, piles of lumber, or auto parts.
• If you have pets, clean up after them every 1–2 days.
• Check each sprinkler zone for broken heads and leaks. Adjust heads to avoid overspray on the house, fences, driveways, and sidewalks.