Three D's for Preparing your Home

Here are three simple steps in getting your home showing ready:

De-clutter, (Furniture, photos, nicknack's should be thinned out),
De-personalize (the photos to remove should be of the family),
Deodorize (my wife is a good example of some one who will walk away from an other wise nice home because of smell).

This is a simple thing people often forget in selling their home. Next to price, eye (or nose) appeal are almost as important as price. This article in Realtor (R) Magazine is aimed at agents; but, there are numerous tips for doing the little things to help your home show better. It's really worth a look.

One point from the article I thought was interesting and takes very little time is the letter about the home. I saw that in a home once and found it extremely interesting and helpful. In the home in question, the seller told about the history of the brick used on the patio. They were part of an old downtown building. She also high-lighted the refinishing project they had done on the maple floors by letting us know they were the original floors from the early 1900's. My buyer was impressed by the detail and love the sellers had put into the letter and the home.

The second point,one not mentioned in the article, is aroma, or more particularly, odor. If there are pets or smokers in the home there are a couple of things that can help neutralize the scents in stead of masking them (which sometimes creates even more pungent odors). You can pick up an ionizing are purifier. They leave a fresh scent reminiscent of the air after a thunder storm. (Some communities may have outlets where they can be rented.) The other is odor eliminating sprays and candles. We used to call them "odor eating" candles.

Your agent can market the home in every available venue, but if it isn't ready to show, all the fancy marketing in the world won't help. As Hillary reminded us during her presidential campaign, you can put lipstick on a pig, but ...