So you are looking to put your home on the market soon? Great idea, it’s a healthy market, buyers are active, interest rates are still very low, and spring is about to pop. You have been online researching all the do's and don’ts of preparing your home for the "for sale" sign going in and the buyers rushing in to slap suitcases full of cash on your kitchen counters. You have de-cluttered rooms, thrown paint on a few walls and you put a new roof on the home 3 years ago. That is wonderful, and the big items we always talk about are important in establishing value. However, in making a great first impression, little things also matter and go a long way in telling the home buyer "this is the house you want to buy."
Often, over the years, I have been in so many homes with buyers and the details being taken care of show an attentiveness and pride in the home that puts the buyers at ease to feel comfortable making that offer. Think of your home as a store, when the buyers pull up and enter, if the merchandise does not look appealing, they will pass it up.
When people pull up, is it neat, if its winter, is the driveway/walkway clear? If its warmer weather, not just has the lawn been mowed, but are gardens weeded and tended to? Are bikes, toys, lawn care items stored away neatly or just strewn about?
Inside the home, are doors all working on closets? That one closet door in the small bedroom, the one that you have been meaning to fix, or "do something about", now is the time. In the bathroom, that caulking you said you were going to do last year, has it been done around the tub? That shelf that you took down in the closet so you could hide a large present, is it back up, or do you still just have screws in the wall? That hole in the wall, behind the door that "no one sees", has it been patched, and repainted yet?
These examples, individually, may seem like minor things, and over all, they are. What I want you to consider is the message it puts out. If you are shopping for a used car, would you be more inclined to pick the one where the owner has taken immaculate care of all the details and has impressive records of all the maintenance, etc. or the one where the owner says, I know it needs a few small things, but I have taken care of the big ticket items, the rest are up to you?
