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De-Personalize and De-Clutter

When your goal is to sell your home, you'll want buyers to see it as there home from the moment they walk in the door. Removing your personal items such as family photographs, highly personal items, hobbies and in some cases even religious items will keep potential buyers from becoming distracted.

Removing clutter from counter-tops, bookshelves and office spaces will help buyers see potential spaces for their own things in the home. Don't forget the closets and storage areas! Potential buyers won't see the great storage areas of your home if they are packed full of your things.

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Arrange Furniture for Function

Arrange the furniture in each room to create as much open space and clear pathways as possible. Make it easy for buyers to move from room to room and to see the space available in your home. If necessary, consider moving excess furniture to storage.

It is common to have rooms in our home that are used for more than one purpose -- the spare bedroom that's also an office, a family room that's also your hobby area or a garage that's also a game room. While these multi-purpose areas are fine for you, they may not be what a potential buyer has in mind.

Consider removing or relocating furniture in each room to showcase that room's single purpose. For instance, if your office has a sofa-bed, consider putting it in storage while your home is on the market.

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Additional Information

For even more information on selling your home, you may want to visit About.com's Selling Your Home website. It contains many more hints and tips for getting your home ready for sale.

As you review all this information, please keep in mind that your home is unique -- its condition, location, school district and many similar factors can affect not only the price your home will sell for, but also the way it should be marketed. The Graves Group has helped hundreds of sellers get their homes sold! We invite you to contact us to get your home on the market soon!

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Cleaning, Curb Appeal and Minor Repairs

You'll want your home to shine when buyers see it. Here are few reminders for cleaning, creating curb appeal and repairs you'll want to consider:

• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets
• Fix doors that don't close properly
• Re-align kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors
• Replace burned-out light bulbs
• Put fresh, newer linens on the beds
• Wash windows inside and out
• Clean sidewalks and the house exterior
• Clean out cobwebs
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors
• Clean out the refrigerator
• Vacuum daily
• Wax floors
• Dust furniture and light fixtures
• Bleach darkened grout
• Replace worn rugs
• Hang up fresh towels
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas
• Make sure window coverings hang level
• Keep the sidewalks cleared
• Mow the lawn
• Paint faded window trim
• Plant flowers or group flower pots together
• Trim your bushes
• Make sure you can clearly read your house number

These types of minor repairs are necessary, relatively inexpensive and should be completed without hesitation. However, if you are considering expensive repairs or remodeling to your home, we suggest you consult with us ahead of time. We can provide great referrals to local, reasonably-priced repair companies. And, if you are considering a remodeling project, allow us to help you evaluate it -- often times, remodeling won't pay for itself in your home's sales price.