| In order to find a buyer for your home, you must | | | | drawer in case you need to change one during the |
| make a house-shopper absolutely fall in love with | | | | duration of your home's listing. |
| your house. Most house-shoppers will start falling in | | | | Remember - first impressions are critical - especially |
| love or out of love within the first 30 seconds of | | | | to house-shoppers. Tend to the front porch and |
| arrival. It is critical to know the factors that create | | | | front room aggressively. Buyers should feel excited |
| "buyer attraction" in order to find the buyer as soon | | | | to see the rest of the house when they approach |
| as possible. After all, every month that goes by | | | | and enter through the front door. The porch, |
| translates into another mortgage payment and utility | | | | surrounding plants, welcome mat (buy a new one), |
| bill for you to pay. | | | | door, and even the doorknob should all be in perfect |
| When you've moved out all of your "clutter" - or | | | | shape. Some people even buy new address numbers |
| wisely stored it in a self-storage facility - call your | | | | that attach to the house. Also, the front room should |
| Realtor up and have him/her meet you at your place | | | | be absolutely immaculate. Create an ambiance that |
| to walk through it together. Your Realtor has likely | | | | makes visitors to the house say "wow" out loud. |
| walked through many homes and may know what | | | | Ensure that any visible wastebaskets are empty - all |
| qualities about your home will appear unattractive to | | | | trash should be removed from the property prior to |
| buyers. Use this session with your Realtor to purely | | | | marketing the house. The same applies to tools - the |
| focus on "things to make better". | | | | only tools that should remain in the house are |
| One gigantic rule of thumb to staging a house is to | | | | cleaning supplies, which should be stored under the |
| "create light and space" in every room. These are | | | | kitchen sink. |
| two generalizations that buyers tend to love about | | | | Make that bathroom look new: purchase a new |
| homes. Pull back drapes, rearrange furniture towards | | | | shower liner/curtain and dress the rest of the |
| the walls, create easy walkways between rooms, | | | | bathroom up with a new towel and bath rug set. |
| clear off your front porch, and do whatever else you | | | | Keep plenty of toilet paper in the bathrooms in case |
| can to create both light and space everywhere. You | | | | visitors need to use it. |
| may have to keep lights on in some rooms to make | | | | Finally, take plenty of pictures of your beautiful home. |
| this happen. Consider installing motion-activated light | | | | Your Realtor has likely created in-house flyers for |
| switches in these always-dark rooms. . | | | | you, but that doesn't mean you can't create your |
| Next, focus on the scent of every room - does | | | | own. Make your own flyers with various pictures and |
| every room smell nice? Strategically place air | | | | descriptions (if you aren't good with a computer or |
| fresheners, candles, etc. throughout your house. To a | | | | flyer designing, find someone who is) and attach your |
| buyer, a good-smelling home is the smell of a home | | | | flyer to your Realtor's flyers. Have your Realtor |
| that was well-cared for. | | | | review them first. Thereafter, check in on your |
| Check all of the light fixtures in the house. Are they | | | | house frequently (if you aren't living there) and do |
| dusty? Are some of the bulbs burnt out? Make sure | | | | any necessary cleaning and touch-up work. Good luck! |
| to keep an extra pack of light bulbs in a kitchen | | | | |