Take it from the real estate professionals: a home’s cleanliness can be one of the biggest factors in determining your home’s pre-listing value. Not only that, making sure that your home is clean and well-maintained inside and out is also one of the most inexpensive ways to increase the value of your property in a short amount of time.

While it is for certain that buyers consider other aspects in buying a home—size, convenience of location, the type of neighborhood your house belongs to—there is no doubt that they will also look into how well the property was managed. After all, who wants to live in a house where things seem to already be falling apart?

To evaluate the state of your home’s cleanliness, Clean Conscience provided us a handy and easy-to-follow pre-listing cleaning checklist which we encourage you to use. Take a look:

 

The most important thing homeowners can do before listing a home is clean and declutter. Some people have different levels of what they view as clean, but if you want home buyers to bite, make sure your place is immaculate, and get rid of any offensive odors. If you can’t get your home to that level, hire a service to come in and deep clean. It will be worth the investment. Also, keep things picked up and semi-neat at all times when your home is for sale. You never know when a showing might materialize.

If you aren’t willing to get rid of clutter, then store it in a family member’s garage or even rent a short term storage unit. Stuffing it in the closet doesn’t work. You want buyers to think your home has tons of storage. If junk falls out on their heads when buyers open the closet door or if drawers are so full they won’t open, that doesn’t promote the image of spaciousness. Potential buyers will open all drawers and doors, so make sure to leave one third of the space empty to show how much room is available.

Make sure furniture fits the size of the room. You might love having two couches and a giant recliner crammed into a small living room, but send some of that furniture to storage as well. Use neutral bedding and take personal items off the wall. If you are a hunter with trophy mounts all over the house, what happens if a PETA member looks at your home? Let buyers remember your house and not the stuff taking up space. 

From here

 

Here are some additional points to remember:

·         The entryway/living room is your buyer’s first point of reference when scoping the property. Make sure it’s clutter-free.

·         Some parts of the house—such as the kitchen and bathroom—are more susceptible to developing foul odors than the others. It’s important to pay extra attention to these areas so as not to turn off any buyers who would be coming to visit.

·         Keep in mind that dirty laundry and personal effects like toiletries should be kept out of sight during a buyer visit.

As you do a walkthrough of your home, put yourself in a buyer’s shoes and ask yourself: “Would I buy this house?” If your answer is yes, congratulations! You’ve probably taken extra effort to care for your investment, and soon enough, someone will be willing to reward you for it. If the answer is no, don’t worry. It’s never too late to tidy things up, is it? Grab the checklist we provided above and start raising your home’s market value!

 

From Clean Conscience

 

 

 

 

Selling a home is never easy.  Trying to market your home to the widest possible audience takes careful thought and planning. Our home staging team can help.

Our services include carefully selecting pieces of furniture and accessories that will accentuate the charm and appeal of your home and help you sell it.

Our furniture rental packages start at just $750 per month with a two month minimum. Based on a 2000 square foot home, the package includes living room, dining room and bedroom. The price includes furniture rental, delivery and installation. Call us to learn more 828 398 4187.

Over the past few years we have worked with builders, Realtors and home owners to market their homes. The results have been amazing. On average a staged home will sell two months faster than the same home left unfurnished.

 

 

 

From Four Corners Home

 

 

 

 

Priming your home prior to listing your property is an essential step in the home sale process. Taking just a few of these steps will not only potentially maximize your home value, but will also make your home more appealing to the buyer's eye. Especially in a competititve buyer's market, you want to make sure that yours is the most noteworthy.