Ready to Sell

The number one rule of thumb when selling your home is to remember that people tend to buy with their senses: seeing, smelling and touching! Just as you may have done when you purchased your current or previous homes.

Second rule of thumb; some expenses incurred for preparing to sell your home are tax deductible: professional cleaning and painting, window repair, landscaping, etc! Expenses are deductible as long as they are performed within 90 days of the sales contract and paid for no later than 30 days after closing. Selling expenses also may be deductible if incurred during the negotiating and final sale of your home. Typically, these include: advertising costs, home inspection fees, legal fees, loan placement fees or points, survey fees, recording expenses and sales commissions. We always recommend that you consult your attorney and/or tax accountant and save all records.

The following is a checklist of items and practical advice to help your home look its best: "First and foremost you should call The Pest Detective for what we call a "pre-prep WDO inspection". With thousands of inpections on thousands of homes, we are YOURWDOPRO and can help "pre-prep" you by inspecting your home. This will not only help you save time but more importantly, money!

Exterior

1. Paint the front door and mailbox. Polish any brass hardware.

2. Wash or clean wood, aluminum, or vinyl sided homes. You can normally rent a pressure-washer or hire someone to do this for relatively minimal costs. Pressure washing can remove dirt, grime, chalky paint, and even mildew.

3. Rake leaves, trim shrubs and trees, cut the lawn, and put in some seasonal flowers. Refresh mulch by topdressing with a layer of new mulch, or replace it totally with new. Make it look like you take pride in your landscape.

4. Sweep and hose off patios, driveways, and sidewalks. Another item that is a possibility for pressure washing! Make sure all are unstained and in good condition.

5. Clean gutters; extend downspouts to prevent water seepage and drain water away from wood siding to prevent rot. Repair any areas of gutter that need it. This will save you time and money down the road.

6. Try your best to organize the garage and any storage buildings/sheds. This could also be said about closets.

7. Make sure all house and garage locks work easily with the keys. WD-40 or similar solvents are cheap and easy to use to remedy the problem, or replace very worn locks.

8. Clean oil and rust stains from driveways.

Interior

1. Wash windows, shades, blinds and curtains.

2. Leave the shades/blinds open to make the house appear bright and cheerful.

3. Replace burned-out light bulbs and clean lighting fixtures.

4. Wax/polish floors; vacuum or shampoo carpets; glue down open seams in vinyl flooring.

5. Paint the foyer and repair/clean flooring.

6. Make sure windows and doors operate properly and lubricate bi-fold door tracks with spray silicone.

7. Glue loose seams in wallpaper; remove soiled wallpaper and replace or paint.

8. Clean in and around fireplaces, and remove ashes.

9. Organize the closets and clean up all clutter.

10. Make sure beds are made and there is no laundry visible.

11. Have a yard/garage sale to get rid of unwanted and excess items that can clutter the house.

12. Make your baths sparkle by making these improvements: Repair loose tiles and remove loose grout. Remove old tub and tile caulking and install new white tub and tile caulking around edges of the tub, along edges of the sink tops and around the toilet base. Clean mildewed caulk with bleach or a bleach product.

13. Old tubs can often be repainted with a spray epoxy coating or lined with vinyl.

14. Vacuum exhaust fans and have them plugged in.

15. Clean ovens, cooktops, and exhaust fans. Remember to clean behind appliances.

16. Make sure all the burners or cooking elements work.

18. Defrost freezers. Remove mold from refrigerator gaskets. Empty the water collection tray under refrigerator.

19. Neatly arrange items under sink by purchasing inexpensive wire baskets or organizers.

20. Wash your cabinet fronts. You will be amazed at the amount of "stuff" that collects on these areas.

21. Make sure all drawer pulls and door handles are in place and secure.

22. Install new shelf and drawer liners. Or at the minimum, clean and straighten out the cupboards.

23. Some Homeowners become desensitized to the odors in their own homes, they may not realize how obvious these odors can be to visitors. To avoid this problem, ask someone outside of your household to help you detect odors and add air fresheners/fragrance enhancers.

Things that could turn off your potential buyer

Mildew odors from baths, kitchens, and screened porches

Freezer and refrigerator odors

Odors from heating equipment (usually dirty coils)

How to Fix the Problems

1. Remove pet odors by steam cleaning carpet, cleaning litter boxes daily, and keeping barking dogs out of sight.

2. Air out furniture; use commercial odor cleaner such as Febreeze.

3. Check toilet bowl to see if it is fitting tightly against the floor. Odors often come into the bath through a bad wax seal under the bowl.

4. Food disposal units and the inside overflow areas of bath sinks are great places for bacteria. Using a chlorine bleach and water solution, remove the trap and block the drain, then pour in the solution past the overflow inlet. Let sit for half an hour.

5. Rinse trash cans and spray with a deodorizer.

6. Once you have attended to the physical inspection of the property, gather any pertinent papers concerning your house: substantial repair or replacement receipts showing updates, warranties that can pass from owner to buyer, termite bond, and previous utility bills to help answer questions on water, electric, and gas consumption.

Hopefully after checking off these items on this list,your home will appear its best! Our years of experience when inspecting homes has been that many of the picky items that are noted on home inspections can be avoided by simply stepping back and looking at your house as if you were a buyer. Or have a close friend be someone who can constructively criticize and help you sparkle up your home.

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