David Bruce

November 16th, 2008

Preparing For A Successful Open House and Showings

Skye Bruce Properties, The Official REALTOR and Buyer’s Agents of RichmondHomeShopper.com offers some great advice for successful Open Houses and Showings. Many of the tips may seem obvious, but surprisingly they are often over looked. Here are Skye Bruce’s 20 affordable and effective ways to prepare your home to reel in potential buyers in Central Virginia!

1. Get rid of clutter! Organize Organize Organize!
2. Less furniture can be better and can make rooms look bigger.
3. Power wash the the outside of your house. You can rent a power washer from most big box hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot.
4. Clean your windows and remove screens from the front of your home.
5. Put a new coat of paint on your front door.
6. Manicure your yard. Cut the grass, weed beds, trim shrubs, edge your sidewalk.
7. Buy a new welcome mat, inside and out.
8. Paint or buy a new mailbox.
9. If you have a pet, its better if they are not there during showing. Make sure yard is clean of droppings and remove indoor litter boxes
10. Organize your closets. Buyers will look.
11. Make any obvious, necessary repairs. Buyer’s will use these against you in negotiation if they write a contract.
12. Buy some fresh cut flowers and display in a prominent place.
13. Do not burn a scented candle!  Use an air purifier or neutralizer.
14. Make your surfaces shine!  From ceiling to floor, everything. Counter tops, floors, molding, base boards, windows, furniture, appliances even your TV screen!fans to baseboards.
15. Scrub Scrub Scrub! Make your kitchens and bathrooms spotless.
16. Remove family photos and portraits. You want potential buyers to picture themselves living there.
17. Clean your outside light fixtures including the glass (or buy new ones) and leave the outside lights on during the open house even during the day.
18. Make sure all light bulbs work inside your house including closets. Use higher wattage bulbs and make sure all lights are on when you leave the house
19. Let go emotionally of your home, and get ready for an offer!
20. Clean your garage and do not leave cars in garage or driveway.

“In the current buyers market when there are so many competing houses on the market, the little things can make a big difference”, says Skye Bruce, the #1 REMAX Real Estate Agent in the Richmond Virginia area. “You never know what people will notice so we advise clients not to leave anything to chance.”

Skye Bruce Properties has a team of industry professionals including home organizers and home staging experts.  These services are free to Skye Bruce Properties’ clients. Contact them today for more information!

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 16th, 2008 at 5:15 pm and is filed under Selling Your Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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