Sell your Home for Top Dollar!

Stand back and take an objective look at y our house from the road. Does it appear well-maintained and inviting? Is it neat and trim? Would you buy it back? Could some shrubs soften the look and produce a more interesting landscape? Keep the lawn and edges trimmed, brass lamps and door knocker polished.

Don’t have Christmas lights strung up unless it’s the season. A fresh coat of glossy paint (different colour from other exterior trim) takes only a few minutes to do and creates an appealing focal point at the front. Hang a decorative wreath or swag on the door. If your home makes a positive first impression from the street, you will get more showings and better offers.

Make people feel welcome! Once they’ve opened the front door, they form firm opinions about the house during the next 10 seconds. Create atmosphere! Appeal to their senses! Make sure they see, smell and hear only pleasant, stimulating things: Well illuminated hallway and stairs, some flowers or greenery, the subtle scent of potpourri, the sound of soft music. No matter how small the foyer, there’s always room for some furnishing – a desk, chair, console or small table, or simply an umbrella stand. Hang a mirror, some framed prints, a candle sconce, or stand a small lamp on the table for instant ambiance. You could place a discreet sign (printed, stencilled or computerized, etc.) requesting visitors to remove their shoes and refrain from smoking. Fresh flowers should be visible.

Storage is important for buyers, so expect them to check inside closets and kitchen cabinets. Condense your “junque” as much as possible and keep closet space well organized. Linen closets look attractive if the shelves are lined with scented paper or left-over wallpaper. Colour coordinate towels and bedding for a sweet surprise. Never use moth balls! Since you’re moving anyway, why not reduce your closet and cabinet contents by about one third, box items not needed, store in the basement for now, then when it’s time to move, 30% of your packing is already done.

Have the broadloom cleaned prior to listing. If the carpets are very dated or overly worn and there’s hardwood underneath, consider taking up the rugs and showing the hardwood to advantage. Borrow area rugs or buy your own that can be rolled up and taken to your new home. Hardwood is beautiful, but without the addition of soft area rugs, it can be cold, can make a room echo, it’s slippery, shows dust and is noisy.

While the house is for sale think about having a professional maid service come in once a week. It will reduce the stress level common to most vendors and will ensure the house and clean and sparkling for all showings, even at short notice. (See Plan of Action attached.) Windows should be cleaned inside and out. Try to use cleansers that smell pleasant. The odours of bleach, ammonia and vinegar are a real turn-off!

Everyone loves the appetizing aroma of freshly baked bread, but who’s got the time? The house is on the market, for heaven’s sake and vendors have enough to do already! But you can give the impression you’ve been up all night baking by scenting the air with subtle fragrances of your choice by using the following shortcuts. The key word is "subtle".

• Aromatic oil placed in metal or ceramic rings that fit on light bulbs. When the lamp is lit, the heated oil gives off its scent. (Buy at Cdn. Tire, etc.)
• Electric or candle-warmed potpourri jars
• Cinnamon sticks simmered on the stove top
• Fragrant candles (in safe place)
• Scented soaps on vanities, scented shelf liners, sachets in drawers
• Ceramic jars impregnated with perfume
• Fresh flowers
• Plug-in air fresheners
• Frozen fruit pies liberally sprinkled with cinnamon on low heat in oven
• Incense
• Most favoured aromas: Cinnamon, cranberry, evergreen, light floral, vanilla.

While your home is on the market, do not allow smoking inside. The majority of buyers want a smoke-free environment and are super-sceptical about being able to remove the smell if they buy a smoker’s home. Don’t jeopardize a sale! Hide all evidence of smoking habits – ash trays, pipes, tobacco tins, etc. Smoke and tar cling to all surfaces long after the cigarette is finished, so it’s not enough to open windows to clear the air. Drapes, sheers, carpets, walls, bedding – everything smells of nicotine if you smoke inside. A non-smoking, prospective buyer will catch a whiff the moment the front door is opened. Create positive aromas instead.

Keep pets out of sight while agents are showing the property. Take dogs for a walk or out in the car, and let the cat outside. Pets do emit odours which most of us don’t notice when we live with them, so please be meticulous with kitty litter boxes and do regular poop and scoop patrols in the backyard. If fleas are a possibility, call the pest control people before listing. Animal smells can be masked with products such as Nil-Odor for their baskets or crates; baking soda can be added to cat litter, or simply buy scented litter. Pets’ feeding bowls should be put away for showings (especially not on display in the kitchen); litter boxes should be kept in the most discreet place possible or hidden in the garage during showing times.

This is an easy area to spruce up. It takes no great skill to roll glossy paint on the concrete floor, or to cover the concrete block walls with a coat of white masonry paint. Dust off and clean surfaces of furnace, hot water heater, washer and dryer, and make sure the humidifier attached to the furnace hasn’t built up an ugly mineral crust. If these items are sparkling clean, buyers will assume this house is superbly maintained in every technical area, and their buying confidence will soar. Clean out all window wells. Dust away cobwebs from ceiling joists and plumbing pipes. In the summer, run a dehumidifier between showings (not during). Put away the appliance when not in use. Clean and orderly is the key here.

Park your car(s) in the garage or at the curb if you are anticipating a showing. Do leave enough space in the driveway for the agent’s car and clients’ car.

Backboards and nets attached to garages are an eyesore and don’t enhance the appeal of property. Take them down before listing and buy portable ones next time.

If you have items normally considered as fixtures which stay with the house, but which you’d like to take with you when you move, replace them before you list to avoid disappointment and misunderstanding on the part of a buyer. Many a real estate transaction has been in danger of coming unstuck at closing because the vendors were reluctant to part with a chandelier, a fireplace insert, or an antique brass towel bar. Exclusions don’t sit well with serious buyers. Avoid them.

It matters little whether they are fresh, dried, silk or just petals or leaves, but plants and flowers should be in abundance. Talk to your florist about retrieving day-olds at a discount, or simply stock up on artificial plants and indoor trees available everywhere. Use greenery and colourful plants in unexpected places: in laundry rooms, bathrooms, atop kitchen cabinetry or fridge, in basement workshop. Again, we’re talking "subtle", not "jungle".

Pushed away in everyone’s cupboards and closets are often some of the most useful and delightful “props” to enhance a home. Straw hats, baskets, musical instruments, chess boards, mismatched candlesticks, vases, books and magazines. These things add life and interest to any setting.

Our aim is to show a home, not a showroom. So in the major production of your house sale, set your stage well and enjoy the play! Do it right and you’re sure to get rave reviews and sold-out performances.