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Concentrate on the Important Things When Selling Your Home

by Rick Hendershot, Linknet Articles

When you are getting your home ready to sell, there are some things you simply must be concerned about, because every prospective home buyer looks for them. Some rooms are more important than others because they are used regularly by everyone in the home. This makes them the focal point.

The kitchen is a very important focal point -- especially for the primary homemaker, who tends to be the one who has specific requirements in mind, and will always be looking for signs of cleanliness. You need to go over the kitchen like a health inspector.

• Clean the oven and keep it that way, even if it means eating out more often. After cleaning the range, put new drip pans under the burners, or at least, cover the old ones with foil.
   
• Clean around the seal of the door to the dishwasher. Make sure your dishwasher and sinks smell fresh and clean.
   
• Get rid of that garbage under the sink, and deodorize the area. This is one of the first places a prospective buyer will look at.
   
• Clean around the refrigerator, including the floor area directly in front. Make sure the "kick" area at the bottom looks clean. Clean the inside of your refrigerator too. Remove leftovers, half-empty containers, cardboard boxes, and so on. Make it look neat and tidy.

Clean all your bathrooms from top to bottom. Make everything as spotless as possible. Messy bathrooms mean you are flushing money away because prospective buyers zero in on these rooms.

• Clean walls and floors as thoroughly as possible. Especially around toilets, in front of sinks, tubs, and shower areas.
   
• If the walls and woodwork in your bathrooms have not been painted within the last two years, give them a fresh coat of paint. Make the colors bright and neutral.
   
• Bath tubs, showers and sinks should be freshly caulked. All the grout should be clean and in good condition. There are excellent cleaners that will do the job without tons of scrubbing.
   
• Make sure there are no leaks in the faucets, drains or traps.
   
• Clean, clean, clean. Get rid of odours, and don't let anyone use the facilities without making it clear they must clean up after themselves. Then clean up after them too.
   
• Replace the shower curtains if they are starting to look a bit faded. Use bright and cheery colors.
   
• Always have fresh towels out in the bathrooms so they are ready to be viewed at a moment's notice.

The most important consideration for the other rooms in your home is to make them look clean, neat, and uncluttered. You want to give the impression of space, and having dark colored walls and floors along with lots of furniture tends to make them look smaller than they really are. Here are some hints for opening your rooms up and making them look brighter and larger.

• Start by eliminating some furniture. Most of us like to have our rooms full of furniture, but prospective buyers are not there to look at your furniture. The rooms will look smaller to them when filled with furniture. Select the pieces that look the best, and put the rest in storage somewhere.
   
• Paint walls and ceilings that are looking shabby. Use light, neutral colors if possible.
   
• Replace all burned out light bulbs, and add brighter ones in places that could use them -- like halls, vestibules, stairways.
   
• Make sure window coverings let lots of light in. Make sure your windows are clean too.
   
• Closets should not look cluttered and full. Remove stuff from them that you rarely use. Put it in storage along with your excess furniture.
   
• Replace mats and floor coverings in key areas such as your front entrance and hallways.

Keep a few basic principles in mind as you're getting your home ready to be viewed. Make it tidy, uncluttered, clean, odorless, bright, airy, and inviting. You will find there are many things you can do to enhance its desirability without spending a lot of money on complicated and expensive renovations or redecorating.

Rick Hendershot is a marketing consultant, writer, and internet publisher. For more Real Estate articles see Free Real Estate Articles. Go here to post a Free For Sale By Owner listing. For a free home evaluation visit Free Home Evaluations.

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