Hey Cora, I want to put my house on the market in March, how do I get my house to look good during breakup?
Signed, Muddy Shoes
Dear Muddy Shoes, Good Question! Here are some simple ideas that will help you with this very local problem.
1) Bench or Chair: Set up a place in your home for potential buyers to remove their shoes – like a bench or a chair in the entryway. Some older people have balance problems and having a chair can make all the difference when putting on and pulling off shoes. Something simple, and we can provide you with a sign that says “please remove your shoes”. This can be on the front porch before entering or just inside the front door if you have room.
2) Shoe Covers: We can provide you with disposable shoe covers so that people don’t even have to take off their shoes. This will keep the mud down and make it easy for your potential buyers as well.
3) Rug: Keep a non-slip rug next to the chair or bench. This will catch any bits of gravel or sand and keep it away from “sock feet”. This also keeps the entry looking nice for the next showing.
4) Clear Walk Way: keep your walk way as clear as possible and free from snow and ice, and free from Dog Bombs! For some reason, my dog likes to “go” where is most convenient for him! That usually means on the walk way. Keeping this area clear will make your home look more inviting.
5) Lock Box Placement: Ask your listing agent to put the lockbox on the front porch for easy access for your buyers. Sometimes, the buyers realtor will have to trudge through the snow to get the lockbox around the side of the house. This doesn’t look good to potential buyers.
6) Well Lit! keep your walk-way, entry well lit as we still have some dark days ahead. Leave the exterior lights on when you go to work, and the main enter light on all day for showings. You can place a post it note on the switch asking the Realtor to leave this light on.
7) Friendly Driveway: touch up that driveway with a “clean up” plow. Just mark the actual location of the driveway, if you can, by making it crystal clear as to where the actual driveway is located when all the snow and ice are gone.
8) Check your Crawlspace: pop open your crawl space hatch and make sure there is no water in there. Springtime can be the time where a normally dry crawl space can look like a wet bar! If you need to add a sump pump, do it! Water in the crawl can cause mold to grow and you don’t want that can of worms.
9) Warm and Cozy: Keep the house warm. Potential buyers are coming in from the cold, a warm and inviting house (especially if the wind is blowing) can be a welcomed oasis – the comfort of your warm home can be just what it takes to capture that buyer.
10) De-Smell-ify: Sometimes, especially in winter months, we are not able to get rid of the smells from cooking, pets, TEENAGERS! Because we are not opening the exterior doors as much. But airing out the house is pretty important. Sometimes, my dogs bed is just overwhelmingly gross and smelly, wash that thing! Take the cover off and wash it. The dog won’t like it but you will! Also, Teenagers rooms, open the window just a skosh, and air it out. Don’t use air fresheners! Many people are allergic to those scents and are turned off right away or think you are covering up something. Also, turn on your fans in the morning, bath fans, kitchen exhaust – run them for 30 minutes. This will help.
11) Kitty Litter: not for kitty, but for the walkway, provides a grip on the ice and absorbs moisture. Some people use salt, but if you have concrete walkways, it can damage the surface.
12) Dog bombs: there are services that clean this up for you! They will come out and clean up all the doggy droppings at a reasonable price. If you need names of these companies, call me and I will get them to you. But, as we all know, for some reason as the snow melts, the doggie-doodles are set apart on tiny little ice pedestals for us to admire!
13) General Clean Up: there are tree limbs and old Christmas lights and trash bags and dead pumpkins from the fall….all kinds of annoying stuff like that. The best practice is to pull it all together and burn it or dump it. This will make a big difference in your yard’s appearance.
14) Front Porch: Literally your first impression! Keep the front porch clear of toys, bikes, firewood and if it’s a small front porch, have nothing on there but a rug, if it’s a large front porch, decorate a bit with spring colors. Okay, there you have it. Remember, everyone listing their home in the spring has the same issues, but
now you know the answers! You’re Welcome! Remember experience matters! Call me if you want to buy or sell this spring!